Colonel E.H. Taylor Bourbon

Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch

Some pretty spicy notes, rich with oak on the nose, it's cooled down with fruity figs and plums. Sweet and buttery on the palate, with a surprising hint of orange peel. Some tobacco smokiness follows. The finish is very long indeed, the tobacco notes in full effect.

Bottled directly from the barrels, reflecting the production of whiskey in the days before Prohibition. Aromas of cooked berries with rich caramel and slightly floral notes mingle with bold flavors of spice and toasty vanilla, dried oak and pepper for a lingering fruit finish.

In the nineteenth century, bourbon aristocrat Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. exuded a passion for producing the finest whiskey in the world.

This bourbon honors Taylor’s enduring spirit of innovation and commitment to exceptional whiskey by introducing Amaranth as the flavoring grain. Amaranth was originally cultivated by the Aztecs and is known as the “Grain of the Gods.”

This ancient grain is similar to wheat, but offers a complex taste with subtle flavors ranging from a nose of butterscotch and spearmint, to a finish of pecans and dark berries. Amaranth roughly translates to “never fading,” just like the legacy of Colonel Taylor, the founding father of the modern bourbon industry.

Buffalo Trace Distillery has recreated his traditional sour mash and produced a limited edition, one-time offering of Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon Whiskey for a true bourbon aficionado. A few years prior a gathering of Distillery retirees, a method was recounted for making "Old Fashioned Sour Mash whiskey. Edmund Hayes Taylor Jr. (EHTaylor) was known to use this technique in the late 1800's. Taylor's technique involved allowing the mash to sour naturally for days before distillation. Distilled in 2002, and bottled in 2012, this bourbon is a modern replication of this old-fashioned method. Using Taylor's original sourcing process, the result is a bourbon fo character and body like none other today. The combination of a rare estimated 10 year aging, winning the 2012 Gold Medal as one of the fifty best bourbons, and the extremely rare limited release make this bottle nearly impossible to find.

A limited release in 2017 and again in 2018, E.H. Taylor Four Grain is made from a “distinct bourbon recipe” using corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley. It was distilled in 2005 and entered into the barrel at 104 proof. According to Buffalo Trace, these are the four grains E.H.Taylor would have had access to in the late 1800s, which is why they were ultimately chosen for this release. In the company’s press release, master distiller Harlen Wheatley states, “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. Not surprisingly, it added complexity to the finished product.”

Kentucky might be on the fringe of “Tornado Alley,” but even so, those powerful storms seem to be a fixture of life in the Bluegrass. Kentuckians received a fairly vicious reminder of that fact in early March 2012, when twisters tore through the state and left almost two dozen dead. Yet sometimes a tornado strike isn’t all bad, as Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. “Tornado Survivor” bourbon whiskey testifies to. The Colonel E.H. Taylor label is basically a series of Buffalo Trace limited editions (past installments include a single barrel and a 19th century-style sour mash), named for the man who founded the Old Taylor Distillery in 1887 and is known to some as the “father of the modern bourbon industry.” 24,000 barrels of bourbon destined for a Colonel E.H. Taylor bottling were aging in Taylor’s own Warehouse C (dating to 1881) when a tornado struck the Buffalo Trace property in 2006, ripping both it and another empty bourbon warehouse to pieces. The Taylor warehouse lost its roof and some of its walls, and while the barrels emerged from the disaster unscathed, they went on to an almost unique aging experience, as they received the full brunt of the Kentucky summer while the warehouse was painstakingly rebuilt around them. It is hard to understate just how thoroughly “cooked” the bourbon was that summer. I have commented in the past on how important the southern summer heat is to bourbon’s aging vis-à-vis the whiskey’s cousins in Scotland and Ireland, but direct exposure to the sweltering summer climate produced extreme results. The ultimate evaporation rate for the “Tornado Surviving Bourbon,” as Buffalo Trace calls it, was more than doubled to an extreme “angel’s share”

Buffalo Trace Distillery proudly introduces Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Distiller’s Council: a limited-edition, ultra-premium Kentucky Straight Bourbon born from the very spirit of the pioneer who helped define American whiskey. Crafted using equipment and based on techniques originally invented by Taylor himself, this 100-proof bottling stands as the closest modern interpretation of the fine bourbons produced under his leadership at O.F.C Distillery (now Buffalo Trace) during the 19th century.

The inspiration for this modern recreation traces back to 1996, when a group of bourbon visionaries and retired George T. Stagg Distillery craftsmen* convened at Buffalo Trace Distillery in their pursuit to create the world’s best whiskey, a mission that continues to guide production at the World’s Most Award-Winning Distillery today. As they sampled more than 30 whiskeys across a range of ages, mash bills and proofs, one voice cut through the room with a thought: “Well, we don’t make whiskey the way we used to.” This led to the Distiller's Council unpacking the way that whiskey was made when they first started their careers. That meeting, until now known by bourbon insiders as the “Distiller’s Council”, resulted in a re-discovery of E.H. Taylor’s pioneering techniques that had been lost to history.

In the spirit of Honor Tradition, Embrace Change, this led to the revival of Taylor’s sour mashing process – patent pending by Buffalo Trace – and, combined with the modern wisdom of Buffalo Trace’s expert distillation team, the creation of Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Distiller’s Council. Crafted using his trailblazing techniques, the production process remains nearly identical to that of the 1880s using both grains in his mashbill and his fermentation process. This expression celebrates a seminal moment in bourbon history and commemorates that meeting with a one-of-a-kind expression that tastes unlike anything else currently available on the market.

