Mount Pleasant distillery Southern Grace won the title of best young bourbon at the recent New Orleans Bourbon Festival. Conviction, named so because the distillery is an old prison, took top honors in the Bourbon Under 4 Years category. Kentucky-based Neeley Family Distillery took the silver medal. The winner in the four-years-plus aged bourbon category was Henry McKenna.

Southern Grace’s Conviction Small Batch Bourbon has a mash bill of 88 percent corn and 12 percent barley. The bourbon is aged in 15-gallon barrels, helping add flavor from the barrel faster. The standard barrel size is 53 gallons. Distillers will often hand-select the bottles entered in these contests; if you’re looking to purchase the exact bottle that won the prize, it was batch 306.

It’s been a good year for Conviction; they also got a review written by Peggy Noe Stevens in American Whiskey magazine. Stevens is of the famed Noe family behind Bookers, and the first female certified master taster. Her 8.5 rating of Conviction beats out staples such as Wild Turkey Longbrach (7.6) and Angel’s Envy Port Wine Finish (8). Read Stevens’ tasting notes here.

Conviction bourbon can be found at ABC stores for $43.45. —Kristen Wile

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