Buffalo Trace Distillery continues its homage to former owner Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. with a one-time-only, 18-year-old bourbon whiskey that marries three of the distillery’s mashbills.

This 100 proof Bottled-In-Bond bourbon went into barrels in 2002. Barrels selected for this release matured using one of three Buffalo Trace mashbill recipes: wheated bourbon, rye bourbon #1 and rye bourbon #2.

Company-provided tasting notes describe Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. 18 Year Old Marriage Bourbon Whiskey as having a nose of vanilla butter cake, a taste of caramel and cinnamon and a finish of toasted oak, cinnamon and a hint of spearmint.

The Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. collection was first released in early 2011. A previous limited release — E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon — was named World Whiskey of the Year by Jim Murray in 2018.

Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. is considered one of the founding fathers of the bourbon industry, fighting for the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, nearly three decades after he purchased the company known today as Buffalo Trace Distillery. During his time, Taylor implemented several methods still used today by Buffalo Trace, such as climate-controlled aging warehouses.

This special bottling of Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. 18 Year Old Marriage Bourbon Whiskey will be available starting in June in limited supply. The suggested retail price is $69.99 per 750-ml. bottle. 

The release follows recent new products from Buffalo Trace, including Old Charter Oak Chinkapin Oak, Experimental Wheat Bourbon and a Kosher whiskey series.

Kyle Swartz is editor of Beverage Dynamics magazine. Reach him at kswartz@epgmediallc.com or on Twitter @kswartzz. Read his recent piece Q&A: Few’s Paul Hletko on Craft Hand Sanitizer and Surviving COVID-19.