Best of Class is the highest honor at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, awarded to the single top-scoring entry in each category through rigorous blind judging. In 2026, the Best Blend of Straight Bourbons title went to Wenzel Distillery Toasted Bourbon.

Wenzel Distillery operates out of a historic 1873 building on Covington, Kentucky's Madison Avenue that once served as a rectifier — a non-distilling producer that blends and finishes whiskey rather than making it from scratch. That history is the whole point: Wenzel built its reputation on the art of blending, inviting visitors into its Blending Hall to sample aged bourbons and craft their own custom mixes. The distillery's toasted expressions have become a signature, sending its blended bourbon through additional toasted barrel maturation for a deeper, dessert-like profile, and this Toasted Bourbon is the fullest expression of that technique yet — a fitting follow-up to Wenzel's prior wins for World's Best Finished Bourbon and Double Gold honors at previous year's competitions. 

The full 2026 SFWSC Best of Class results, and all category winners, will be celebrated at the Top Shelf 2026 Awards Gala, November 8 in San Francisco. Explore the complete results from this year's San Francisco World Spirits Competition here.