“Colonel Taylor’s unwavering commitment to quality and innovation has helped shape every decision at our Distillery since he set our standards in 1870,” said Harlen Wheatley, Master Distiller, Buffalo Trace Distillery. “His enduring legacy left a profound impact on everyone present on that fateful day in 1996. As many of them are no longer with us, we hope they are enjoying this angel’s share with the Colonel himself – watching proudly as we carry his vision forward.”

Widely recognized as the “Father of the Modern Bourbon Industry,” Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. purchased the O.F.C. Distillery in 1869 and ushered in a new era of innovation. From state-of-the-art grain equipment to copper fermentation tanks and the first steam-heated barrel warehouses – still in use at Buffalo Trace today – Taylor’s vision revolutionized bourbon production. His advocacy also led to the landmark Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, cementing his legacy as a champion of quality and integrity. His visionary spirit continues to guide Buffalo Trace more than a century later.

“Colonel E.H. Taylor didn’t just shape a distillery – he helped shape the entire bourbon industry. That’s why he’s known as the Father of Modern Bourbon,” said Andrew Duncan, Global Brand Director at Buffalo Trace Distillery. “From championing the Bottled-in-Bond Act to modernizing production standards, many of his innovations have stood the test of time and are in use to this day. Always of Topmost Class, he set the bar for integrity, innovation and craftsmanship. In that spirit, we are proud to revive this faithful interpretation of his original recipe, crafted with the same standards of quality and spirit of innovation he so fiercely advocated.”

Bottled at 100-proof in a vintage-style, Grecian glass decanter modeled after one featured in an 1950s-era Old Taylor “Original Recipe” Bourbon advertisement – as seen in popular magazines such as TIME and Playboy – this special bottling will be available in limited-quantities nationwide at retail stores, restaurants and bars starting July 2025 at a suggested retail price of $1,499.99 (750ml) (local taxes and costs dependent).

Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Distiller’s Council is the 14th release to join the acclaimed bourbon portfolio alongside expressions including Small Batch, Single Barrel, Rye, Barrel Proof Rye, Warehouse C Tornado Surviving Bourbon, Four Grain and more. In Fall 2025, E.H. Taylor will join the annual, highly-anticipated Buffalo Trace Antique Collection as the Collection’s first Bottled-in-Bond bourbon.

The special edition collection of Colonel  E.H. Taylor, Jr. is one of the most highly sought after collectibles on the market today.  Not only are these one time releases that have achieved great consumption status but they have also taken on a collectible lore.   This is the entire collection  of the EH Taylor special release lineup.

Included in this collection is 1 bottle each of the following:

• E.H. Taylor, Jr. Old Fashioned Sour Mash
• E.H. Taylor, Jr. Warehouse C Tornado Surviving
• E.H. Taylor, Jr. Cured Oak
• E.H. Taylor, Jr. Seasoned Wood
• E.H. Taylor, Jr. Amaranth
• E.H. Taylor, Jr. 18 Year Marriage
• E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain
• E.H. Taylor, Jr. Warehouse C

Known as the founding father of the modern bourbon industry, Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. was committed to making unparalleled bourbon through his steadfast attention to detail and passion for innovation. His constant drive for perfection revolutionized the industry, with many of his techniques still in use today. The marriage of bourbon mashbills gives this magnificent whiskey a nose of vanilla butter cake, a rich palate of caramel and cinnamon, and long finish of toasted oak, cinnamon, and hint of spearmint.

Colonel E.H. Taylor Seasoned Wood was released in 2016 as a one-time release. According to Buffalo Trace, the barrels in this release underwent a variety of special seasoning processes, including utilizing staves that were immersed in an enzyme-rich bath with water heated to 100 degrees to make the barrels. After spending time in this proprietary solution, these staves were then placed into kilns and dried until they reached an ideal humidity level for crafting into barrels. Other staves were seasoned outdoors for six months, and still others were left outdoors for a full 12 months before being made into barrels and sent to the Buffalo Trace Distillery to be filled and aged. All barrel staves were seasoned, dried, and crafted at Independent Stave Company, who consulted on this project with the premiere expert on oak maturation, Dr. James Swan. Like E.H. Taylor Cured Oak, E.H. Taylor Seasoned Wood is a planned one-time release.

Seasoned Wood is a wheated bourbon. This is the first wheated bourbon Buffalo Trace has released under the E.H. Taylor brand. Buffalo Trace currently makes only one wheated mashbill but utilizes different warehouses and warehouse floors to create different variations in the flavor profiles.

The E.H. Taylor Cured Oak bottling offers lots of fruit on the nose, surprising for a whiskey that, remember, is 17 years in barrel—making it, by far, the oldest E.H. Taylor ever released. Red apple, some cherry, and mint hit the nostrils…all preludes for an engaging and impressively complex body. Lighter than you’d think given the 100 proof alcohol level, it pushes more of that fruit on the palate, laced with vanilla and a bit of lumberyard, before settling into a sultry, dark cocoa note. Beautiful balance, moderate but lush finish.

The E.H. Taylor Cured Oak bottling offers lots of fruit on the nose, surprising for a whiskey that, remember, is 17 years in barrel—making it, by far, the oldest E.H. Taylor ever released. Red apple, some cherry, and mint hit the nostrils…all preludes for an engaging and impressively complex body. Lighter than you’d think given the 100 proof alcohol level, it pushes more of that fruit on the palate, laced with vanilla and a bit of lumberyard, before settling into a sultry, dark cocoa note. Beautiful balance, moderate but lush finish.