Buffalo Trace Looks To Dispel Bourbons Going Away Rumors

Historic Kentucky distillery Buffalo Trace maintains a good number of popular bourbons under its stable, including the highly sought after Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Much of what it does produce is on so-called allocation, in part to make sure each state gets some bourbon monthly. Such shortages have sprung up some bourbons going away rumors, among others, which Buffalo Trace is looking to dispel.

According to the distillery, there will be more “Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, and E.H. Taylor, Jr. this year.” At the same time Elmer T. Lee, Stagg, Jr. and W.L. Weller bourbon volume levels will remain about the same, while it is also hoped “barrels of George T. Stagg and Van Winkle bourbon will yield a bit more this fall than last autumn.”

Now, while there are definitely shortages of all of the above mentioned Buffalo Trace brands, the reason for this is not, according to them, by design. As Kris Comstock, distillery spokesperson, said in a statement, “we’re still looking at shortages across the board for all of brands, and although the volumes are increasing, allocations will continue. This is not some marketing tactic to scare consumers to buy more, or something we are making up. We wish we had distilled more years ago. The shortage is a real problem.”

As to addressing related rumors of certain products going away, Buffalo Trace noted the below around some of them:

• Elmer T. Lee or Weller 12 Bourbons are going away.  False.  Both of these brands are not going anywhere. Elmer T. Lee did not take the secret mashbill to his grave, it is not becoming part of the Antique Collection, and there is no lawsuit with his heirs over the brand. What is true is that both brands have become more popular over the years, making them harder to find, but there are no plans to discontinue either brand.
• Eagle Rare Bourbon 10 Year Old age statement is going away. False. The age statement remains on the back of the bottle and there are no plans to remove it.  Due to increased production and bottling equipment limitations, the neck wrap has simply been eliminated from the packaging and the age statement was moved to the back of the bottle.
•  Other age statements on brands going away. False. There are no plans to remove any age statements from any brands produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery.
• The reason you can’t find various Buffalo Trace bourbons in stores is because they are shipping it all to China and Japan. False. While a very modest amount is sent overseas, the overwhelming majority is sold in the United States.

“So while the good news is Buffalo Trace is planning full steam ahead for the future, and there will be marginally more bourbon this year than before; the bad news is that allocations will continue, with no foreseeable end in sight,” added the distillery.