The good folks at Buffalo Trace are known as the “mad scientists” of the distilling world. Apart from their impressive array of brands and unique bottlings, they also have undertaken a massive project experimenting with different grains, mash bills, maturation and even oak barrels cut from either the top or bottom of a given tree, for example, to age their spirits. All of this in the pursuit of making a better bourbon. We thank them for their efforts, even for the ones that are just plain weird.
But today we look at their standard bourbon bottling bearing their distillery namesake, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon. For a fairly inexpensive and widely distributed brand, we find this a refreshing option of quality. It is batched together from 25-30 barrels and is a mixture of two mash bills. The specific percentages of the grains are not known, although it seems that rye is not prominent in the taste. Read on to see what we thought of it…
SWC Group Review
Nose – Complex, nutty. Rye notes of spice with a floral quality. Of course, some zesty oak with the obligatory vanilla notes. Peachy.
Taste – Sweet spice. Bold, toffee, oaky vanilla. An intriguing note of coffee.
Finish – Long, hints of rye. Citrus, buttery sweet and oaky. Strong depth.
Comment – Complex, great from start to finish. Gentle but with some surprises. Enjoyable and a drinkable delight. The small amount of rye really punched through.
SWC Rating- 84/100
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