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Zuidam Distillers logo
Millstone 5 year old Black Label review
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White Horse whisky logo
White Horse Blended Scotch Whisky review
July 13, 2015

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey review

Buffalo Trace logo

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey broke some barriers against bourbon for me. Not quite so long ago, in 2013, Buffalo Trace was my first good encounter with bourbon. Somehow I had only tried American whiskey such as Jack Daniel’s or Jim Beam, for example. It is not amazing, that I bumped into good bourbon. But what was amazing – the price I got it for, 20€ for a 0,7 litre bottle. This is probably the most “bang for buck” dram I have ever encountered.

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey review

Buffalo Trace distillery is responsible for lots of good brands when it comes to American whiskey, such as: Eagle Rare, Van Winkle, Blanton’s, Elmer T. Lee, Sazerac Rye and W.L. Weller, just to name few.

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? Like a whisky from deep south

With this alcohol per volume level and the cheap price, I was amazed by the complexity of this bourbon. Whiskysite.nl tells me that this 40% ABV version has a mash bill of 80% corn, 10% rye and 10% malted barley. Whiskey Lately has information regarding the 45% ABV level version, that it has under 10% of rye. Which is the same recipe they use for George T Stagg, Eagle Rare 10YO and the Colonel EH Taylor bourbons.

Deep, rough and entertaining – a bourbon whiskey full of surprises. Like a Coen brothers movie. And while taking sips of this Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, it suddenly took me to deep south, to Mississippi. O Brother, Where Art Thou? I felt like I was in the scenery of that great movie. I went time traveling – I could imagine myself pouring a shot of this fine bourbon on a porch in Mississippi, USA. Buffalo Trace in its richness and complexity felt like “the Homer’s Odyssey of the deep south” by Coen brothers. O Brother, Where, o where have you been?

Mash bill:
80% corn, 10% rye and 10% malted barley
Colour: Deep amber
Nose: Very heavy aromas of great waxy honey with oak and spices. Sweet, minted vanilla as the “cherry on the top”.
Taste: Nice honey wax feel is present at the taste too. Richness of vanilla and oak with hints of leather and tobacco complementing the nice palate.
Finish: Lasts long with a bitter (rye?) aftertaste. Gets dry with oak and spices towards the end. Tobacco is there too.
Balance: Nice, totally different flavors from each other, making it rich. Combo of dark and rough notes, yet something for people with sweet tooth as well. Layered bourbon.

Scoring

86
Nose:Taste:Finish:Balance:
23
22
20
21
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Region: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA ABV: 40%
Johannes Lindblom
Johannes Lindblom
Finnish whisky enthusiast and the author of WhiskyRant! A digital marketing professional by day – a whisky reviewer and informer by night.

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