Onyx & Amber Takes Top Honor as World’s Best American Style Whiskey in Debut Year
Copper Buffalo 2026 World's Best American Whiskey
Colorado whiskey brand's Copper Buffalo takes top honors in American Style Whiskey Category
DENVER, CO, UNITED STATES, February 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Onyx & Amber's Copper Buffalo has been named winner in the American Style Whiskey Category at the World Whiskies Awards 2026, held tonight at Louisville's historic Brown Hotel.
The recognition comes less than a year after the brand's launch and validates a decade of work that began long before Onyx & Amber existed as a company.
"We didn't set out to win awards," said Benjamin Rosen, founder of Onyx & Amber. "We set out to make whiskey that we actually wanted to drink—and to give people an experience that felt nothing like what the rest of the industry was offering. The fact that this is being recognized tells us we're on the right track, but honestly, the real validation happens every time someone comes into the distillery and doesn't want to leave."
Copper Buffalo is an 18-year American light whiskey blend finished in 16-year-old used bourbon barrels—a one-time expression that showcases both the depth achievable in long-aged American light whiskey and what Colorado's climate does to a barrel over time. The barometric pressure swings and dry mountain air create more interaction between whiskey and barrel wood, pulling water out while concentrating everything else. The result is a richer, more viscous spirit than the same distillate aged anywhere else. At seven years in Colorado, whiskey drinks like it's been aging for twelve.
The brand emerged from Rosen's ten years running Colorado Bourbon & Rye Collectors, a group that conducted over 150 single barrel selections and raised more than half a million dollars for charity. That immersion gave Rosen both the connections to source exceptional barrels and the understanding of what Colorado's environment could do to them.
Onyx & Amber operates from Denver, Colorado, with a Louisville experience opening in spring 2026, offering immersive barrel selection experiences and tastings focused on transparency, discovery, and genuine hospitality.
The first batch of Copper Buffalo is sold out. A second batch is currently finishing in used bourbon barrels and will be released later this year. It will follow the same philosophy but taste different—because, especially in Colorado, no barrels age the same way. Every release is a one-time expression. No reruns. Just new discoveries.
About Onyx & Amber
Onyx & Amber is a Colorado-based whiskey brand built on a decade of genuine immersion in the whiskey community. Founded by Benjamin Rosen, who spent ten years conducting over 150 single-barrel selections and raising more than $500,000 for charity through the Colorado Bourbon & Rye Collectors group—the brand was created to solve two problems: there was no great high-end Colorado whiskey, and the barrel selection experience that enthusiasts once loved had quietly disappeared after COVID.
Onyx & Amber sources exceptional whiskey and ages it in Denver, Colorado, where barometric pressure swings and dry mountain air create a richness and depth that can't be replicated anywhere else. The brand operates on three principles: transparency (tell customers exactly what they're drinking), patience (nothing leaves until it's ready), and discovery (embrace variance, not consistency).
Based in Denver with a Kentucky experience opening in early spring 2026, Onyx & Amber offers immersive barrel selection experiences and tastings. No reruns—every release is a one-time expression.
Benjamin Rosen
Onyx and Amber
+1 720-352-1507
ben@onyxandamber.com
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