Description

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Extended Stave Dry Time is a Bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. This 2013 release was distilled in 1998 from Buffalo Trace Rye Bourbon Mash Bill #1 and aged for fifteen years in barrels crafted from oak staves dried naturally in the open air for thirteen months – more than twice the distillery’s standard six-month seasoning.

The Experimental Collection is Buffalo Trace’s long-running program of one-off whiskeys exploring unique mash bills, woods, barrel toasts, and aging conditions, with more than 2,000 experimental barrels aging in the distillery’s warehouses. The Stave Drying Time experiment paired two 15-year bourbons – one from barrels with the distillery’s standard six-month stave seasoning and one with thirteen months of open-air drying – to isolate how much longer wood seasoning changes the finished bourbon, with the 14th numbered release of the Experimental Collection landing in November 2013.

On the nose, it shows sweet nuts layered with mild spice. The palate brings robust nut-driven sweetness mingled with gentle spice, and the finish carries a sustained, balanced close.

The longer thirteen-month stave drying drew different sugars and tannins from the wood than the standard six-month seasoning, producing a robust, nut-forward bourbon distinct from its standard-seasoned companion. It drinks well neat or over a single large cube.

Size: 375ml
Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
Age: 15 Year Old
Origin: Frankfort, Kentucky
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery