Recently I did a blind review of some offerings of Buffalo Trace’s mashbill #2; spoiler alert, Blanton’s won. I shared the results [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/s/j21vbtGNIk) and amongst some friends. While talking with my friends, I had lamented that we don’t have any barrel proof offerings of mashbill #2, when mashbill #1 has 3 or 4 (depending on how you view Benchmark Full Proof). My friend mentioned Blanton’s SFTB, and that’s when it hit me:
I’m airheaded as hell. Not only do I *own* a bottle of SFTB, I’ve shared the damn bourbon with the friend who brought it up! I swear my noggin is more scrambled than eggs at a Waffle House… anyway, I pulled out this bottle to send a sample to a buddy of mine, and I had what I thought was about a pour’s worth left over when I was done. As you see in the photo, my estimate was slightly off, and here we are!
***An Actual Pinnacle***
In my previous review of [Stagg](https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/s/AsDJMt08pU) 22A, I jokingly referred to it as the pinnacle of mashbill #1. Well, this time it’s unironic; SFTB is absolutely the current pinnacle of mashbill #2, and as far as I know the only barrel proof offering using that mashbill.
In the US, it’s more or less a unicorn, especially if you’re wanting MSRP; but apparently, the overseas market just has this stuff laying around at MSRP all over the place, and I’m not even sure if that’s an exaggeration. All this to say, I wish we had more stateside. The only reason I even got this bottle in the first place was because I established a good relationship with a local liquor store owner who held it for me, and not everyone has that option.
It seems to me this is largely due to Blanton’s origins. When Blanton’s first released in the ‘80s, bourbon was experiencing a glut in the US; overseas, however, bourbon’s popularity skyrocketed, particularly with Blanton’s, and particularly in Japan. As a sort of tribute to those earlier times, Buffalo Trace seems to make sure their foreign distribution is taken care of before worrying about the domestic.
We *do* possibly have a light at the end of the tunnel though. Buffalo Trace has invested heavily in an additional still, along with more warehouses, and even developing their own farmland to grow their own “proprietary” grains. Hopefully we see these investments pay off in the next few years for us consumers, but until then, how about some bourbon?
**Proof:** 128.8 (64.4% ABV)
**Age:** NAS (speculated at 6-8 years)
**Mashbill:** Not officially disclosed; Buffalo Trace’s “high rye” Mashbill #2
**Price:** I paid about $130 for this bottle
**Dump Date:** 1 July 2022
**Barrel No.:** 641
**Warehouse:** H (where all Blanton’s comes from)
**Rick No.:** 74
**Bottle No.:** 187
**Appearance:** The liquid is a glowing golden color, with some barrel char detected in the glass. Non-chill filtered.
**Nose:** Sugary caramel sweetness mingles with corn and candy corn, making an abominable “trail mix” of caramel popcorn and candy corn. While this is a joke at candy corn’s expense, the nose is actually quite nice and decadent.
**Palate:** The profile is deeply sweet. Caramel mixes with lightly burnt brown sugar, enhancing the caramel corn notes from the nose (and thankfully, the candy corn is absent here). Further sips add some chocolate influence, causing the palate to bounce back and forth between excellent caramel corn and one of my favorite candies growing up: Riesen chocolate caramels covered in chocolate (and no, there’s no typo in that sentence). It’s not often I get nostalgic for candy, and this bourbon is all the better for it.
**Finish:** The SFTB goes down wonderfully smooth for its proof, with the caramel sweetness lingering long after the sip is done. Some light nutmeg sweetness tingles the tip of the tongue ever so briefly, ending with the return of the chocolate from the palate.
**Thoughts:** What a delightful bottle from start to finish, and yet how frustrating it is to even find! This is a bottle that deserves to be shared and savored, and that’s exactly how I enjoyed this one. I can only hope availability improves so more people can experience this bourbon without paying through the nose on secondary.
