Description

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Cabernet Franc Aged After 6 Years is a Whiskey from Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. This 2007 release was distilled in 1992 from Buffalo Trace Rye Bourbon Mash Bill #1 (low-rye recipe), matured in new American oak for six years and three months, then re-barreled into a used French oak Cabernet Franc cask and aged for another eight years for a total of fourteen years.

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 Cabernet Franc experiment paired two finishes – one re-barreled into a Cab Franc cask after six years of bourbon aging and one after eight – to isolate how additional bourbon-barrel time before a wine-cask finish changes the final spirit. Because it was finished in a wine cask, the label drops the bourbon designation and bottles as straight whiskey.

On the nose, it shows bright amber color with maple syrup and vanilla. The palate brings candy corn, white chocolate, cinnamon, and ripe berried fruit, and the finish carries a tannic grip with balanced sweetness, fruit, and oak.

The shorter six-year primary aging before Cab Franc finishing let the wine cask exert more influence than its eight-year companion, producing a brighter, fruit-forward expression with sweeter mid-palate. It drinks well neat or over a single large cube.

Size: 375ml
Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
Age: 14 Year Old
Origin: Frankfort, Kentucky
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery