Louisville Man Competing In Final Round Of World's Top Whiskey Taster
By Ginny Reese
December 2, 2021
A man from Louisville is representing the Southeast Region in the final round of the World's Top Whiskey Taster competition, reported WDRB.
The competition is hosted by Bardstown Bourbon Company, and five tasters made it to the final round. The five finalists are:
- Ben Ward- Manhattan, New York, NY
- Michael James Outcalt- Denver, CO
- Michelle Hagen- Cincinnati, OH
- George LaBoda- Los Angeles, CA
- Jake Lewellen- Louisville, KY
Lewellen grew up in Louisville and is a bourbon podcaster on the side. He said the first round of the competition was a video application. He answered a series of Bourbon-related questions on camera. Because of that application, he was selected out of thousands to compete in the tasting semi-finals in Atlanta.
The winner of the competition will receive a $20,000 cash prize, a scholarship to Louisville's Moonshine University for distilling training, and an opportunity to blend their own barrel of bourbon.
The final round of the competition will take place on December 11th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bardstown Bourbon Company.
You can stream the competition online or you can buy tickets by clicking here.