E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch is the everyday face of the Taylor range at Buffalo Trace: a bottled-in-bond straight bourbon at 100 proof, blended from a small group of barrels. It is a good way to learn what the bonded style tastes like before moving on to rarer Taylor bottlings.
About This Bourbon
Bottled-in-bond means the whiskey comes from one distillery and one distilling season, spends at least four years in a federally supervised warehouse and is bottled at exactly 100 proof. Taylor Small Batch follows those rules and is made from Buffalo Trace's Mash Bill #1, the lower-rye recipe it shares with Eagle Rare and George T. Stagg. The bottle and label draw on Taylor's own packaging from more than a century ago, and each batch is put together from barrels picked for balance rather than sheer power.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Kettle corn, butterscotch and a thread of aniseed over light oak.
- Palate: Sweet corn and toffee up front, then liquorice and a firm, dry grip from the bonded strength.
- Finish: Soft to begin with, turning to black pepper and pipe tobacco.
Serving & Food
A rocks glass at room temperature suits it; one large cube takes the edge off the 50% without flattening the flavour. It also makes a sturdy Old Fashioned or Boulevardier. For food, think char siu, smoked brisket or a slice of banana bread with salted butter.
How to Enjoy
Everyday sipping and stirred cocktails, and anyone starting to explore bottled-in-bond bourbon.
Product Details
Producer: Buffalo Trace Distillery
Expression: E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Style: Bottled-in-bond straight bourbon whiskey
Mash Bill: Mash Bill #1
Age: No age statement (minimum 4 years under bond)
ABV: 50%
Proof: 100 proof
Volume: 750mL
About the Distillery
Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. was a great-nephew of President Zachary Taylor, served as mayor of Frankfort and sat in the Kentucky Senate, but his lasting mark was on whiskey. After the Civil War he established the O.F.C. Distillery on the ground now known as Buffalo Trace, and he fought for the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, which gave drinkers a government-backed guarantee of what was in the bottle.
The distillery is now part of the family-owned Sazerac Company. Several of the brick warehouses Taylor put up in the late 1800s still hold maturing whiskey, and the Small Batch is aged in those buildings.