Food & Wine reported on Sunday that Buffalo Trace announced the “biggest shakeup in decades” regarding its coveted Antique Collection. The brand is adding a new expression: E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond, and the whiskey will join the five core expressions during the fall release.
“As a founding figure who helped define bourbon quality — not just for Buffalo Trace, but for an entire industry — it’s only fitting that Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr.’s namesake brand takes its place among the collection,” Global Brand Director for Buffalo Trace Andrew Duncan expressed according to Food & Wine. “[BTAC] was originally created to celebrate our legacy brands and the visionaries behind them, giving whiskey enthusiasts access to some of the rarest and most exceptional expressions from our distillery. With this new release, we proudly pay tribute to Colonel Taylor’s enduring legacy of innovation and craftsmanship.”
E.H. Taylor clocks in at 100 proof, per Bottled-In-Bond regulations, and features the storied bourbon brand’s low-rye mashbill. Food and Wine shares that the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection offering should host a higher age statement than the core expression.
Taylor earned his spot in the canon of bourbon history for championing and establishing the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. Bottled-In-Bond regulations ensured that bourbon drinkers were getting “the real deal” when they purchased whiskey, according to Distilling.com.
Buffalo Trace iterates that Taylor was “a skilled politician” and made a huge impact in elevating the bourbon world. The Bottled-In-Bond Act served as a form of consumer protection, as many fake or subpar whiskeys circulated from opportunistic sellers at the time.
Food & Wine reported that Buffalo Trace received labeling approval from the government for the BTAC E.H. Taylor on the last week of April. Though Buffalo Trace remains private about most of the information for this new expression, the brand did share that the E.H. Taylor expression for the Antique Collection has “caramel corn sweetness” with “butterscotch and licorice.” The brand shares that the finish is gentle, with subtle spice and tobacco.
As far as pricing goes, it is highly likely this offering will fetch a pretty penny like its sister expressions within the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Though Buffalo Trace’s suggested retail prices are a charming $150 a pop, the secondary market typically inflates these prices to as much as thousands of dollars.
No responses yet