Buffalo Traces Mashes the Col. Taylor Way

So, here's the story. There was this gentleman named Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., a Bourbon pioneer and great-nephew of President Zachary Taylor who, says Buffalo Trace,  was "the man who introduced the first climate controlled aging warehouses, used a patented sour mash technique, and fought for the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 will have a line of premium whiskeys bearing his name."

It's that middle thing we're paying attention to here. With most Bourbons, the sour mash method is to take a bit of mash from the previous batch of whiskey, toss it in the new batch, and let the fermentation get busy. But Taylor had his own ways. According to Buffalo Trace, he would not use sour mash from the previous mix, but would give the new mash ample time to sour itself. The new release was distilled in 2002 and then aged for nine years, and bottled at 100 proof.

The whiskey has a pleasant, powerful, somewhat gamey aroma, plenty of citrus and slight floral notes, but also lots of bread-like qualities. It smells fat even before you drink it. The taste too, is big and round. It's not a delicate whiskey, but fullsome and big-hearted; meaty, yeasty and chewy with lots of orange and butterscotch and toffee. Water quiets down this character. I almost like this one better without a little water. I don't know if I would have noticed the different souring method without having been told upfront. But I would have noted the robust personality.

The Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon is the first of several new E.H. Taylor, Jr. whiskeys to be released over the next few years. "All of the Taylor whiskeys will be distinctive. Most will be very limited," said Kris Comstock, brand manager. Each offering will showcase a vintage label and canister, reminiscent of Taylor’s bottles nearly one hundred years ago. "We designed the current bottle to replicate antique bottles made by Taylor back in 1913," added Comstock. $70 is the price. 

Buffalo Traces Finds Some Lost Barrels, Sells Them

As happens more and more frequently at whiskey rickhouses these days, Buffalo Trace was kicking around their stores recently when they ran across a barrel or ten that they had completely forgotten about. And guess what? They bottled the contents! And they are for sale now under the company's Experimental Collection moniker. (I'm beginning to think that I could sneak into a rickhouse and make off with a couple of barrels of booze and the distillery would never notice for years.)

Some explanation from Buffalo Trace's Kris Comstock: "In 1998 we acquired the Old Charter brand, along with a large inventory of barrels, approximately 150,000. In a recent audit of our barrel inventory, we found some barrels from this lot. One was empty, one tasted horrible, and the others tasted very nice. Of course we bottled the very nice barrels and are offering these rare finds under our Experimental Collection label."

There are three different offerings, distilled back in 1989, 1991 and 1993. In all instances, the still proof and entry proof are unknown. For me, the 1991 is the clear winner here. There's a deep candy character to the nose, with Sherry notes, and the flavor is rich, dark and nutty. The distillery's tasting note of black walnut is dead on. A very interesting Bourbon. 

I thought the 1989 whiskey was slightly past it's prime. (Contrary to popular belief, whiskey doesn't just get better and better as it ages. Often it peaks and then heads south.) The primary characteristics of the 1989 were woody and tannic, as well as a heavy does of iodine, even some metallic notes. These pretty much overwhelm the vanilla and orange zest flavors. 

The 1993 was something different altogether, sweeter and more candied than the others, and definitely more mellow and creamier. All are priced at $46 and are out in February.