It wasn't that long ago Buffalo Trace was a readily available, quality Bourbon you could grab for <$30. That's how it was when I started getting into whiskey, even if I wasn't drinking much American stuff at that point. The first time someone pointed out a bottle as some sort of unusual find I simply did not understand what was going on. Now the scarcity of the brand (and everything else they make) has only gotten more extreme. Everyone is looking for it and stores rarely have it. On Father's Day a woman in a local shop was hunting Trace since 'it's a Bourbon my dad likes' and I could only smirk and shake my head.
By and large I don't think Buffalo Trace intends to be sold out everywhere, it's more they're a beneficiary of the popular whiskey market and have done a good job turning their products into hot commodities. They just don't have enough to keep up with demand, though with a recently completed massive expansion in production there will likely be more on shelves in upcoming years. Or so you'd think.
When my wife and I visited the Bourbon trail in Kentucky in April, we did make a stop at the Buffalo Trace distillery. We learned that every day they have different bottles available and even the employees don't learn until shortly before open. Right at open is the busiest time as many people show up to see what they can get (before it's gone) and take home their allotment, creating a huge line at checkout that dissipates over the next couple hours. The day we visited they had Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Weller Special Reserve, White Dog, Bourbon Cream and Wheatley Vodka. I didn't feel like lugging any of those bottles around or packing them home, even at solid prices, so I might've been the only person in there that didn't grab something. If anything I regret not getting one of those Bourbon Creams. Fwiw I will usually grab BT or baby Saz if I see it and it's a reasonable price at home or elsewhere where space isn't at a premium.
A huge part of Buffalo Trace is its lore. We did the 'Trace Tour' and that was a majority of what we heard about. If you're interested in their production there are other, better tours to take but without booking one in advance we took what we could get. It's kind of annoying you need to do multiple tours there to get a full experience, but unlike anywhere else the tours they do are free, which is pretty cool. Anyway here's a quick history. The first building on site was constructed in 1792, the same year Kentucky became a state. In 1811 the first warehouse (not exclusively for whiskey) was built, and distilling by a man named Benjamin Harrison Blanton soon began. In 1870 (Colonel) Edmund H Taylor acquired the property and built the Old Fire Copper (O.F.C.) distillery. George T Stagg bought it in 1878, with Taylor staying to run the place. Tragedy, in the form of lightning, struck in 1882 and the distillery burned down. It was quickly rebuilt. Steam heating of warehouses, an innovation for the industry, was first used in 1886. In 1904 the distillery was renamed for Stagg. During Prohibition, 1919-1933, they were one of the few outfits allowed to distill for 'medicinal purposes.' They were purchased by a corporation in 1929. 1984 saw the release of Blanton's, the first ever single barrel whiskey. New Orleans-based Sazerac Company purchased the distillery in 1992 and still owns it today. In 1999 they re-branded as Buffalo Trace and first released the now flagship Bourbon. A consistent theme was a ton of expansion, with big investments in the 1870s-80s and 1930s. That most recent, at $1.2 billion, began in 2015.
Even if you're only casually interested in whiskey you'll recognize several names, as they appear on highly-sought Buffalo Trace products. Blanton's is one of those that everybody wants and the price has skyrocketed in recent years (my review of the Original). Colonel EH Taylor has become that way too, unfortunately (my review of the Small Batch). George T Stagg is I think the most well known of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, annually released special bottles you'll likely need to win a lottery to purchase, and even its 'Jr.' version will run you at least a couple hundred dollars if you find it.
This distillery makes a silly number of whiskey brands, though it doesn't have all that many mashbills so that's how we'll break them down. This is still somewhat a challenge because even their own website doesn't list everything they make. From Buffalo Trace mashbill #1 comes: Buffalo Trace, Benchmark (cheap, screw-top), Old Charter (another screw-top), Eagle Rare (more refined), Colonel EH Taylor (premium) and the Staggs (ultra-premium). The difference between these bottles is bottling proof and age/location in their tall warehouses, it makes a big difference whether they're up high or down low. Mashbill #2 is higher rye and is used in: Ancient Age (cheap, screw-top), Elmer T Lee (single barrel), Rock Hill Farms (single barrel), Hancock's Reserve (single barrel) and Blanton's (single barrel). All four single barrels seem to be premium products and have the expected inflated markets. Next, BT has a wheated Bourbon brand, Weller, more on that in a bit. They also make Rye, including Sazerac, namesake product of the ownership company. Finally, they produce the Van Winkle brand (including 'Pappy'). These are very well aged, mostly very sweet wheated Bourbons that have taken on legendary status in the whiskey world, going for thousands of dollars a piece if you ever see one at all. Pappy's influence has made Weller, the other wheater from BT, an increasingly popular product as well. There's more too, but this is more than enough. The long and the short of all this is Buffalo Trace makes a whole bunch of whiskey and nearly all (excepting the screw tops basically) either don't appear on shelves or are way marked up.
Let's bring it back in. The focus of this post is the review the flagship, Buffalo Trace straight Bourbon whiskey. While hard to find I will see it from time to time, even in Minnesota, and then usually for a reasonable price. You just do need to be on the lookout and get lucky.
ABV - 45% (90 proof)
Mash - BT mashbill #1, not disclosed (a guess: 87% corn, 8% rye, 5% malted barley)
Maturation - new charred American oak
Age - no age statement, at least 2 years (thought to be ~8 years on average)
Location - Frankfort, KY
Price - ideally $30-35
Tasting Notes:
Nose - Burnt sugar, some booze, orange I think too
Color - Average amber
Taste - Caramel and vanilla, just enough spice to know it's there, wood
Finish - Pretty long and enjoyable, sweetness with a little tickle in your throat
Final Thoughts:
Here's the thing, this is a really solid Bourbon, with maybe the quintessential Bourbon profile. It has full, well-rounded flavor, at below 100 proof, favoring sweetness over spice, and it works well neat or in cocktails. Plus it continues to be well priced, when you find it.
That's the rub. I'll still grab a bottle if I see it to have one on hand, as much for sharing as for myself. But what was an awesome value has become a hassle, and more so for their premium brands. Even if the whiskey is good it's not worth the effort with so many other good options out there. I dunno, the scarcity is kind of making me sour on them overall. Let's hope we actually see more on shelves in the coming years.
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