A rye whiskey made in downtown Baltimore has been crowned the best in the world, and the distillery behind it says you can still buy a bottle for $90. Baltimore Spirits Company's Epoch Maryland Straight Rye Whiskey 6 Year Old Cask Strength took home Best in Show Whisk(e)y honors at the 2026 Top Shelf Awards, one of the world's largest international spirits competitions, according to the seed facts behind this story.
The win was announced at the Top Shelf Awards Gala, held on November 8 in San Francisco, as reported by The Whiskey Wash. According to The Baltimore Banner, the company beat more than 1,500 competitors for the title, a feat made more striking given that the five previous Best in Show whiskeys were aged at least 20 years and sell for at least $500 a bottle online. Epoch, by comparison, is aged six years and retails for $90.
Forbes coverage of the competition described the judging field even more broadly: Baltimore Spirits Company has said that out of more than 6,000 entries evaluated in 2026, competition judges selected just six rye whiskeys worldwide as Best in Class finalists, a distinction Baltimore Spirits Company highlighted on its own site. That finalist group reportedly included names like WhistlePig, James B. Beam Distilling Co., Art of the Spirits and Kings County Distillery, per the distillery's own accounting.
A Mint Finish That Impressed the Judges
Competition judges described the winning whiskey as gripping and lively, with a bright, lingering mint finish, according to the Banner's reporting. Forbes quoted the same tasting notes, writing that the palate delivers tons of flavor and that the mint finish just keeps going, as detailed in its coverage of the 2026 awards. Every finalist at this year's Top Shelf Awards received a Double Gold medal, with scores ranging from 97 to 99 out of 100, Forbes reported. Baltimore Spirits Company has also said that Epoch Rye has earned five Double Gold awards from the competition over the years.
Baltimore Spirits Company founder Eli Breitburg-Smith, who is 40, said the whiskey's price reflects its age and the company's pricing system, and that it should be accessible enough for enthusiasts to enjoy with friends, per the Banner's reporting. He said the company has plenty of whiskey on hand and is excited to share it, and that putting Maryland rye back on the map was always the goal. Breitburg-Smith also said he expects a sales bump following the win and is excited for more people to try it. Baltimore Spirits Company has no plans to raise the award-winning bottle's price, according to the same report. Breitburg-Smith said he believes he and his co-founders, Ian Newton and Max Lents, both 42, are the fourth group of American distillers to win the honor.
From a 2015 Startup to a Signature Six-Year Rye
Baltimore Spirits Company opened its distillery in downtown Baltimore in 2015 and released a two-year-aged version of Epoch Rye in 2018 before eventually settling on the six-year cask strength expression as one of its signature products, according to the Banner. The distillery does not sell through outside retailers; as the company notes on its own site, it does not distribute, meaning the whiskey can only be purchased directly from the company.
Maryland's Rye Revival
The win lands amid a broader resurgence for Maryland whiskey, a state that was once a genuine rival to Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Before Prohibition, Maryland ranked as the nation's fifth-largest alcohol producer overall and third in whiskey production specifically, trailing only those two states, according to What's Up? Media. Distilling in the state mostly disappeared as the 20th century wore on, per the Banner's reporting, before momentum began returning in 2011 with the opening of Blackwater Distilling in Stevensville, according to What's Up? Media's account.
That revival has picked up steam in recent years. The field has grown from nearly zero businesses in the early 2000s to more than 40 today, Windon told the Banner. The growth comes even as the broader industry faces headwinds: the number of craft distilleries nationwide fell for a second consecutive year, according to a 2025 American Craft Spirits Association report cited by the outlet, and the number of Americans who drink alcohol hit a record low in 2025, per a Gallup poll referenced in the same report.
How This Year's Win Compares
Baltimore Spirits Company's victory follows a different kind of winner at last year's ceremony. In 2025, Rosebank 31 Year Old Lowland Single Malt Scotch took the Best in Show Whisk(e)y title, while Wenzel Whiskey Rectifier Rye Whiskey won Best Rye Whiskey, according to The Tasting Alliance, which organizes the awards. The Tasting Alliance notes that the Top Shelf Awards honor Best of Class and Best in Show winners drawn from both the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the San Francisco Ready to Drink Competition each year.
