American classics and how they came to be, part 3: ‘Colonel’ Blanton.

Much like Jimmy and Eddy Russel’s connection to Wild Turkey, so is the name ‘Blanton’ attached to Buffalo Trace. Albert B. Blanton (the ‘B.’ stands for ‘Bacon’, ftr) was a local boy, born in 1881 on a farm literally next door to what was then called the OFC distillery (Old Fire and Copper – an acronym adopted for the Old Fashioned Copper Range of very exclusive and rare vintage bourbon releases from Buffalo Trace) on the outskirts of Frankfort, Kentucky. At the age of 16, he started a position as ‘office boy’ at the distillery, which was then  run by ‘Colonel’ EH Taylor (indeed, another name for one of Buffalo Trace expressions today. Also, more about the title of ‘colonel’ later). Running all sort of errands, keeping records, following up on appointments… he worked closely under Taylor and soon started to climb the ladder as a consequence, working in the warehouse, the mill and on the distillery floor.  When the distillery was sold on to George T. Stagg (yep, another familiar name in today’s  BT portfolio) and renamed simply ‘George T Stagg’ distillery in 1904, Blanton remained on board and by 1912 he  was in charge of the distillery floor, the bottling plant and the ground warehouses. Eventually, he would become president of the company in 1921, a position he held until he retired, only to remain on board as an advisor until he passed away in 1959.

During his long years as president, Blanton steered the distillery through some rough waters – prohibition (the George T Stagg distillery  was one of very few distilleries who retained a license to distil ‘for medicinal reasons’. I can only imagine the amount of lobbying that came into play to achieve this, but it also meant that quite a few people  working there didn’t see their livelihood taken way from them), the worldwide financial and economic crisis after the Wall Street Crash of  1929, a flood  and the Second World War. ‘Never waste a good crisis’ must have been one of his motto’s as, despite the war effort and the call upon distilleries to provide mostly pure ethanol for the army (not unlike distilleries switching to ethanol production during the covid pandemic), he not only managed to keep bourbon production going during the war, he even expanded the distillery.

It was under his guidance and protection that a young  employee of Buffalo Trace learned the trade and grew to become yet another legend of bourbon: Elmer T. Lee. It was Lee who decided in 1984 to release a bourbon bearing the name ‘Blanton’s’, introducing the concept of ‘single barrel bourbon’ to the world in the process. Ever since, every bottle of Blanton’s is selected from barrels that were put to rest on the 5th and 6th floor in rickhouse H. Lee chose this warehouse for a specific reason: it was the very rickhouse Blanton himself occasionally picked a barrel from to have it bottled privately or to entertain friends and relatives. Rickhouse H was built, rather hastily, when prohibition was repealed. It’s a wooden structure with a tin cover, which means that in Summer it becomes really hot, significantly contributing to the maturation conditions as a consequence.

Now you probably noticed how there’s not one mention of any military service when summarizing Blanton’s impressive career, and indeed the title ‘Colonel’ in this case has nothing to do with the military rank, rather it is the highest title of honour that can be bestowed by the governor of Kentucky to any individual for their  accomplishments and services to the community and the entire nation. Famous other colonels are, for instance, Harland Sanders (of KFC fame), Winston Churchill, Hunter S. Thompson, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Robert Plant, Walt Disney, Jim Beam, Dave Mustaine, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Bill Clinton, Theodore Roosevelt, John Glenn, Muhamed Ali, Wayne Gretzsky,  and Queen Elisabeth II. Quite the list indeed.

Anyways, these days, Blanton’s comes in four different expressions (and all are still single barrel picks from rickhouse H): Blanton’s special reserve  at 40% ABV (80 proof), Blanton’s Original Single Barrel (93 proof or 46.5% ABV), Gold Edition (103 proof, or 51.5% ABV) and the Straight From the Barrel (undiluted, often well over 60% ABV). Oddly enough, only the ‘Original Single Barrel’ is available in the US, as all the other expressions seem to be destined for overseas markets. Two of which I’ll be reviewing today…

Blanton’s Original Single Barrel (46.5% ABV), 2019 release, char no.4 new white oak.  app. €65-€70

This impression/review is based on another sample curtesy of Stefan Nowak.

Nose

Lots of sweetness – strawberry gum, cherries and a grassy-herbal element which lingers underneath. Classic bourbon notes of honey and vanilla and baking spices. the big ‘absentee’ here being wood notes.

Palate

Clinging – with a waxy/oily and sticky mouthfeel. Spice notes are dominating, making the sweetness settle for 2nd fiddle. Again, little here in terms of woody or oaky notes, albeit they’re now more noticeable than they were on the nose.

Finish

Long and warming on (baking) spices.

Score: 83/100

Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel (63.5% ABV), 2018 release, cask no. 544

For the record: these are notes from a while ago, as a few years ago I crossed paths with a bottle of Blanton’s SFTB for a reasonable price – back then it was about €75 , which I was happy to spent, thus giving it  a new home. These days you’re likely looking at double that  price, which really pushes the boundaries of  the quality to cost ratio, imo.

Nose

A lot of cherries and butterscotch, a lot of candylike sweetness with pink chewing gum and furthermore some corn dust, a little bit of leather and even less hints of old books.

Adding water makes everything even sweeter, with the cherry notes taking the lead and only now a faint woodnote appears in the background.

Palate

Immediately very rich: cherries, vanilla and honey, some leather, bubble gum, wood and shaved pencils, candy... very classic bourbon in fact. Adding water again accentuates the otherwise quite shy  woody notes, along with a more prominent leather note, countering the vanilla and honey. Very nice, indeed.

Finish

Rather long, sticky/syrupy with wood and cherries. With the added water the finish gets hotter, drier and it prolongs the wood note.

Score: 85/100

Final Thoughts

While it’s always difficult to compare two single cask (or single barrel) whiskies, especiallay when the bottling strengths differ (significantly!), it holds ground in this case I reckon, as all expressions in the Blanton’s range have been matured in similar virgin oak heavily charred casks, matured in very similar circumstances. So while the casks are obviously different, it’s all bourbon coming from  the same environment, from the same exact location, matured in the same conditions, for what I guess is approximately the same amount of time. And the similarities when talking smell, taste and overall impressions are there, no doubt about it. That said, there’s no denying that in both of these  the woodnotes take  the back seat most of the time, which, for a number 4 char (the so called ‘alligator’ char), brings not at all what I would expect. I'd dare to conclude this hasn't got an awful lot of age to it -  maybe 4 or 5 years?

Both make for decent bourbons (the 46.5% expression is nice and well balanced, but also a bit straightforward), and while for understandable reasons, the Straight From The Barrel has the edge on its lower proof sibling, the differences are by no means staggering. It makes for a very good and enjoyable bourbon with just about everything present you would expect from a classic bourbon. In any case, north of 60% ABV it needs toning down. And while it carries more depth and flavour compared to its  more ‘industry standard’ sibling bottled at 46.5%, the difference in intrinsic quality between these two is nowhere near a factor of 2 or even 3, therefore not representative of the difference in price …While the SFTB is a very decent bourbon, what it brings to the table definitely doesn’t merit the current asking prices, I can tell you that. Even if you keep in mind that this was a bottle I bought 5 years ago, there’s no way current price tags sitting somewhere around €150-€175 is justifiable. It’s scarcity and brand reputation more than anything.

And on that bombshell, I conclude this mini series on American classics. For September I’m taking a deep dive into grain whiskies and  after that I’ll be  firing some big guns to mark  5 years of whisky blogging. So stay tuned as I’m about to crank things up to 11!