Time to address the buffalo in the room.
Buffalo Trace has been roaming around the bourbon market since 1999, even though its distillery has existed for more than 200 years. So why, exactly, did it take so long for a namesake bourbon to emerge? Well, because the name “Buffalo Trace Distillery” also didn’t exist until 1999.
The Buffalo Trace Distillery has been tangled up in bourbon history basically since the beginning – a fact they definitely won’t let you forget. The land for the distillery was settled sometime around 1775, before Kentucky was even a state, and has been churning out whiskey ever since. Originally known as the “O.F.C Distillery” when owned by Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. in 1870 and then the “George T. Stagg Distillery” when owned by George T. Stagg (how humble) in 1907, the buffalo name finally emerged after the distillery was purchased in 1992 by the Sazerac Company. The spirits mega-corp spent 7 years renovating the distillery and reopened it as the Buffalo Trace Distillery after the buffalo migration path used by the pioneers who founded Kentucky and the distillery.
Hopefully those buffalos are getting some royalty checks, since Buffalo Trace now sits as one of the top ten best selling bourbons in the world. The now flagship bourbon outpaces the 15 other brands from the distillery, including the older and more upscale offerings. But the poor little buffalo developed quite the Icarus complex as overall demand for bourbon grew and the distillery focused on premier products aka products that take a heck of a long time to age.
Essentially, the distillery had a really hard time meeting demand. To be fair, most distilleries struggled through the same thing for a while. However, as Buffalo Trace products became harder to find, they also became more expensive, which only made them appear more sought after, and then even harder to find. The fun supply and demand cycle is only recently starting to break, but a lot of Buffalo Trace products (Blanton’s, Pappy Van Winkle, or E.H. Taylor) still seem harder to find than Moctezuma’s treasure or Atlantis.
Of all of the collections, Buffalo Trace bourbon is definitely the easiest to find these days, but with all the hype and Indiana Jones-esque hunting to get it, the big question is : Is it actually worth it? The short answer: Absolutely yes.
The smell of this bourbon starts with strong waves of caramel, vanilla, and oak. The flavor is very sweet, but light with brown sugar, more vanilla, and a hint of rye pepper before rolling into a subtle clove and oak finish. It’s an incredibly smooth and balanced bourbon with the perfect hint of sweetness. Somehow, Buffalo Trace manages to be a fantastic entry-level bourbon that can still be appreciated by bourbon enthusiasts. The price, in most places, also remains reasonable at around $40, so it really all comes down to inventory.
Just like the animal it’s named for, Buffalo Trace may not be available in large numbers, but that just makes finding one all the more fun.
STATS: Buffalo Trace Bourbon
- Price for us: $35 for 750 mL
- Proof: 90
- Aged: NAS
- Distillery: Buffalo Trace, owned by Sazerac Company
- Recommendation: Neat
