Get ready, Bourbon aficionados! The esteemed Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC) is welcoming its first new member in almost two whole decades!

This addition by the Buffalo Trace Distillery also marks the first addition to BTAC since the Thomas H. Handy Rye was introduced back in 2006. 

This time, the E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond will be joining the extremely sought after annual release. It currently remains to be seen how the BTAC version will shift from the standard E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond expression. 

Your standard E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond.

Along with the hallmarks of extended maturation, heightened scarcity, and meticulous barrel selection, it is said to have the potential to rival the esteemed Stagg and Weller bottlings in terms of desirability and collectability.

The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection has built its legendary reputation on its yearly, highly limited releases that showcase the distillery's exceptional stock of patiently aged, high-proof whiskeys. With the new addition, the collection will now boast:

• George T. Stagg
• William Larue Weller
• Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye
• Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old
• Sazerac Rye 18-Year-Old
• E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond

The much sought after Buffalo Trace Antique Collection sees its first new addition in close to 20 years.

While the distillery has not yet shared specifics like age, mashbill, or barrel selection for this BTAC release, but anticipation is building. Currently the standard E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond uses Mashbill #1 (a low-rye recipe), and thus it remains to be seen where the BTAC version diverges and stands out from the classic. 

The E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond pays homage to Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr., a visionary often hailed as the "Father of Modern Bourbon." 

Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr.

Taylor had acquired the the O.F.C. Distillery in 1869 (now Buffalo Trace) and proceeded to modernise the distillery with advancements like copper fermentation tanks and steam-heated warehouses, many of which remain part of the the Bourbon making process today.

Crucially, Taylor spearheaded the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, a landmark piece of legislation that established the first federal standards for whiskey production and labeling. This act defined "straight" whiskey, mandating a minimum four-year aging period, requiring it to be made in a single-season, from a single distiller and by a single distillery production, bottled at 100 proof under government oversight.

This pivotal legislation safeguarded consumers from impure spirits by introducing government-regulated whiskey quality and has contributed no small part to the standards of whiskey today.

The new BTAC will begin arriving in extremely limited allocations this fall, so keep your eyes peeled.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team