Jump to content

35 to 50 year old bourbon from Buffalo Trace is here


CUfan99
This topic has been inactive for at least 365 days, and is now closed. Please feel free to start a new thread on the subject! 

Recommended Posts

In 2068 I'll be 92 years old.  Or I won't be.  In any event, good for BT for continuing to think outside the box.  One barrel a day isn't stripping other brands, but even at 45 degrees I wonder how much will be left in that barrel after 50 years!

  • I like it 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, CUfan99 said:

Technically, it's only 20 years old, it's 1982 vintage. Let's just say 'The Last Drop' is fibbing with that label, distilled in 1982, bottled in 2018, 16 years in stainless steel.

"and then moved after 20 years from barrel to a stainless steel tank"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a non-issue for me.     I won't be drinking Bourbon of any age when the youngest of these 'long-aged' wonders comes to market.     Soooooo, in the words of Rhett Butler; I just don't give a damn.

  • I like it 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree that customers liken age to quality, but I think this also shows how ignorant customers can be.  I've had some old scotch that was absolutely delicious, and others that wasn't that impressive.  I think keeping it at a steady state seems odd to me (Scotch isn't kept at a steady state, although their temp variation isn't nearly what we see in Kentucky).  And just the additional cost of refrigeration over that period of time sounds like it is going to be wicked expensive.  But the temp is only one variable with the age.  New oak vs used oak seems like a pretty significant impact.  As others have pointed out - I likely don't expect to be around, and with them checking each year - I expect they would put an end to it if they saw it going downhill.  Or - cease mentioning it until it turned 35 yrs old and sell it at such a premium no one opens/drinks it :)  

 

While I'm not sure this will produce equivalent quality whiskey to scotch at that age, I do applaud them for trying it.  Who knows - it could be amazing!  We need some young SB'ers to start make a note to check back in :lol: 

  • I like it 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/30/2018 at 4:21 PM, GaryT said:

I agree that customers liken age to quality, but I think this also shows how ignorant customers can be.  I've had some old scotch that was absolutely delicious, and others that wasn't that impressive.  I think keeping it at a steady state seems odd to me (Scotch isn't kept at a steady state, although their temp variation isn't nearly what we see in Kentucky).  And just the additional cost of refrigeration over that period of time sounds like it is going to be wicked expensive.  But the temp is only one variable with the age.  New oak vs used oak seems like a pretty significant impact.  As others have pointed out - I likely don't expect to be around, and with them checking each year - I expect they would put an end to it if they saw it going downhill.  Or - cease mentioning it until it turned 35 yrs old and sell it at such a premium no one opens/drinks it :)  

 

While I'm not sure this will produce equivalent quality whiskey to scotch at that age, I do applaud them for trying it.  Who knows - it could be amazing!  We need some young SB'ers to start make a note to check back in :lol: 

Those are great points that you make, @GaryT. And to @dcbt's question of how much juice would be left in the barrel after 50 years, if they take their cue from Cognac and Armagnac producers, who encourage maturation conditions such that the best and oldest eaux-de-vies can go 40, 50, even 60 years, they'll be able to pull it off. The secret isn't just low temperature, but how they use humidity. Maturation stalls at 45 degrees F, and while keeping the temperature cool is crucial, being able to have constant humidity of around 72% (with a minimal yearly swing between 70 to 80%) is also a really big factor in how such spirits can be in oak for so long. One of the big problems that I see for the experiment is that racking the barrels isn't permitted without the age of the bourbon "stopping" at the first time it is racked. At any rate, if I live to be 108 years old, then I can't wait to see how this bourbon turns out.

  • I like it 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/30/2018 at 2:50 PM, Don Birnam said:

Technically, it's only 20 years old, it's 1982 vintage. Let's just say 'The Last Drop' is fibbing with that label, distilled in 1982, bottled in 2018, 16 years in stainless steel.

"and then moved after 20 years from barrel to a stainless steel tank"

Well the Last Drop is owned by Sazerac/BT so this isn't exactly new territory for them to be sneaky with numbers (see Old Charter or VOB BIB).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am generally a fan of attempts at innovation and product line extensions in the bourbon space.  Expanding beyond the norm can be a good thing.  But, there are 4 statements in the NYT article that trouble me in this endeavor:

 

1.  We want to get American whiskey on the same competitive footing as Scotch. As part of that goal, we have to conquer this aging thing. And we can’t get there naturally.”

 

 

2.  “Consumers think the older, the better, the more prestigious,” said Mark Brown, chief executive of the Sazerac Company, which owns Buffalo Trace

 

 

3.  But consumers are willing to pay big money for older whiskeys, so Buffalo Trace — producer of a host of renowned bourbons including W.L. Weller and Blanton’s — is going to try to make them.

 

 

4.  Most celebrated bourbons made in Kentucky are between four and 12 years old, and many experts, both distillers and critics, believe that’s where the whiskey’s sweet spot lies. 

 

 

The problem here here is that the reasons for going into this have nothing to do with making a “better” bourbon.  Heck, from their statements, they’re going in just hoping it doesn’t suck.  (It probably will, IMO.  If not suck, I wouldn’t expect many extraordinarily redeeming qualities).  This is simply an attempt to put some words and numbers on a label down the road that will hopefully fetch some large dollars from some taters pocket.  Sounds to me that they have the cart before the horse on this one.  

  • I like it 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can understand why you would age a bourbon 20 years.  Those bourbons are wonderful when aged in the right rickhouse locations.

 

And I almost understand why you would tank some bourbons in stainless steel.  Stretching that tanked Saz 18 all those years waiting for their barreled rye to mature to 18 years is a perfect example of that.

 

But I'm confused why you would tank a 20 year bourbon for 16 years.  Per the article, the contents only filled 44 bottles.  That's not a tank.  That's a garbage can.  I just don't see the point of tanking that small of a barrel (or batch).

  • I like it 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, DPPSmoker said:

But I'm confused why you would tank a 20 year bourbon for 16 years.  Per the article, the contents only filled 44 bottles.  That's not a tank.  That's a garbage can.  I just don't see the point of tanking that small of a barrel (or batch).

Short answer?   MONEY!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
On 10/30/2018 at 1:50 PM, Don Birnam said:

Technically, it's only 20 years old, it's 1982 vintage. Let's just say 'The Last Drop' is fibbing with that label, distilled in 1982, bottled in 2018, 16 years in stainless steel.

"and then moved after 20 years from barrel to a stainless steel tank"

 

So I can put my bottle of Lost Prophet, which is 21yr old Stagg distillery produce, into a can for 20 years and sell it for 4 grand? 

 

Sounds like a win.

 

They could also just bottle it and store it - it's just as inert in a bottle as it is in a stainless steel tank.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

I'm  more than happy with a 10 year old whiskey, but have to hand it to Buffalo Trace for pushing the envelope!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.