🥃Review #10 Buffalo Trace Bourbon Whiskey

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon on a red blanked backdrop

Namesake of the most coveted large distillery in the US, the Flagship Buffalo Trace Bourbon is elusive in many parts of the country. The last time I had been able to find a bottle was before COVID until today! Let's see how it holds up vs. my memory.

📚Background: Buffalo Trace flagship is made from the famous Mash Bill #1 and is in good company with other highly sought after barrels such as Stagg, EH Taylor, and Eagle Rare. They have produced this flagship whiskey since 1999. You can find single barrel store pick editions, though expect to pay a good deal more for those. They've just completed a $1.2 billion expansion of their production operations and pushed a new still into operation in 2023, a one for one duplicate of the existing model. Whiskey takes time, so we likely won't see that production's impacts until 2030 or later.

🛒Sourced: $26.99 at Costco, GA - 750ml - starting to see these popping up every few weeks in two case batches, though they're gone in a day or two. Went last month at lunch for a hotdog and planned on coming back after work, believe it or not all gone in less than 4 hours. Drop day for the Perimeter Atlanta Costco is Wednesday. As of September 2024, the shipment size is up a good bit, around 10 cases now!

🧪Proof: 90, 45%

🥔Mash Bill: Mash Bill #1 (Undisclosed) - Low Rye, estimate: Corn 75%, 15% Barley, <10% Rye. No age statement but we know it's at least four years (straight bourbon whiskey without a noted age) and I would hazard it's somewhere around 6-8 years old based on the extent of flavor.

👃Nose: Sweet, vanilla and syrup, maker claims hints of mint but I would describe it as being closer to bergamot, definitely more of a fruit undertone on the palate. Very little proof.

😜Palate: Sweetness comes though very nicely, not sticky or overbearing. Oak, molasses and brown sugar make up most of the body though you can find some notes of cherry and the aforementioned Bergamot. More complex that I would have expected from a whiff. The proof comes across more as an acidity rather than alcohol, cherry compote.

💦Finish: Medium-Long, with sweetness that fades into the same cherry acidity, soft and smooth with perhaps a tiny bit of a licorice note at the very end.

🏆 Overall: 6.25/10 - Very Good - A lovely and balanced sipper. I'm happy I grabbed two and can certainly see why people frequently recommend this bottle, though I'm not sure it deserves to be hunted to extinction. For the price point, it sips very well and has developed flavors. If you like ice, keep it reasonable. Suspect melt may quickly destroy most of the complexity here.

Updated 4/20/24 - upgrading to a 6.5 - with a wee bit of air this whiskey opens up even more. The molasses deepens into toffee and caramel. Will continue to monitor as the bottle oxidizes.

Updated 9/26/24 - bottle at 50%, rating closer to 6. Double blinding this and Eagle Rare 10YR. The Eagle is for sure better.

Buffalo Trace Distillery backdrop on a sunny day water tower

💵Would buy again? Yes, always grab a bottle when I see it for SRP or less. They're great gifts and I'll drink it if it sits on my self for too long.

⚖️Rating Scale:

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume it by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfect.

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