Blanton's The Original Single Barrel 750mL

Blanton's Original Single Barrel is the bourbon that started the single barrel category in 1984. Each 93 proof bottle comes from one barrel out of Warehouse H at Buffalo Trace and is topped with the brand's horse-and-jockey stopper.

About This Bourbon

This is the core Blanton's and the version sold in the US, bottled at 46.5% ABV (93 proof). Barrels are dumped and bottled one at a time, and the label is hand-written with the barrel number, warehouse, rick and dump date. The stoppers come in eight designs, each showing a horse and jockey at a different stride, and each one carries a letter; together they spell B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S, which many drinkers set out to collect.

Tasting Profile

• Nose: Caramel, vanilla, orange peel and polished oak, with a hint of nutmeg.
• Palate: Medium-bodied and sweet, with honeyed corn, baking spice, citrus and light barrel char.
• Finish: Medium to long, with vanilla, pepper and toasted oak.

Serving & Food

Try it neat first, then over a large cube in a rocks glass. It also makes a rich Old Fashioned. Grilled ribeye, barbecue pork or carrot cake suit it.

How to Enjoy

A first single barrel bourbon for someone new to the category, or a step up for the home bar.

Product Details

About the Distillery

Blanton's was the first modern bourbon sold one barrel at a time. Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee created it in 1984, a year before he retired, in honour of Colonel Albert B. Blanton, who joined the Frankfort distillery as an office boy in 1897, became president in 1921 and led it until 1952. The Colonel liked to pick his own "honey barrels" from Warehouse H for guests, and Lee built the brand on that habit.

Warehouse H is a metal-clad building, so it warms and cools faster than the brick warehouses around it and the spirit works in and out of the oak more actively. Blanton's is distilled at Buffalo Trace from its higher-rye Mash Bill #2, and each bottle is hand-labelled with its barrel, rick and dump date. The brand itself is owned by Age International, part of Japan's Takara group, which is why several versions exist only outside the US.