pepcycle Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 Opportunity is what it is. On Friday night, Jeff and I had the motive and the opportunity to do a side by side between two single barrel versions of Buffalo Trace. Both were barreled on 5.1.1996. One was selected by a group of bourbon enthusiasts, some of which are members of this board. The other was selected by Sal Marino of the the Throroughbred shop. We shall call these barrels 4 and 5, since some of us tasted them under those names. The colors are indistinguishable. Classical burnt orange of Buffalo Trace fame. On the nose, both have a toasted oak and vanilla, with just a hint of clovey spice and that earthiness that makes BT unique. On the palate, again so similar that its scary. Number 4 having a citrus and molasses note, while number 5 has a dark chocolate/cocoa and several degrees more cinammon. Frankly, I find them so similar that its hard to believe they are from different barrels. After several approaches, still the same. Each expressing nuances of their heritage, but never far from the midline. Neither separates itself tremendously from standard BT (Good and Bad) Each subtly different, challenging my abilities to differentiate. We didn't do the ultimate test, a triple blind against std BT. Next time. More to come. (Vatting???) BTW: These are both great bourbons and it was worth any price difference to say, "I picked this one". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneCubeOnly Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Interestingly enough, barrel #5 wasn't even our second pick. (#3 was!) I wonder why they went with #5? Was #3 already taken?Is #5 for sale to to the public? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Gary, Yes, #5 is available at Thoroughbred Liquors in Lexington. This bottle is distinguished by a foil sticker on the side of the bottle stating that it was bottled exclusively for Sal, the owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrel_Proof Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Like several other barrel pickers, I would like to know where barrel #3 landed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Jeff, According to Kris C at BT, the Thorougbred Shop took barrel 3. At least that was my understanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 Bob, I'll defer to Ed for clarification. I believe he got the #5 info from Sal himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts