Distilled: A Tasting Tour of Coveted Buffalo Trace Bottles

Plus: Three classic whiskey bars; bourbon-spiked pork

I’ll admit that I sometimes get a little jealous of our contributors’ bourbon adventures when I’m stuck behind the keyboard. In this week’s Distilled, for instance, Steve Russell reports on a trip to Buffalo Trace Distillery, where not only did he get to try out all six bottles of the renowned Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC), but he also got to taste them in the company of someone everybody would love to share a drink with, Freddie Johnson. The longtime charismatic tour guide and now global ambassador, Johnson carries on an association with the distillery that started when his grandfather began working there in 1912. As Russell says, tasting through these vaunted bottles with him was a “peak bourbon moment.” We’re also raising a glass to three classic whiskey bars worthy of a bourbon bucket list. In addition, mixologist and spirits educator Heather Wibbels shares some favorite new pours, and this recipe for bourbon-spiked potted pork takes a charcuterie board to the next level. Here’s to finding your next peak bourbon moment.

The Buffalo Trace favorite and Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Famer gives a tasting tour of the storied Antique Collection.

Visit these classic spots to spend an evening in whiskey heaven.

Heather Wibbels, the Cocktail Contessa, is an award-winning mixologist, whiskey educator, and executive bourbon steward based in Louisville. She’s judged competitions including the ASCOT Awards and ADI International Spirits Competition and is the author of Bourbon Is My Comfort Food. A former board chair of Bourbon Women, Wibbels focuses on making whiskey more approachable through cocktail classes and sensory education.

What’s the most popular bourbon you’re seeing?
When I’m out and about in Louisville, the most popular are still heritage brands like Old Forester, Heaven Hill, and Maker’s Mark. I think people are gravitating toward value-forward comfort pours.

What’s the bourbon you’re drinking after-hours?
Lythgoe Bourbon Pauline’s Victory 8 Year. It’s a delicious, silky pour with gorgeous body and structure at 90 proof. It’s a woman-owned and woman-led brand and an homage to Cleo Lythgoe, “Queen of the Bootleggers,” a businesswoman who brought premium spirits into New York and New Jersey—illegally—during Prohibition. Beyond the story, it’s just a great sip and makes an incredible Manhattan.

What’s your dream bottle?
A bottle from 1972, the year I was born, specifically the Old Fitzgerald Very Old 8 Year. My grandfather drank Old Fitz in the ’60s and ’70s, and I would love to taste what he sipped.

Your favorite whiskey cocktail?
Black Manhattan, with a spicy, high-proof rye; split base Foro Amaro and Meletti Amaro; and chocolate and cherry bitters. Garnished with chocolate shavings and a Luxardo cherry.

Is there a new brand or bourbon you’re excited about?
Yes, Archer Eland Rye Whiskey, a new brand out of Ohio by Wendy Peveich. Wendy’s whole lineup has me fantasizing about what else is possible in the rye category and how to make it approachable to bourbon drinkers. On the bourbon side, Jackson Purchase out of Western Kentucky is an incredibly well-crafted sip for a four-year-old bourbon.

Do you have a favorite spot to drink bourbon?
I’m obsessed with vintage whiskey bars where I can taste historical whiskey, like Revival Vintage Bottle Shop and Neat Bourbon Bar and Bottle Shop. I’ve got plenty of bottles of bourbon, but what I don’t have is access to the sensory history of American whiskey, and I find it fascinating to taste.

Neat? One cube? Crushed?
Neat with a few drops of water after I’ve sipped about half to see how it changes.

Shake up a charcuterie board with this succulent French-style “pulled pork.”

Planning a trip along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail just got easier. The Kentucky Distillers’ Association launched a Build Your Own Bourbon Trail site that lets guests map out custom itineraries. Filter the trail’s more than sixty-five stops by categories including region, distillery amenities, and ambience (such as modern versus historic), and even pinpoint where you can thieve whiskey straight from a barrel.

Heaven Hill is giving its historic Deatsville aging site—originally home to the shuttered T.W. Samuels Distillery and acquired by Heaven Hill in the early ’80s—a proper send-off with the release of Deatsville 13-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskey ($200), blended from just seventeen barrels aged on the third floor of Rickhouse AA. While the location is transitioning away from active aging, guests can get a rare peek at the vintage rickhouses through a new Deatsville Tour & Tasting experience, with ticket sales beginning March 15 at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience.

One of the Southeast’s buzziest independent spirits brands is going national. Atlanta-based Shortbarrel’s flagship Four Grain wheated bourbon ($45) and other expressions are now available for shipping to most states via its website.

The Whiskey Riot series rolls into Dallas on March 14, offering an opportunity to sample from among more than 150 whiskeys (and cocktails!) from dozens of distillers. Upcoming stops include Houston, Austin, Orlando, San Antonio, Fort Worth, and Oklahoma City.

Along with a highly competitive whiskey competition, the New Orleans Bourbon Festival (March 18–22) includes special dinners, seminars, and, of course, some lively parties. Most of the action centers around Friday and Saturday, with daytime talks from a variety of top distillers and blenders and a grand tasting each evening.

—Tom Wilmes, G&G contributor

SPIRITED TREATS FROM FIELDHOP BY G&G