American Craft Spirits Association Announces 2025 Heartland Whiskey Competition’s Four Farmer-Distiller Awards in Three Categories

All other Heartland awards will be announced August 26

The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) today announced the recipients of the Farmer-Distiller program of the 2025 Heartland Whiskey Competition. Starlight Distillery in Borden, Indiana, claimed the prestigious Top Farmer-Distiller award—the competition's most challenging honor, determined by the highest average score across three judged spirits from a single qualifying distillery. To qualify as a farmer-distiller, participants must both own a distillery and operate a working farm.

“This was an impressive showing from corn farmers who own distilleries, showcasing their ability to produce top-tier products and develop high-quality grain for distilling – grain that benefits craft distillers across the board,” said Paul Hodgen, a corn farmer from Roachdale, Indiana, and Indiana Corn Marketing Council Board Member. “ICMC, together with other state checkoff organizations, is proud to sponsor this competition to raise awareness of the many uses of corn.”

The Farmer-Distiller: Best Bourbon resulted in a numerical tie, with two distilleries sharing the honor. Queens Reserve, a product of Wood Hat Spirits in Florence, Missouri scored identically to Bloody Butcher Bourbon, which is produced by Pathfinder Farm Distillery in Boonsboro, Maryland. Both distilleries will receive awards.

Farmer-Distiller: Beyond Bourbon goes to Tobacco Barn Distillery in Hollywood, Maryland, for its Maryland Bourbon Cream. Tobacco Barn previously earned Top Farmer-Distiller in 2023.

Numerous corn farmers throughout the U.S. own and operate craft distilleries and submitted approximately 40 percent of this year’s entries, demonstrating the strong connection between agriculture and craft spirits production.

“We are very pleased by the enthusiasm that farmer-distillers have shown for this competition along with other craft distillers,” stated Margie A.S. Lehrman, CEO of ACSA. “With corn state support we’re able to promote the craft spirits industry and the important role that agriculture has in producing excellent spirits. The communication and information sharing on farming practices specifically for distilling is of great value to our members.”

The 2025 competition marked the fifth biennial Heartland Whiskey Competition, open to craft whiskeys incorporating corn in their mash bill. This blind-judging competition is generously sponsored by state corn marketing associations and ACSA facilitates the judging process. Former ACSA Board President Chris Montana, owner of Du Nord Social Spirits in Minnesota, served as Judging Director for the fifth time. Judges are selected from the spirits industry by ACSA and chosen for their knowledge of craft whiskey.

All other Heartland Whiskey Competition awards will be announced August 26.

Scoring and Medal Criteria

The scoring of whiskeys, with judges hand-selected from the North American spirits community, was based on a 100-point system with 10 main categories of consideration: Appearance (10 points), Aroma Intensity (10 points), Aroma Complexity (10 points), Palate Concentration (10 points), Palate Complexity (10 points), Body (10 points), Alcohol (10 points), Texture (10 points), Finish (10 points), and Pour for a Peer (10 points).

Whiskeys were then assigned a medal based on the average score determined by the following benchmarks: 70-79 = Bronze; 80-89 = Silver; 90-100 = Gold.

Best Farmer-Distiller was awarded to the top average score across three spirits among all judged whiskeys submitted by Famer-Distillers. Farmer-Distiller: Best Bourbon and Farmer-Distillery Beyond Bourbon were awarded to the spirits that scored highest in the bourbon category and all other categories respectively.

About ACSA

The American Craft Spirits Association is the only national registered nonprofit trade association representing the U.S. craft spirits industry. Its mission is to elevate and advocate for the community of craft spirits producers, and membership in ACSA is open to anyone. ACSA is governed by a Board of Directors elected by the eligible voting members of the Association. Voting members must be independent, licensed distillers (DSPs) annually removing fewer than 750,000 proof gallons from bond (the amount on which a Federal Excise Tax is paid).