Buffalo Trace’s Wild New Bottle Is Unlike Any Whiskey It’s Ever Made

Buffalo Trace is arguably the most lauded American whiskey distiller, and the brand certainly wouldn’t lose any fans if it simply stuck to churning out its many classics like Weller, E.H. Taylor, Eagle Rare, etc.

But that’s not what Buffalo Trace does. The brand likes to take risks by trying out unexpected recipes and new methods in its whiskeys, and the distillery’s most fertile playground to do so is the Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection.

The Experimental Collection is where you’ll find Buffalo Trace’s most radical whiskeys — like this tasty peated bourbon that came out in 2023 — and despite their unusual nature, the liquid is typically quite good (and highly sought after).

Buffalo Trace’s latest experimental hooch is one that’s been more than a decade in the making, and it should have a particular appeal to beer drinkers.

Buffalo Trace Distillery

All Hopped Up

Buffalo Trace’s new spirit isn’t technically even a whiskey. It’s called “Spirits Distilled from Grain and Hops,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like.

First conceived by BT’s master distiller Harlen Wheatley more than 10 years ago during a bitter beer boom, the new spirit seeks to discover what a whiskey would taste like if it were imbued with hoppy flavor.

To find out, Wheatley selected two different types of hops common in beer-making — Saaz noble hops, a European variety common in Bohemian beers, and the American Zythos hops, which are known for their tropical flavor profile — and infused them into raw rye bourbon whiskey distillate for 30 minutes.

Buffalo Trace Distillery

This hop-infused distillate was then redistilled and aged in charred white oak casks for 11 years and seven months before being diluted to 90 proof and bottled as the 26th entry in the Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection.

So what does a hoppy whiskey-like spirit taste like? Well, I haven’t tried it myself, but we can get a pretty good idea based on the distillery’s tasting notes.

Buffalo Trace says the spirit has an especially hoppy nose with citrus and herbal notes like you’ll find in certain beers, along with the vanilla and oak scents typical of an aged whiskey.

On the palate, the liquid is said to be citrus-heavy with herbal and oak undertones, while the finish is clean and crisp. Honestly, this sounds more beer-like than anything to me, so I’d be curious to experience this one firsthand.

Pricing and Availability

Getting a bottle of Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection: Spirits Distilled from Grain and Hops won’t be so easy, though. While priced quite reasonably at $47 for a 375ml bottle, the spirit will only be sold in person at the Buffalo Trace Distillery gift shop in limited quantities on select dates this year.

That means only a handful will be able to snag a bottle, and given the high demand that always accompanies Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection releases, I suspect we’ll see some bottles pop up for sale on the secondary market with highly inflated prices in the coming months.

Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection: Spirits Distilled from Grain and Hops

• $47 at Buffalo Trace Distillery

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