Buffalo Trace’s New Bourbon Neighbor Is Generating Some Serious Buzz

This town (Frankfort, KY) is big enough for the two of them.

j mattingly bourbon bottle against a black background

Published August 28, 2024

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There’s a new bourbon whiskey from Frankfort, Kentucky that’s earning lots of acclaim and generating some hype, but for once, it didn’t come out of the Buffalo Trace Distillery.

It came from across the street.

After several years in Georgetown, KY, the J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery opened at 20 Reilly Road in Frankfort last November, right across the street from the hallowed Buffalo Trace Distillery.

The distillery is operated by founder Jeff Mattingly and his son Cameron, both of whom are descendants of the legendary John Graves Mattingly, who, in the 1800s, pioneered the use of column stills in bourbon production.

From its 2010 founding until now, the modern J. Mattingly 1845 brand had only ever produced “one-off” small-batch releases with custom blends chosen by customers, staff or barrel pickers. (The distillery is mainly known for the highly custom bottlings it offers visitors.) But this month, the now-Frankfort-based label finally debuted its first standard offering, and it’s already earned some impressive accolades.

J. Mattingly 1845 Classic Double Staved Bourbon

$120 at J. Mattingly 1845

Double Staved Means Twice As Nice

Launched on August 21 in honor of John Graves Mattingly’s 201st birthday, the new bottle is a six-and-a-half-year-old, 119-proof blended Kentucky bourbon that has undergone the distillery’s signature “Double Stave” process, bringing J. Mattingly’s trademark style to a wider audience.

For the Double Stave process, the distillery’s workers break down old bourbon barrels into large pieces and add them to the barrels used to age their whiskey. The added staves increase the surface area of charred wood for the liquid to interact with, allowing the whiskey to absorb flavor and color from the barrel at a faster rate.

two bourbon barrels — The Double Stave process is the signature feature of J. Mattingly’s whiskeys.

Famed whiskey reviewer Jim Murray has already reviewed the new whiskey and rated it a 96 — an exceptionally high score — while describing it as “remarkable” and crediting the Double Stave process with giving the bourbon the “honeyed and toasted intensity” of one thrice its age.

I personally have yet to try the stuff, but J. Mattingly notes its new hooch has a nose of apple skin, baking spices, pie crust and buttery chocolate; a strong palate of oak; and a finish where all of those flavors come back to join forces and mingle for a bit.

If that sounds good to you (it does to me), you can score a full-sized bottle of J. Mattingly 1845 Classic Double Staved Bourbon directly from the brand’s online shop for $120.