Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon is the house bourbon of the Frankfort distillery that shares its name, and the bottle most people reach for first when they want to know what the place tastes like. It is made from corn, rye and malted barley on the distillery's low-rye Mash Bill #1 and bottled at 45% ABV.
About This Bourbon
The whiskey is distilled from the distillery's Mash Bill #1, a recipe of corn, rye and malted barley with a relatively low proportion of rye; the precise split is not disclosed. It rests in new charred American oak barrels and is bottled without an age statement at 45% ABV. This is the 700ml bottle.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Sweet corn and brown sugar, light caramel and vanilla, with a faint toffee and orchard fruit edge.
- Palate: Balanced and medium weight, showing caramel, vanilla and candied fruit, with a mild rye spice and gentle grain sweetness mid-palate.
- Finish: Medium, with vanilla, lightly toasted oak and a clean, slightly peppery close.
Serving & Food
Pour it neat at cool cellar temperature into a Glencairn, or over a big cube if the evening is warm. It is a natural base for a Manhattan or a whisky sour. At the table it pairs happily with barbecued pork ribs, honey-glazed ham or a salted caramel dessert.
How to Enjoy
A house bourbon for the drinks cabinet, useful for mixing and easy to recommend to guests who are new to American whiskey.
Product Details
Producer: Buffalo Trace Distillery
Origin: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA
Style: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
Mash: Mash Bill #1 (corn, rye, malted barley; low rye)
Cask: New charred American oak
ABV: 45%
Proof: 90
Volume: 700ml
About the Distillery
Buffalo Trace is owned by the Sazerac Company, a family-owned American firm that bought this Frankfort distillery in 1992 and put the Buffalo Trace name on both the site and this bourbon in 1999. The riverside campus, known in earlier eras as the O.F.C. and George T. Stagg distilleries, is a National Historic Landmark.
The same stills and warehouses supply a long roster of names, among them Eagle Rare, Blanton's, Weller, Sazerac Rye, E.H. Taylor, Jr. and the Antique Collection. Alongside them the distillery keeps an extensive programme of experimental barrels, and the lessons learnt there feed back into everyday bottlings like this one.