**Score:** 5/5 - I’ll tell you why: this is the best of the best Buffalo Trace has to offer from an entire mashbill; no other mashbill #2 product even comes close. The only way I really see this getting better is if there’s a “Takara” version, which indicates a Japanese release, usually with improved specs over the US release (“Takara Red” for example, is Japanese released regular Blanton’s aged longer than US released Blanton’s). All that to say, I hope future SFTB releases get better and better!
Thank you for reading. Cheers! 🥃
***Scale: 1-5***
**1:** even my drain thinks this is swill (High West Campfire)
**2:** not great on its own, but salvageable and best used as a mixer (most Basil Hayden expressions)
**3:** perfectly average, equally solid neat or as a mixer (Jim Beam white label and other offerings in the same-shape bottle; Buffalo Trace)
**4:** an excellent pour, wouldn’t take any way other than neat -although no one is stopping you from adding water/ice to taste- (Booker’s 2023 releases)
**5:** truly a cut above the rest; represents the best of the best distillers have to offer (Hardin’s Creek: Jacob’s Well II)
I like the examples you give for each score. I have a friend I don't see too often who has a habit of doubling down on things he is completely wrong about. Met up with him a week or so ago for the first time in a few years and we ended up talking bourbon. He kept praising Basil Hayden as his favorite and, while I don't think it's terrible, I really don't think it's that good. Luckily I knew enough that night to keep my mouth shut about it.
It sounds elitist, but Basil Hayden's is what people who aren't into bourbon think is "good bourbon". I remember feeling fancy early on when I ordered a pour of it a bar. It's price point is higher and it's smooth/inoffensive, so non whiskey nerds think it's good. If you like it, more power to you, but there's nothing memorable about it to me whatsoever.
I think the "light at the end of the tunnel" is already getting to West KY. I've seen more BT products in the last 6 months than ever before. Recently saw a CYBP for 300, which is still crazy, but not the 500-600 I usually see it for. I've also seen 3 EH Taylor Barrel Proofs this week, before that It'd probably been 3-4 years before I'd seen one in stores. Cautiously optimistic we'll start being able to get BT products for more reasonable prices this year.
Nicely done, great back story. I have been unimpressed with Blanton’s and Blanton’s Gold, but I have yet to try SFTB - based on this review, I will give this one a go at the next bar that offers it!!! Being barrel proof should help Blanton’s for me!
SFTB is how it should always be… so far one of my favorites from my current bottle I have opened. I do have another and I’m curious if it’s better, or worse, than my first one.
Great Review!! Out of the US releases, how would you rank standard Blanton’s, Gold, and SFTB?
I recently did a side by side of those and SFTB definitely takes the standard Blanton’s base nose and palate, but turns it up to 12. Gold seems to deviate from the typical Blanton’s profile with the slightly higher proof point; leading more vanilla, oak, and tobacco through out. For me it’s a toss up between Gold and SFTB depending on my presence that day.
Haha same here!! I was fortunate enough to get a lottery win for the Gold and my buddy traded for the SFTB! At this point, I’ll pick up regular Blanton’s at MSRP when I see it and bring it to celebrate friends/family
This is a minor detail, but Buffalo Trace/Sazerac don’t own Blanton’s or other mash bill 2 bourbons, those are owned by Japan-based Age International, which is in turn owned by Takara Shuzo (yep, that’s where the Takara comes from). That explains the wonky distribution in the US up until recently, not some warm fuzzy nostalgia on BT’s part. They just make the stuff.
That’s always been interesting to me. “We’ll make it, store it in our warehouse, bottle it ourselves, and even market it for you, but we don’t even own the brand”
Using my other top score as a reference for price… I’d have to say around $150 is where I’d top out. Anything much higher I’d just exercise patience with. Theres a spot around me right now selling one for about $350, and that ain’t happening.
Thanks! I saw it for $300 a couple weeks ago and $2000 about a month ago. I usually find $200 is the most I’d pay for any bottle (outside of a few obvious exceptions) so I definitely agree in being patient.
It's pretty findable online for 230-250 for a 700ml.. I'd probably pay that if I was a huge Blanton's fan and really wanted this. Like OP said though, with patience you may find it cheaper later.
