Onyx & Amber wins Double Platinum for Guest Blender Series #1

By AI, Created 2:31 PM UTC, May 26, 2026, /AGP/ – Onyx & Amber’s Guest Blender Series #1, a 7–12 year bourbon blend made with Colorado whiskey veteran Ryan Negley, earned Double Platinum at the 2026 ASCOT Awards. The blind-judged win gives the Denver brand its top competition honor so far and underscores the appeal of one-time releases built from now-depleted barrels.

Why it matters: - The Double Platinum medal is the highest tier at the ASCOT Awards, giving Onyx & Amber a top-level third-party validation in its debut year. - The award reinforces the brand’s one-time-release model, where each blend disappears when the barrels are gone. - The recognition may help drive attention to the company’s limited future releases, including batch #2 in July.

What happened: - Onyx & Amber announced that Guest Blender Series #1 won Double Platinum at the 2026 ASCOT Awards in the Blend of Straight Bourbon category. - The winning whiskey is a 7–12 year bourbon blend created by Colorado spirits veteran Ryan Negley. - The ASCOT Awards judged the spirits blind, with no brand names or labels on the bottles. - The competition awarded Double Platinum only to entries that earned top marks from every judge on the panel.

The details: - Benjamin Rosen, founder of Onyx & Amber, said the blend came from nine barrels that no longer exist. - Ryan Negley is a co-founder of the Denver Whiskey Club, launched in 2010. - Negley has more than 12 years of craft distilling experience. - His background includes roles at Boulder Spirits, Deerhammer Distilling and Peach Street Distillers. - Onyx & Amber created the Guest Blender Series to invite outside blenders to work with its sourced and Colorado-aged whiskeys. - Each Guest Blender Series expression is intended to be a one-time collaboration. - Series #1 was blended from nine barrels of sourced bourbon aged in Colorado. - The company says Colorado’s barometric pressure swings and dry mountain air concentrate the spirit over time. - The brand says the result is a richer, more viscous and more layered whiskey than the same distillate aged elsewhere. - ASCOT was created by spirits personality and veteran tasting judge Fred Minnick. - The company says ASCOT is the industry’s fastest-growing spirits competition. - Guest Blender Series #1 is currently sold out. - Batch #2 is slated for July. - Current availability and purchasing information are listed at the company’s website.

Between the lines: - The award fits Onyx & Amber’s broader positioning around transparency, patience and discovery. - The blind-judged result matters because it separates the whiskey’s score from branding or story. - The “will never be made again” framing turns scarcity into part of the product identity. - The Colorado aging claim suggests the brand is using place as a differentiator as much as barrel selection.

What’s next: - Onyx & Amber plans to release batch #2 in July. - The company continues to offer appointment-only Kentucky experiences in Louisville. - More information is available at onyxandamber.com.

The bottom line: - Onyx & Amber turned a one-off collaboration with Ryan Negley into its highest competition win yet, and the sold-out release now has a medal to match its scarcity.