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Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon Debuts from Buffalo Trace

The new Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon is a 12-year-old, bottled-in-bond offering with corn, rye, wheat and malted barley in its mash bill.
  • Nino Kilgore-Marchetti, founder of The Whiskey Wash, is an award-winning whiskey journalist, expert, and judge
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The Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. lineup from Kentucky distillery Buffalo Trace has been a popular series over the years, including its regular bottlings and its one-off expressions such as the famous Warehouse C Tornado Bourbon. A new, limited release bourbon known as the Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon is now dropping into the market.
Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon, according to the distillery, is made from a distinct four grain mash bill of undisclosed amounts of corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley. This bourbon was distilled back in 2005, hit the barrel at 104 proof, and was then bottled some 12 years later as a 100 proof, bottled-in-bond offering.
Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon
image copyright The Whiskey Wash

The four grains chosen are said to have been “the four grains E. H. Taylor would have had access to when he set up shop at Buffalo Trace in the late 1800s. During the 1860s, Taylor traded in grains and learned that they can vary tremendously from different farmers and harvests.”

“We wanted to extract everything we like from both the rye and the wheat mashbills we currently use and combine them to see how they react,” said Buffalo Trace Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley in a prepared statement [PDF]. “Not surprisingly, it added complexity to the finished product.”

Plans call for Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon to be available in April for around $70. Another release of this same expression is planned again for spring of 2018.

Tasting notes describe this bourbon as “opening with an inviting aroma, with the first sip bringing a lot of character.  Caramel notes are touched by sweet vanilla and caramel corn, then underwritten by slightly smoky flavors and oak tannins. It maintains a smooth evenness between the four grains interacting with the charred oak barrel.  Overall, quite different yet very balanced.”

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y globally. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert, and judge, he has written extensively about the subject, been interviewed in various media outlets, and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions.

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