Recently I did a blind review of some offerings of Buffalo Trace’s mashbill #2; spoiler alert, Blanton’s won. I shared the results [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/s/j21vbtGNIk) and amongst some friends. While talking with my friends, I had lamented that we don’t have any barrel proof offerings of mashbill #2, when mashbill #1 has 3 or 4 (depending on how you view Benchmark Full Proof). My friend mentioned Blanton’s SFTB, and that’s when it hit me: I’m airheaded as hell. Not only do I *own* a bottle of SFTB, I’ve shared the damn bourbon with the friend who brought it up! I swear my noggin is more scrambled than eggs at a Waffle House… anyway, I pulled out this bottle to send a sample to a buddy of mine, and I had what I thought was about a pour’s worth left over when I was done. As you see in the photo, my estimate was slightly off, and here we are! ***An Actual Pinnacle*** In my previous review of [Stagg](https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/s/AsDJMt08pU) 22A, I jokingly referred to it as the pinnacle of mashbill #1. Well, this time it’s unironic; SFTB is absolutely the current pinnacle of mashbill #2, and as far as I know the only barrel proof offering using that mashbill. In the US, it’s more or less a unicorn, especially if you’re wanting MSRP; but apparently, the overseas market just has this stuff laying around at MSRP all over the place, and I’m not even sure if that’s an exaggeration. All this to say, I wish we had more stateside. The only reason I even got this bottle in the first place was because I established a good relationship with a local liquor store owner who held it for me, and not everyone has that option. It seems to me this is largely due to Blanton’s origins. When Blanton’s first released in the ‘80s, bourbon was experiencing a glut in the US; overseas, however, bourbon’s popularity skyrocketed, particularly with Blanton’s, and particularly in Japan. As a sort of tribute to those earlier times, Buffalo Trace seems to make sure their foreign distribution is taken care of before worrying about the domestic. We *do* possibly have a light at the end of the tunnel though. Buffalo Trace has invested heavily in an additional still, along with more warehouses, and even developing their own farmland to grow their own “proprietary” grains. Hopefully we see these investments pay off in the next few years for us consumers, but until then, how about some bourbon? **Proof:** 128.8 (64.4% ABV) **Age:** NAS (speculated at 6-8 years) **Mashbill:** Not officially disclosed; Buffalo Trace’s “high rye” Mashbill #2 **Price:** I paid about $130 for this bottle **Dump Date:** 1 July 2022 **Barrel No.:** 641 **Warehouse:** H (where all Blanton’s comes from) **Rick No.:** 74 **Bottle No.:** 187 **Appearance:** The liquid is a glowing golden color, with some barrel char detected in the glass. Non-chill filtered. **Nose:** Sugary caramel sweetness mingles with corn and candy corn, making an abominable “trail mix” of caramel popcorn and candy corn. While this is a joke at candy corn’s expense, the nose is actually quite nice and decadent. **Palate:** The profile is deeply sweet. Caramel mixes with lightly burnt brown sugar, enhancing the caramel corn notes from the nose (and thankfully, the candy corn is absent here). Further sips add some chocolate influence, causing the palate to bounce back and forth between excellent caramel corn and one of my favorite candies growing up: Riesen chocolate caramels covered in chocolate (and no, there’s no typo in that sentence). It’s not often I get nostalgic for candy, and this bourbon is all the better for it. **Finish:** The SFTB goes down wonderfully smooth for its proof, with the caramel sweetness lingering long after the sip is done. Some light nutmeg sweetness tingles the tip of the tongue ever so briefly, ending with the return of the chocolate from the palate. **Thoughts:** What a delightful bottle from start to finish, and yet how frustrating it is to even find! This is a bottle that deserves to be shared and savored, and that’s exactly how I enjoyed this one. I can only hope availability improves so more people can experience this bourbon without paying through the nose on secondary. **Score:** 5/5 - I’ll tell you why: this is the best of the best Buffalo Trace has to offer from an entire mashbill; no other mashbill #2 product even comes close. The only way I really see this getting better is if there’s a “Takara” version, which indicates a Japanese release, usually with improved specs over the US release (“Takara Red” for example, is Japanese released regular Blanton’s aged longer than US released Blanton’s). All that to say, I hope future SFTB releases get better and better! Thank you for reading. Cheers! 🥃
Yeah I hate that I love SFTB so much. It’s a banger!
