Style: Straight bourbon whiskey
Age: 9 years, 5 months
Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
Region: Frankfort, Kentucky

For bourbon whiskey drinkers, the Buffalo Trace distillery needs no introduction. They’re one of the oldest continuously operating distilleries in the United States and are well known for their classic and sought-after whiskey lines such as Pappy Van Winkle, Blanton’s, and W.L. Weller,. Beyond these classic stalwarts, Buffalo Trace has been hard at work behind the scenes experimenting on how far they can push Kentucky whiskey. The latest entry in their experimental series takes their traditional high rye mashbill and swaps out the regular malted barley for smoky, peated malt. Smoke is a natural counterpart to the traditional caramel, vanilla, and oak notes of bourbon – which is why smoked old-fashioned cocktails continue to be popular. Sounds like an experiment worth tasting.

Tasting Notes

This is not a heavily peated single malt — smoke doesn’t dominate the nose like you would expect from an Islay whisky like Laphroaig or Ardbeg. The nose has the typical notes of caramel and vanilla, but there is a bit more grain than normal and just a hint of smoke. The peat smoke is far more apparent on the palate, but it is definitely not the primary flavor note. Fresh cherry and brown sugar take the forefront while a slight backdrop of leather and oak level things out. The peated barley mostly presents as a balancing, salty, mineral note. The finish isn’t exceedingly long, but pleasant and full of baking spice notes.

Final Thoughts

The inclusion of peated malt in bourbon is an unquestionably fun idea. Of course, the goal of the Experimental Collection is to push the boundaries of what bourbon can be under the traditional constraints of the category, but I’m left wishing they had maybe gone a bit further. For those who tend not to stray too far from the classic bourbon flavor profile, there’s nothing here that would be too foreign. For more adventurous whiskey nerds, you may be left wishing that the crew at Buffalo Trade had pushed things a bit further. Either way, the Buffalo Trace Experimental Peated Bourbon is worth trying if you’re lucky enough to find a bottle.