Buffalo Trace Review

I discussed the Buffalo Trace distillery and its history here. Now, I'll review one of the several products it makes.

Buffalo Trace bourbon, taking its name from its mother distillery, is a dull orangy brown like a well used copper pot. Not too dark. Its nose is robust; layers of oiled leather and sweet vanilla mix together while notes of anise and citrus creep up at the edges. It smells both heavy and crisp. Mouthfeel is cool and coating, but more watery than syrupy until you swish it around your palate, when it finds some body. Taste reveals an astringency with a core of sweet caramel. The slight astringency is the only sharpness, and the bourbon keeps a strong presence. Hidden behind that is very subtle dankness that is rounded out a dry, grassy oakiness. Buffalo Trace finishes dry, so dry in fact that it seems to chase away most the flavors. But, the flavor that's left after a moment is surprising: ripe plums.

Buffalo Trace is a bourbon I come back to time and time again. While it may not be a bourbon that is always stocked in my liquor cabinet, it's always exciting welcoming it back.