Vanilla | Oak | Caramel | Cinnamon | Granny Smith apple slices | Honey | Light overall

Oak | Light cinnamon stick | Faint rye spice | White peppercorn | Caramel | Baking spices

Baking spices | Dried oak | Light leather | Vanilla cream | Gentle rye spice | Short

The Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project was a distillery lead experiment that ran from 1999 to 2015. Starting in 1999, 96 trees were cut into top and bottom sections, resulting in 192 individual barrels. Seven variables were analyzed and manipulated during the study, with the goal of finding the best combination of the group. These variables included:
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• Mashbill (wheat or rye recipe)
• Entry proof (105 or 125 proof)
• Stave seasoning (6 or 12 months of air drying)
• Wood grain size (tight, average, or coarse)
• Barrel char level (#3 or #4 char)
• Tree cut (top or bottom half)
• Warehouse type (wooden rick floor or concrete floor)
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Starting in 2011, Buffalo Trace Distillery released a series of bottles every 3 months from 2011 through 2015 until each of the 192 barrels had been released. It was truly the bourbon equivalent of trying to track down a complete set of trading cards. Consumers were encouraged to vote, and the winning bourbon was ultimately from Barrel #80 (see photo below for details).

In 2026, Buffalo Trace released their new Single Oak line of bourbon as a permanent expression. For the first release, the distillery recreated Barrel #80, which is a rye-based bourbon. The distillery goes deep into details for bourbon lovers, providing all seven of the above variables, plus a new variable: rings per inch.

Buffalo Trace Single Oak Rye Bourbon “Barrel #80,” is a classic affair. Its flavors are light and gentle with a focus on classic bourbon notes. It starts off with a light overall aroma that presents on core scents of vanilla, oak, and caramel, and adds in Granny Smith apple slices and honey for a slight intrigue. The palate is gentle, focusing on mild classic flavors that may make you do a double take of the bourbon’s proof to make sure it really is 90, and not 80. The finish is short, wrapping things up neatly with spice notes, dried oak, light leather, and sweet vanilla cream.

This first release in the now permanent expression in Buffalo Trace Single Oak lineup is a straightforward affair. It’s classic in nature and defines what many would consider the benchmark for a classic Kentucky bourbon. Back in 2015, that would have been good enough, but the world of bourbon has exploded in different directions since then: barrel finishing types, exotic oaks, grain types, craft distilleries, higher ages, higher proofs, a focus on blending, etc. Coming in at $70 for a 375mL bottle, Single Oak Rye Bourbon “Barrel #80” is a hard value proposition considering it comes across as pleasant yet average in today’s marketplace. I’m excited to see how the future unfolds for this new expression, and for now, it sets a good baseline to compare progress against.