42. BONUS - Buffalo Trace Bourbon History and Review

Welcome to another trip down the Bourbon Road with your hosts, Jim and Mike. So grab a glass of your favorite bourbon and kick back.

We would like to thank Tommy and Gwen Mitchell from Log Heads Home Center for supporting this episode of the Bourbon Road. Find out more about their fine rustic furniture at logheadshomecenter.com. Hello, I'm Jim Shannon and this is The Bourbon Road. And today, well, it's just me in the studio. I know you're saying, what happened to the cold open? Things are sounding a little different. Well, we had to do things a little differently today because this week's episode will actually release tomorrow. This is all because Mike had the opportunity to sit down with Wes Henderson from Angel's Envy and chat about everything they have going on. And it just so happens that they have a new release that you're not going to want to miss. But the timing of the release meant that we needed to delay our show by one day. Well, we didn't want to disappoint all our listeners by not having a release on our normal schedule. So we cooked up this little bonus to give you a little something to hold you over till tomorrow. So I hope you enjoy Mike's review of Buffalo Trace with a little bit of history.

Hey, this is Big Chief from the Bourbon Road, and I come to you from Jep the Bin Farm out here in Shelbyville, Kentucky. When the American buffalo blazed a trail across the Kentucky landscape before European colonization, it leave huge tracks of land barren and cleared of all vegetation. One such site was the home of Buffalo Trace, it is said. So what better place to build a distillery than on cleared land right on the banks of the Kentucky River. Through the years, the distillery would produce some of the finest bourbon in history made by some of the largest tycoons of the whiskey industry. In 1999, the Sazerac Company completed renovations and rebranded this site, the Buffalo Trace Distillery. And the new Keystone brand that would blaze the way forward would be Buffalo Trace Bourbon Whiskey. This bourbon that is over eight years old of ridiculously amber goodness makes you step back in time to a simpler way of life. With hints of warm caramel and vanilla and honeysuckle on the nose, it teases you as if to say, take a sip. When it does hit your lips, you're greeted with a little brown sugar, buttery toffee, and just a little spice to remind you that there's a buffalo roaming inside that glass. It lingers on the tongue while the oak flavor arises and leaves you eager to take just another sip. Under $25, you can find it almost anywhere and as a must to have on your shelf. Great for mixing or just sitting by a fire sipping it neat. This is a very adaptable bourbon that is a go anywhere, do anything spirit. So what better way to honor America's native spirit than with an iconic majestic animal such as the American buffalo. Now, as many of you know, the distillery is right down the road from me and Jim in Frankfort, Kentucky. And what a beautiful distillery. In my opinion, it is probably one of the best distillery tours you can go on. Still free today. They'll take you through the bottling room, take you into Rick House and let you walk up to the barrels. They take you into the tasting room, let you taste a couple of their expressions there. and also give you a bourbon ball. Some other nice things that are around that area is a place called The Stave. We've talked about that place on the show a couple of times. It's down between Woodford Reserve and Castle and Key. If you want a southern meal that you can just kick back and enjoy, that's a place to go. It's like getting your grandma's home cooking. Then you want to head up to Rebecca Ruth Candies and grab some bourbon balls. Now, a little secret to everybody, and we got to keep this quiet, is if you ask them for the boo-boos, the messed up ones, they'll cost you about half the price. You can buy them by the pound like that. So don't tell them we told you that. So I'm sitting here tonight out at the farm and I'm actually sipping on a glass of Buffalo Trace bourbon. And just as my review, as I said, this is it's got a nose of honeysuckle and caramel and vanilla. And when you sip it, it's got that sweet taste and it coats your mouth. This is a great drinking bourbon. And me and Jim, we talked to you last episode about how we're going to rate our bourbons or review them. And we said we're either going to say you can mix them, you can sip them, or you can share them with friends. Sharing with friends is just an awesome bourbon. And it's $25. This is a bourbon that can do all three. When I said in my review that it was very versatile, it is. I've often given this bourbon away to friends for gifts, to market occasions. You come over to my house, I'm always going to have a bottle on the shelf. I think you can go to almost, let's say any bar in America, but any bar in Kentucky is more than likely going to have a bottle of this on the shelf for you to try. I know some states are having a hard time finding it, but if you do see it, pick up a bottle, put it on your shelf. It's not a break the bank kind of bottle. And it is actually a beautiful bottle when you look at it. A nice drawing of an American bison on the front of it. Still got a cork in it. And the bottle itself would almost make you think it's something that a frontiersman on the planes would have had with him. For a newer bourbon in the game, Buffalo Trace certainly did a great job on this. They spent plenty of time making sure it was right before they put it out and what a success it has been. I don't think I've read many reviews with anybody like bashing it or saying anything bad about it. It is just a lovely expression. So until tomorrow, I say cheers to you. I'm gonna keep sipping on this Buffalo Trace.

Well Mike, well done on the review of Buffalo Trace bourbon. Next time, you're sharing a bottle. I'll take it. We'd like to invite everyone to come on and hang out at our Facebook group called The Bourbon Roadies. It's a lot of fun and a great place to meet like-minded people. Make sure you follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at The Bourbon Road. And be on the lookout and listen for tomorrow's episode with Wes Henderson of Angel's Envy. And remember, it's your bourbon.