Blanton's Gold Edition is bottled at 103 proof. This private barrel was selected by our friends at The Snug!

While nearly every major bourbon producer now offers single barrel bottlings, the very first commercially available single barrel bourbon was Blanton's, created for Buffalo Trace Distillery in 1984 by Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee (yes, that one). Lee named the bourbon after his former mentor and previous Master Distiller Colonel Albert B. Blanton, who used to bottle single barrels for extremely special occasions or very distinguished visitors. These hand-picked, exceptional barrels that Blanton would select invariably came from the "center cut" of Warehouse H. A relic of the post-Prohibition boom in whiskey production, Warehouse H was made of metal because metal-walled warehouses could be constructed very quickly. Colonel Blanton discovered that metal warehouses heated and cooled faster than ones made from other materials. He grew to love the flavor profile of the whiskies aged in Warehouse H's unique environment. While many metal warehouses were replaced, Warehouse H remains as the only metal warehouse at Buffalo Trace today. And though many bourbon brands bottle single barrels these days, the first single barrel bourbon is still one of the very finest.