THE HIGH-PROOF VARIANT OF BUFFALO TRACE’S AWARD-TOTING BLANTON’S SINGLE BARREL IS A GLORIOUS RIDE FOR BOURBON AFICIONADOS, WITH A STORY NEARLY A CENTURY IN THE MAKING

BY EVAN MONROE

In 1984, at a time when lower-end bourbon sales were tinkering, Buffalo Trace’s Master Distiller Emeritus Elmer T. Lee shook up the industry with the debut of the world’s first commercially sold single barrel. It was dubbed Blanton’s as an ode to the Kentucky distillery’s president from 1921 through 1952, Colonial Albert B. Blanton, who stored a private reserve of his own single barrel in Warehouse H to pour for his most illustrious guests at his many swanky parties.

Lee’s expression, made from a mash bill of corn, rye, and malted barley and bottled at 93 proof, quickly swept accolades and became one of the world’s most sought-after American bourbons. Upon its smashing success, Buffalo Trace launched Blanton’s Gold, a potent, 103-proof variant, though stateside bourbon fans had to track down bottles overseas for years until the distillery finally brought the Gold label to U.S. retailers in summer 2020.

Released annually, Blanton’s Gold is chill filtered and aged in a single white oak barrel, then dried for six months, never once blended with another bourbon during the aging process. It boasts the same sour mash bill as its younger brother, and while the duo does share similar tasting notes of honey and caramel, the Gold offers a more complex nose of dark fruit and citrus.

The sip is gloriously complex, blending rye and tobacco with whispers of honey, apricot, butter, and pepper. The finish is rich and slow – a long savor – marked by toffee and apple that melt into pecan and caramel at the finale. The bottle is also a collectible, topped with one of eight horse and jockey stoppers that line up to spell b-l-a-n-t-o-n-s. $499.99, circuswines.com