Buffalo Trace

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Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
45% ABV/90 Proof
$20 to $25
Widely Available

What the Distillery Says
Light bronze in color with streaks of gold, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey bears a complex aroma of vanilla, mint, and molasses. Its taste is pleasantly sweet and contains notes of brown sugar and spice that give way to oak and leather. The long and dry finish has significant depth. When enjoyed with water, flavors of toffee, dark fruit and anise are revealed.

What Richard Says:
Nose: It takes a little water to open the nose up but when you do you’re rewarded with fruity sweetness, cereal notes of corn, cherry blossoms, honey, vanilla, and a hint of mint.
Palate: Smooth, measured, and flavorful. Creamy, vanilla, and oak. Classic bourbon.
Finish: Dry. It fades away slow and steady.
Comments: Wow, I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to review Buffalo Trace! It’s been a personal favorite of mine since the first time I tried it almost a decade ago. When it was originally released it was touted as being around nine years old. I’m not sure if that’s still the case but this is a fine bourbon. It has great flavor and works equally well in cocktails and by itself both on the rocks and straight up. When you also consider that it can be had for at or around $20 a bottle I really couldn’t recommend this more. They also don’t water it down to 80 proof like some other bourbons. (you know who you are)
Rating: Must Try, Great Value

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Buffalo Trace Millennium Auction

/ / Bourbon, Richard's Blog

Would you like the chance to get a little piece of whiskey history and donate to a good cause? Here’s your chance. A silent bid charity auction has started for bottle number 93 of the Buffalo Trace Millennium Barrel. Here are details on the bottling:

On December 31, 1999, the dawn of the century’s turn, one barrel of Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey was rolled into famous Warehouse “V”, the world’s smallest bonded aging warehouse. This one-of-a-kind Millennium Barrel yielded 174 bottles, each bottled by hand and individually numbered. But in addition to finely aged smoothness, each bottle was also destined to lend its value to benefit charitable organizations, making it a truly generous spirit.

Sure to begin bidding wars among bourbon aficionados, each Millennium Bottle comes in a numbered, lined hardwood showcase box that includes a piece of this historic barrel’s charred oak stave.

The current auction runs through October 8, 2011 at 7:00PM EST. All proceeds benefit the Kentucky Employees Charitable Campaign. If you want to get in on the auction you can submit your bid by calling Elly Hixon at 502-564-7250 from 8 AM to 4 PM Monday through Friday or via email at Elly.Hixon@ky.gov. Alternatively, if you want to place an after hours bid you can call 502-330-7889.

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Jefferson’s Presidential Select 18 Yr

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Jefferson’s Presidential Select 18 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Batch 28 Bottle No. 1061
47% ABV/ 94 Proof
$80
Available in select U.S. markets

What the Distillery Says:
Jefferson’s Presidential Select is an ultra-rare, ultra-premium bourbon, bottled from the last year in operation of Louisville’s renowned Stitzel-Weller Distillery. This 94-proof, 18 yr old bourbon is a limited offering with a big robust nose and taste balanced with the trademarked Jefferson’s smooth finish.

Nose: Big vanillas with full character, citrus, apple, subtle caramel and assorted nuts
Taste: Balanced and sultry, English toffee, cinnamon, leather
Finish: Long and rounded

What Richard Says:
Nose: More wood, mellow, a little more coy than the 17 yr, less alcohol heat, caramel
Palate: A little hotter, woodier and slightly sweeter than the 17 yr. A little less cinnamon.
Finish: Pepper, oak, very dry. Vanilla comes through at the end. There’s a not so great char flavor that lingers for a while.
Comments: The flavors of the 18 year are more muted and hidden behind more oak than the 17 year. It’s not worse. It’s just different. They only thing I didn’t like was the lingering char on the finish. That would probably put the 18 year below the 17 year on a comparative scale.
Rating: Must Try

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Jefferson’s Presidential Select 17 Yr

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Jefferson’s Presidential Select 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Batch 3 Bottle No. 818
47% ABV/ 94 Proof
$80
Available in select U.S. markets

What the Distillery Says:

Jefferson’s Presidential Select is an ultra-rare, ultra-premium bourbon, bottled from the last year in operation of Louisville’s renowned Stitzel-Weller Distillery. This 94-proof, 17 yr old bourbon is a limited offering with a big robust nose and taste balanced with the trademarked Jefferson’s smooth finish.

Nose: Big vanillas with full character, citrus, apple, subtle caramel and assorted nuts
Taste: Balanced and sultry, English toffee, cinnamon, leather
Finish: Long and rounded

What Richard Says:
Nose: Rich and slightly fruity with a floral sweetness.
Palate: Floral (lavender and rosewater) and slightly astringent. It’s rather woody with a noticeable does of cinnamon on a cherry-type fruit. It kind of reminds me of Big Red chewing gum and Luden’s cough drops.
Finish: Notes of lavender with a big dose of cinnamon and oak. Very dry.
Comments: This is a very nice older wheater. It’s not quite as good as Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year or even the 15 Year from a few years back but it’s close. This is the last of the of old stock from the now closed Stitzel-Weller distillery. It’s really sad to see it go. If you’re a fan wheated bourbon I would put this on your buy list.
Rating: Must Try

Side Note: You’ll notice the bottle reviewed here was from Batch 3. I’ve tried several of the batches from the 17 Year bottlings and personally I don’t get much difference. That’s just me. The 18 Year is also the same stuff but they didn’t start bottling it until a year later. I believe the first 25 or 26 batches were 17 years old and then the 18 Year Old picks up there.

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Bourbon-o-licious!

/ / Richard's Blog

September is National Bourbon Heritage Month. It has been since Congress declared it so in 2007. Bourbon is officially “America’s Native Spirit.” It has been since Congress declared it so in 1964. I’m not going to argue with Congress. They do that enough with themselves these days. So all month long we’re going to clean out the Whisk(e)y Apostle shelves and post bourbon reviews. Buffalo Trace, Evan Williams, Four Roses, and a whole bunch of others. No rye whiskey, no Tennessee whiskey (technically it is bourbon but we’ll give Tennessee their own month of reviews), just bourbon. Stay tuned.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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