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Buffalo Trace creates single estate barrels for Bourbon

Bourbon distiller Buffalo Trace has taken its single estate ambitions a step forward with the creation of barrels from American white oak trees grown on its premises.

Buffalo Trace will release a standalone line of single estate Bourbons in the future

Buffalo Trace first announced its plans to move into single estate production in 2014, after purchasing almost 300-acres of land to plant its own corn, rye and barley and build new maturation warehouses.

Over the past three years, the distiller has planted corn across 18-acres of farmland, and is currently constructing the “first of many warehouses on the property”.

The distillery recently found two American white oak trees while clearing a narrow farm road.

These trees were cut into five logs before being shipped off to the barrel manufacturer – the East Bernstadt Company – where they will be used to make charred, white oak barrels before being returned to Buffalo Trace to age Bourbon.

“We’re making use of every aspect of the farm that we can,” said master distiller Harlen Wheatley. “When we knew we were going to have to move these two oak trees, we thought, ‘why not make some barrels?’

“We’re already using the farm to harvest corn and build more warehouses, so we thought we might as well bring things full circle and use our wood to make some barrels too.”

Each crop harvested on the distillery’s farm is being distilled and aged on site to eventually become a new standalone range of single estate Bourbons.

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