DENVER -- Colorado whiskey continues to impress, earning numerous accolades at a recent spirits competition and sweeping the podium for the best American-made single malts.

The International Whisky Competition, founded in 2010, announced the winners of its annual contest in late June and local distillers made an impressive showing while also keeping step with some of the country’s most notable whiskey producers.

Boulder’s Hogback Distillery won the third best American whiskey overall for its Peat Smoked Single Malt, coming in behind recipes from A. Smith Bowman Distillery and Jack Daniel’s, which placed first and second, respectively.

That specific Hogback spirit also earned a gold medal in the American single malt category, which Colorado makers swept. The silver went to the eponymous flagship single malt from Root Shoot Whiskey in Loveland and bronze went to Diamond Peak from Denver’s Stranahan’s distillery.

Stanahan’s stood out for its aged blends, too, taking home gold and bronze in the “best single malt 10 year and older” category. The winning recipes were the Mountain Angel 10 Year, which placed first, and the Mountain Angel 12 Year, which placed third.

Fort Collins-based NOCO Distillery also made an impressive showing, racking up three gold medals in the “best American small-batch bourbon,” “best American rye whiskey,” and “best American cask finish” categories. The Roper Reserve, from Larado Whiskey in Windsor, nabbed silver in the rye category, as well.

Lastly, the International Whisky Competition ranked the best Colorado spirits entered in 2025 based on their individual scores. Unsurprisingly, Hogback Distillery’s Peat Smoked Single Malt garnered gold, followed by NOCO Distillery’s RYE Whiskey, and Larado Whiskey’s Larado Reserve.

These recent accolades build on a stash that Colorado distilleries have amassed this year from the London Spirits Competition and the American Distilling Institute’s International Spirits Competition.

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