ContemplativeFox
Buffalo Trace Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
April 1, 2021 (edited April 29, 2021)
Rating: 12/23
N: Sweet, wood, some sawdust, light caramel, a hint of citrus citron?), and maybe a faint milk chocolate. It's smells fairly mild, but actually quite good.
P: I always think of this being a light and sweet bourbon - so light and sweet in fact that it seems almost disingenuous to call it bourbon - but it actually isn't as far in that direction as Ancient Ancient Age 10 star is. It tastes more mature and less sweet than I'd remembered. There's also more of a burn with a bit of harshness. I get that light caramel with a little bit of citrus (somewhere between orange and citron). The wood is there and it coats my tongue with its tannins a bit, but it isn't super pronounced like I would normally expect from a bourbon. The alcohol flavor is mostly covered up though, so that's good.
F: It retains that kind of sweet wood quality. It's mild and unobjectionable, but far from exciting.
- Conclusion -
The sweetness from Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star leaves a stronger impression. This is unobjectionable, but pretty forgettable. Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star is more likely to put off bourbon afficionados, but it's kind of fun. This tastes sort of like it was designed by committed and I don't really see it impressing anyone.
This is a totally passable bourbon, but it seems very middle-of-the-road. For what they're charging, this only makes sense as a really safe bet.
To compare a couple of kind of underwhelming bourbons, I find Old Tub to be more full, complex, and engaging. This isn't muddled, but it is pretty monotone. Still, it doesn't have much in the way of rough edges. There is a a decent maturity here that surpasses Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star, but Old Tub comes across as more mature.
This is kind of growing on me and I sort of enjoy it, but it isn't any more than an easy sipper. There isn't much contemplation possible here.
I think that this is about on the same level as Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star. It's probably a 12. I could believe 11 or 13, but not likely outside of that range.
23.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@ContemplativeFox thats too bad, I usually recommend saving the dollars and getting Benchmark nearly same juice for half the price if youre doing the lower shelf thing
@BeppeCovfefe Unfortunately I don't have a bottle of Benchmark, so my side-by-side comparison options are are slightly limited :(
Benchmark would probably be a better comparison as it's the same mash bill as BT, the Ancient Age family is part of the Blantons/ Rock Hill/Elmer mash bill. Eagle Rare is of course the way to go here, the 10 years on it produces an undeniable difference in quality.
@dubz480 agree! The best one I’ve ever tried was picked and sold via a gas station/liquor store in Ohio. That said, I’ve has several barrels that fall below the quality of the standard offering. “Safe” is a perfect way to describe the standard offering.
Nice review as always! I have had siginicantly improved experiences with the single barrels versus the batch product.
@cascode exactly that. At around the €40 mark, the ABV starts to align with the US
@CKarmios We have the same 40% issue. Have you found that most lower and middle shelf bourbons are 40% in Europe? There are very few "everyday bourbons" released here at the proper US strength . Once you get to a certain price range, however, it ceases to be a thing and we get the proper strength.
@robwalker yeah, I did go on a bit of a rant when I reviewed it. But I’ll be sure to try Eagle Rare now that you’ve mentioned it
@CKarmios oh I definitely feel your pain. I'm a fan of standard BT but can imagine i wouldn't be as much at 40%
@robwalker funny you should mention that, in Europe, BT is bottled at 40% - the struggle is real 😀
@CKarmios I don't disagree but at least they don't bring it down to 40% ABV. It's amazing to me what a difference that the extra 2 years that Eagle rare gets makes with the overall experience. Night and day despite being the same whiskey from my understanding.
I’ve always felt that BT is a well made bourbon, let down by an accountant’s approach to ABV.