Buffalo Trace unveils six-litre 1982 OFC Bourbon

Kentucky-based Buffalo Trace Distillery has released a six-litre vintage OFC Bourbon, distilled in 1982, which will be sold as a non-fungible token (NFT).

The ‘ultra-rare’ whiskey is said to be the distillery’s only vintage Bourbon and will be released in a six-litre bottle.

Only five bottles of the expression are available through NFT platform Block Bar’s inaugural auction.

“Buffalo Trace Distillery is world renowned and we’re honoured to launch our first Bourbon on Blockbar.com with five of their most coveted bottles,” said Dov Falic, co-founder and CEO of Block Bar.

“The partnership marks our first live auction and to mark this milestone we are delighted to donate the proceeds of this drop to support the chosen non-profits of Buffalo Trace.”

The bottles are part of the 2,022 bottles that Buffalo Trace plans to give away in 2022 and will be auctioned over five days, starting from Monday 14 March at 10am EST. The starting bid will be approximately US$25,000 (8.83 ETH), with the bottles redeemable by 31 December 2022.

Once redeemed, the buyer will be given a personal invitation to the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort for a VIP tour experience, that includes tastings of whiskeys from its private collection, as well as private vintages from the OFC range.

Proceeds from the sale of the five bottles will be given to support five charities: World Central Kitchen, The James Beard Foundation, Elton John Aids Foundation, The Art of Elysium and 261 Fearless.

“We have been inspired by what our charity partners have done to help communities worldwide and are proud to help further their missions through the release of our exclusive OFC Vintage 1982 NFTs,” said Sara Saunders, vice-president of marketing for Buffalo Trace Distillery.

“We are thrilled to bring our rich history and philanthropic efforts to the forefront of today’s technology and we couldn’t ask for a better ally than Block Bar to help us achieve that.”

‘Once-in-a-lifetime taste experience’

The liquid was distilled at what was then known as the George T Stagg Distillery, now named the Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Harlen Wheatley, master distiller at Buffalo Trace Distillery, described the expression as having “richness and butteriness with layers of apple, pecans, ripened pear, dark Belgian chocolate, caramel and a kiss of black cherries”.

“This remarkable whiskey transitions to a memorable finish of dried dark fruit with delightful lingering oak,” he added. “All the time knowing that you’re tasting history as you taste the last drops. This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime taste experience.”

Buffalo Trace said the size of the bottle is rarely seen on the whiskey market, and is nine times the size of a typical bottle, holding more than a gallon of liquid.

The six-litre bottle is two feet tall and weighs 22.5 pounds. Each bottle was manually polished and includes cut copper lettering. It comes housed in a wooden display case with a provenance card.