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According to the Blanton’s website, “The finest bourbon in the world comes from a single barrel. That’s the way Colonel Albert B. Blanton first bottled his private reserve bourbon nearly a century ago. Blanton believed the “center-cut” or middle sections of Warehouse H were the best for aging his bourbon. Personally tasting and choosing each barrel, these barrels were reserved and bottled for ambassadors, dignitaries, family and friends becoming the world’s first single barrel bourbon. His time-honored tradition lives on today as only a handful of barrels from the center of Warehouse H are selected to become Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon."
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Originally written by Evan for a blog post relating to KWM's 2019 Whisky Calendar.
Residing in Frankfurt, Kentucky, Buffalo Trace Distillery was once called the O.F.C. Distillery. Then it was called the George T. Stagg Distillery for a while. Buffalo Trace is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States, with records of distillation happening on the site going back as far as 1775. The first larger-scale distillery was built there in 1812 by EH Taylor, Jr. It is one of only a few American distilleries that managed to stay in operation during prohibition, obtaining a license to make whiskey for “medicinal purposes”. As you can see, the distillery and site have a lot of history, so much so that it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2013.
The distillery was only recently officially named Buffalo Trace, back in 1999 after a large number of renovations were undertaken by parent company Sazarac. Buffalo Trace Bourbon made its debut in August of the same year.
Like many Bourbon distilleries and brands, Buffalo Trace releases a slew of American Whiskey under a plethora of different names. Many of these brands have been at the epicentre of the Bourbon and American Whiskey boom that we have been seeing over the past six to seven years.
The brand that gets even non-whiskey drinkers speculating and trying to track down bottles is Pappy Van Winkle. You likely won’t find a bottle, but guess who makes it? Buffalo Trace.
Ever heard of George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, or Thomas H. Handy? All of these are part of what is known as the BTACs, which stands for the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.
Blanton’s? It is so hard to get ahold of right now that we get calls from the USA from enthusiasts trying to track down bottles. Same with the brands' Colonel EH Taylor and Stagg Jr. All three are made and bottled by and at Buffalo Trace Distillery.
Even Buffalo Trace itself and its 10-year-old sibling Eagle Rare Bourbon are hard to find in some states, being tightly allocated by their distributors. It is both a blessing and a curse for the distillery and parent company Sazerac. Every brand would love to be popular, but no brand wants to disappoint and infuriate prospective customers by being in limited stock or unavailable for large periods of time.