🥃Review #64: E.H. Taylor Small Batch Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon

🥃Review #64: E.H. Taylor Small Batch Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon - 2025

Named for Colonel E.H. Taylor JR (Kentucky Colonel - not a military man), this entry level offering honor's Taylor's commitment to quality as an early promoter of the bottled-in-bond act and designation. Relatively new to Buffalo Trace's portfolio, the brand was launched in 2011. Born in Kentucky, Taylor initially worked in banking, financing distilleries before acquiring the Old Fire Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery in 1869, named for expansive copper piping which Taylor believed would assist in eliminating impurities (stills are made of copper because it removes sulfur compounds and is naturally antimicrobial, though the time spent in transition lines is usually pretty minimal). After facing financial ruin on a number of occasions, he eventually sold a fairly successful operation to George T. Stagg in 1879 which would go on to be known as the Buffalo Trace of today. The E.H. Taylor lineup features this Small Batch, Single Barrel, Barrel Proof, Straight Rye, Barrel Proof Rye, and a number of limited smaller releases including one "Tornado Survivor" from when a storm ripped the roof off of the rickhouse.

🛒Sourced: $68.99 9 - Buffalo Trace Distillery, KY 750ml. Originally a $35-$40 bottle, the price has ballooned in recent years. This is an allocated product, but don't pay secondary market prices for it!

🧪Proof: 100 proof, 50% ABV per bottled-in-bond regulations

🎨Color: Y5 - Hay bale sun reflection. The bottle is distinctive, featuring the bottled in bond ribbon seal, large signature, and catchy yellow labeling, and many people will collect the cardboard cannisters as part of their home bar back decoration.

🥔Mash Bill: Undisclosed - Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 - "Low Rye" with <10% of rye content 75-80% corn and the remainder being malted barley for process. Entry proof is 125 and a #4 barrel char is used. NAS though all bonded whiskey is at least four years old and Buffalo Trace tends towards 6-8 years in brand quality guidelines though all bottlings are "selected for taste".

👃Nose: Cherry wood, cereal, and corn syrup in a bit of a slurry. Mild alcohol on the approach that stays throughout.

😜Palate: Field grass, brown sugar, and toffee chunks. A little bit of red stone fruit drifts in an out at the edge of my senses. Mouthfeel is medium thin and a little on the hotter side for the proof. I thought it was a bit warm at first crack and it still seems to be a comparatively rambunctious. Deeper into the glass I can pick out some butterscotch at the fore and candied fruit in transition to the finish.

💦Finish: Decent hug provided you've taken a good chew, predominantly a monotone woody sweetness. True to palate though a bit muted like the nose.

🏆 Overall: 6.75/10 - Great (with Air) - We'll see how it develops with some more air, but at first brush I like it about the same as the standard Buffalo Trace and much less than Benchmark full proof, both substantially cheaper. My main issue is that the flavors seem to be in a bit of a haze. It is hotter than I'm used to for a bonded but not outrageous, so I'm attributing the flavor impacts to the aging/batching. Heat will probably subside with a bit of time and air but I wouldn't be surprised if people who crack one for a special occasion report being disappointed. It's good workable whiskey with some nice sweetness and candy fruit flavors, but there are many bonded bourbons I prefer more.

2/7/2026 - With a bit more air you do get more of the red and dark berry flavors that better #1 bottles have. I do like this a good bit more now, but it's a shame it takes a third of the bottle to get there. Will need to see if resting a new bottle in the glass for around an hour helps (my usual 15 minutes was not adequate).

💵Would buy again? No, terrible value at current prices. Even if this opens up when a good deal with air, I can't see it justifying the price. Bardstown, New Riff, Chattanooga, and many more have great bondeds for less. Benchmark BiB isn't that much a step down and Full Proof is great. I'd imagine the full proof version of EHT will be a similarly large step-up. When EHT was around $35, this bottle made sense. Those days are gone and may never return even with BT's upgraded production and falling demand.

🙈Blind Tasting Results:

2/17/26 - Pepper Decanter Barrel Proof, Mckenna 10, EHT Small Batch, Old Fitzgerald 7-yr
2/4/2026 - Ben Holladay Soft Red Wheat, EHT Small Batch, ET BiB

⚖️Rating Scale:

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