Reviewed by: Nick
Tastes like bourbon.
Ok, I freely admit, that statement alone does not do this dram justice. After all, this is whisky made at one of the oldest distilleries in the world! And yes, I do include Scotland in this claim.
Buffalo trace was founded in 1787 at a small settlement called Lee’s Town, a town presumably established by someone called Lee. The title ‘Buffalo Trace’ was given to it much later, but refers to the 18th century name for the distillery’s location: a trail forged by American bison as they crossed the Kentucky River. Buffalo Trace continued sending whiskey up the river across the ensuing centuries – even during prohibition when it was given a permit to produce medicinal whiskey. Unsurprisingly it was a very popular remedy.
But how does it taste?
Like bourbon.
No!
Well, yes.
But it’s good bourbon!
On the nose is, as you’d expect, sweet corn and vanilla, but also present are subtle notes of cinnamon and brown sugar. The palate is lightly spicy with grassy oak notes. The finish is medium in length with flavours of toffee and honey.
All in all, Buffalo Trace is a great example of a bourbon. It’s accessible and, all things considered, pretty darn smooth. Best of all, it’s a bourbon with a story. It allows you to cast your mind back to the late 1700s when settlers battled to survive – and make whiskey on the side!
And it tastes like bourbon.
★★★
Whisky Waffle 
Hilarious review Nick 🙂
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Thanks very much! In according with the old Whisky Waffle adage: don’t take it too seriously!
Keep on waffling,
Nick
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Couldn’t agree more!! It does indeed TASTE LIKE BOURBON! A decent bourbon, but bourbon. Full stop. 🙂
By contrast we recently tried the AD Laws Four Grains Bourbon… it tastes like what a single malt drinker wishes bourbon tastes like…. rather than simply appreciating the impact ex bourbon barrels have on their favourite Scottish single malt! 😉
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That sounds awesome! I’d love to try a greater range of the American stuff, but we can usually only find the heavy hitters. But your comment has given me further motivation to keep looking.
Great, as always, to hear from you.
Keep on waffling,
Nick
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I would skip some of their other experiments, but their ‘standard’ is really quite good… We tried https://whiskylady.co/2016/11/05/american-adventures-ad-laws-four-grain-straight-bourbon-47-5/
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Good review Nick.
Ah, Buffalo Trace, my only full sized bottle of bourbon, ever. You really can’t count a 50ml miniature of Jack Daniels, especially as I never opened it.
I confess that I’m not a massive fan of the taste of sweet corn and vanilla, even with some modest additional trimmings. But it tastes great when mixed with Fever Tree Ginger Ale. Yum. And not too bad with coconut water either. Yes, apparently it’s a big deal as a whisky mixer in some parts of the world. Who knew? Not me until I started reading Dave Broom’s Whisky: The Manual. Thanks Dave.
Can I say the word “mix” on this blog without having a bottle thrown at me?…. 😉
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Hey there Chris. If I’m completely honest, I did buy it to make old fashioneds with. So mix is certainly not a dirty word. I then found it was fairly easy drinking neat. I can see why, though, if you’re not a big fan of bourbon you wouldn’t like this one. Because – shh – it tastes like bourbon!
Keep on waffling,
Nick.
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Riotous review Nick. It’s been awesome because I love the bourbon taste….
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Hey, thanks! Well if you like the bourbon taste then this is for you! And makers. And russells. And wild turkey. Ha ha, nah I’d take this one above all of them. Tastes like bourbon, you see! ;D Here are our thoughts in more detail:
https://whiskywaffle.com/2015/05/03/whisky-waffle-present-american-whiskey-week/
Keep on waffling,
Nick
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