The Legend of Buffalo Trace’s ‘Intense’ Bourbon Just Keeps Growing

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

The Legend of Buffalo Trace’s ‘Intense’ Bourbon Just Keeps Growing

The most premium offering in Blanton’s bourbon lineup recently earned another major award as the Best Single Barrel Bourbon.

Three tops of different Blanton’s Bourbon bottles shown from the neck up against a blurred background of twinkly lights

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. 

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Buffalo Trace’s

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is stacked with names most ******** fans could recite by heart even under anesthesia. Still, few of the ******** juggernaut’s iconic labels have

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

like

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

Case in point: The now famed Blanton’s superfan with a collection worth ~$250,000,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, whom we’ve had the privilege of speaking to on multiple occasions, turned his quest to secure every Blanton’s offering released into

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

and

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

With a catalog of over 50+ expressions in its history, there are plenty of unicorn Blanton’s bottles that only a handful of collectors will ever lay eyes on.

But to Blanton’s credit, the brand has also made an effort to make the most coveted expression in the permanent lineup more accessible (loosely speaking) over the last several years.

Here’s everything you need to know about Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel.

Blanton’s SFTB Is Blanton’s in Its Purest Form

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel is “dumped” directly from Blanton’s Gold Barrels and bottled unfiltered at cask strength. – Credit: Ben Bowers

As the name implies, Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel is dumped from barrels and directly bottled, unfiltered, and at powerful cask strength, making it one of, if not the purist forms of Blanton’s available for tasting.

The specific whisky pulled straight from the barrel happens to be

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, which was officially brought to the U.S. in the summer of 2020. It’s the same as standard Blanton’s in every way, except that it’s 10 proof points higher at 103 vs. the standard 93.

In case you’re confused about the existence of Blanton’s Gold Edition, our former drink editor, Will Price, provided a nice summary of the Blanton’s lineup well back in 2020.

“The standard lineup includes Gold, Special Reserve (called Green), and a barrel-proof variant called Straight From the Barrel. Gold is the first of the international Blanton lineup to come to the US. The reason for the odd split is murky. The short version is a Japanese company called Takara Shuzo owns Blanton’s brand and distribution rights everywhere except the US, where Blanton’s is distributed by Buffalo Trace. Buffalo Trace still distills and ages for every expression — domestic or international.”

Like its non-cask-strength Blanton’s Gold cousin, Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel (often abbreviated to SFTB) is Blanton’s 6—to 8-year-old bourbon bottled at full power—128 proof.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, the bourbon is known for its “strong “intense, and powerful” flavors of dark chocolate, caramel, and nuts, as well as a spicey finish that’s typical of super-high-proof bourbons.

It Used to Be Export-Only

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Before 2020, the best way to score a bottle of Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel was to head to Japan. – Credit: Buffalo Trace

SFTB used to be available only in international markets and was probably easiest to find in Japan.

But as with Blanton’s Gold,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. Better yet, the U.S. versions would ship in the typical 750ml bottles (international bottles are only 700ml.)

Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel Keeps Stacking Accolades

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel keeps earning major awards, further solidifying its status as one of Buffalo Trace’s premier bourbons. – Credit: Ben Bowers

Earlier this February, the 2025 World Whiskies Awards USA winners were unveiled at a gala in Kentucky. The event spotlighted the best American-made ******** across a range of specialized categories.

Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel was named the Best Single Barrel Bourbon at the event. It had also previously

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

The bottle has also stacked awards from the arguably more prestigious San Franciso World Spirits Competition, i

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, among others.

Well-known ******** writer and reviewer Fred Minnick even shared an anecdote about his experience reviewing ******** for the 2017 San Franciso World Spirits Competition,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

But SFTB has also earned plenty of praise from other sectors of the ******** community long before now. Most memorable, perhaps, is Breaking Bourbon writer Jordan Moskal’s key question at the end of his review published back in 2016. “

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

?”

The question seems more pertinent than ever, given Blanton’s SFTB impressive trajectory since then.

Whether

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

remains to be seen, though it feels unlikely. For now, at least, Blanton’s SFTB easily deserves consideration as one of the premium whiskeys the distillery makes,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Legend #Buffalo #Traces #Intense #Bourbon #Growing

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up