Faces + Places
Blanton’s
Bourbon has been enjoyed for centuries, but single barrel bourbon only dates back to 1984, when the owners of then Ancient Age Distillery, present-day Buffalo Trace Distillery, set out to create a premium quality product. The result? The bourbon industry was revolutionized. Blanton Bourbon’s namesake Colonel Albert Blanton was the inspiration behind this when he discovered that his warehouse aged bourbon better than any other on the grounds. After some taste-testing experiments, Col. Blanton would pick an individual barrel he liked best, have it bottled and share it with friends. Those bottles became his “special select” single barrel bourbons.
And they’re off… collect all the bottle
stoppers from Blanton’s bourbon, and you’ll see a horse racing to the finish line!
Today, most distilleries offer one or more single barrel bottlings, but Blanton’s was the first, and some believe, the finest, single barrel on the market. Blanton’s Bourbon is now produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY; the Albert B. Blanton Hall is currently a part of their distillery tour. A little Kentucky/bourbon history from Blanton’s: The horse and jockey on the bottle stoppers of Blanton’s are a recognized trademark of Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon, paralleling the rich heritage of the drink with the tradition of horses in Kentucky.
TOPS Magazine | March 2017
107