Buffalo Trace: the good stuff

“There will always be old barrels and bottles of whiskey. But friends and family won’t always be around.” – Freddie Johnson, Global Whiskey Ambassador and tour guide

Okay, finally, the procrastination is over. Time for a quick gloss-over of Buffalo Trace. This place has so many offerings and so much history that there’s no way to go into all of it in this dinky little column. Besides that, I don’t want to. So there’s that.

I know I’ve used this before, but I’m gonna do it again. If ever there was a distillery that resembled Duff Beer from The Simpsons, Buffalo Trace is it. I know you’re saying to yourself, “there you go Jon, being negative again.”

Yet, here’s the kicker: it works. That’s an understatement. Today they make some of the most iconic whiskey brands in the world, such as: Eagle Rare, Colonel E.H. Taylor, Weller, Blanton’s, and Elmer T. Lee just to name a few. As I mentioned before, Buffalo Trace is making an absolute fortune in the bourbon market.

Not to mention that quite a few of their bourbons are ground breaking. Examples, Jon? Sure. Blanton’s was the first “single-barrel” bourbon. Weller (which I’ve discussed previously) was the first wheated bourbon. Colonel E.H. Taylor (the actual guy) introduced modern manufacturing standards, including copper stills, that are used throughout the industry today. Pretty impressive.

So why the comparison to lowly Duff? Because it’s true, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. All of B.T.’s whiskeys that are within the same mashbill start out exactly the same. What makes them eventually different? Well, there are a variety of factors, such as aging (of course), rickhouse location: floor level, building materials used in the actual rickhouse, as well as proof and blending.

For example, Eagle Rare is the exact same whiskey (at first) as Buffalo Trace and lowly Benchmark. Yet it is aged in different areas of the rickhouses and for 10 years. I was sipping on some Eagle Rare the other night and it was blatantly obvious. It has the same beginning notes on the palate (which I don’t really care for – kinda harsh), then it becomes much more flavorful, complex, and smooth. Pretty good stuff.

Blanton’s is one of the most highly sought-after bourbons around. I have to admit that at my first few tries it didn’t blow my socks off. It’s growing on me. I recently saw on social media a gentleman who reasoned that Blanton’s isn’t disappointing, the expectation of it due to its scarcity is what makes people disappointed in it. Fair opinion. I think that opinion goes for many of Buffalo Traces wares.

A few years ago (very few), many of these Buffalo Trace bourbons were extremely difficult to find, and their prices were outrageous on the secondary market. Much of that has to do with good ole supply and demand. Let’s face it Buffalo Trace’s popularity skyrocketed and they just couldn’t keep up. Bourbon takes a long time to make, especially if it’s aged (duh).

It got to the point that even regular ole Buffalo Trace was allocated. I visited a liquor store in Ohio during this time period hoping to score a bottle of Weller Antique 107. I pulled into the parking lot and there was a line of 30 to 40 people standing in front of the building. I walked up and asked “what are you guys in line for?” “Buffalo Trace.” Are you kidding me?! It’s all settling down a bit now. Production and time has caught back up.

Anyhoo, I’m not going to go through and rate all of these Buffalo Trace offerings. Remember, I didn’t really want this to be a “bourbon review” column. Suffice it to say that they are all pretty darn good. Despite the fact that they are offshoots of the (in my opinion) pedestrian Buffalo Trace.

There is one that I do want to discuss (nope, not that one – yet). In my humble yet snobbish opinion, Stagg (formerly known as Stagg Junior) is one of the finest bourbons out there. The Googles list its flavor profile as “heavy notes of dark chocolate, rich vanilla, brown sugar, baking spices, and a sharp hit of cherry.”

Google got it right. This is truly one of my favorite bourbons. Deep, rich, powerful, with a 126- to 134-proof, and they weren’t kidding about the cherry. It hits you right off the bat. Absolutely delicious! Definitely in my top 10, which is a list that will be forthcoming at the end of the year.

The biggest problem with many of Buffalo Trace’s offerings is that they are in such high demand that they are extremely difficult to find (despite the recent catch-up), and that they are very pricey. Stagg is no exception. The MSRP for it is around $65; good luck getting it for that (unless you’re at the distillery when they happen to set a few out). The secondary market price is $135 to $170, and, unbelievably, I’m gonna say it: worth every cent.

There is one more Buffalo Trace scarcity that needs to be discussed. You all know what I’m talking about (at least all of you who are really into bourbon). The holy grail of bourbons: Pappy Van Winkle. I wish I had a bottle. That’s a discussion for next time. Until then cheers!

Jon Smyrnis is a lifelong Indianapolis area resident. He enjoys traveling, hiking, biking, kayaking, dining out, and, of course, fine cocktails and great bourbons.