***Scale: 1-5*** **1:** even my drain thinks this is swill (High West Campfire) **2:** not great on its own, but salvageable and best used as a mixer (most Basil Hayden expressions) **3:** perfectly average, equally solid neat or as a mixer (Jim Beam white label and other offerings in the same-shape bottle; Buffalo Trace) **4:** an excellent pour, wouldn’t take any way other than neat -although no one is stopping you from adding water/ice to taste- (Booker’s 2023 releases) **5:** truly a cut above the rest; represents the best of the best distillers have to offer (Hardin’s Creek: Jacob’s Well II)
I like the examples you give for each score. I have a friend I don't see too often who has a habit of doubling down on things he is completely wrong about. Met up with him a week or so ago for the first time in a few years and we ended up talking bourbon. He kept praising Basil Hayden as his favorite and, while I don't think it's terrible, I really don't think it's that good. Luckily I knew enough that night to keep my mouth shut about it.
It sounds elitist, but Basil Hayden's is what people who aren't into bourbon think is "good bourbon". I remember feeling fancy early on when I ordered a pour of it a bar. It's price point is higher and it's smooth/inoffensive, so non whiskey nerds think it's good. If you like it, more power to you, but there's nothing memorable about it to me whatsoever.
I think the "light at the end of the tunnel" is already getting to West KY. I've seen more BT products in the last 6 months than ever before. Recently saw a CYBP for 300, which is still crazy, but not the 500-600 I usually see it for. I've also seen 3 EH Taylor Barrel Proofs this week, before that It'd probably been 3-4 years before I'd seen one in stores. Cautiously optimistic we'll start being able to get BT products for more reasonable prices this year.
I’ve seen a flood of BT and Weller SR, but nothing higher than that so far. My next buy would be EHT Barrel Proof if reasonably priced
$400 everywhere I've seen it. Think I'm going to try to be patient and wait until I see it for something a bit more reasonable.
Yeah I could get one right this minute, but I ain’t paying $600 for a bottle, period.
Nicely done, great back story. I have been unimpressed with Blanton’s and Blanton’s Gold, but I have yet to try SFTB - based on this review, I will give this one a go at the next bar that offers it!!! Being barrel proof should help Blanton’s for me!
SFTB is how it should always be… so far one of my favorites from my current bottle I have opened. I do have another and I’m curious if it’s better, or worse, than my first one.
Barrel proof is where it’s at! Especially since we don’t have any mashbill #2 in BTAC at the moment
Great Review!! Out of the US releases, how would you rank standard Blanton’s, Gold, and SFTB? I recently did a side by side of those and SFTB definitely takes the standard Blanton’s base nose and palate, but turns it up to 12. Gold seems to deviate from the typical Blanton’s profile with the slightly higher proof point; leading more vanilla, oak, and tobacco through out. For me it’s a toss up between Gold and SFTB depending on my presence that day.
SFTB, Gold, then Blanton’s. If I had any sort of MSRP access to SFTB and Gold, I’d never buy regular Blanton’s ever again haha
Haha same here!! I was fortunate enough to get a lottery win for the Gold and my buddy traded for the SFTB! At this point, I’ll pick up regular Blanton’s at MSRP when I see it and bring it to celebrate friends/family
This is a minor detail, but Buffalo Trace/Sazerac don’t own Blanton’s or other mash bill 2 bourbons, those are owned by Japan-based Age International, which is in turn owned by Takara Shuzo (yep, that’s where the Takara comes from). That explains the wonky distribution in the US up until recently, not some warm fuzzy nostalgia on BT’s part. They just make the stuff.
That’s always been interesting to me. “We’ll make it, store it in our warehouse, bottle it ourselves, and even market it for you, but we don’t even own the brand”
BT is basically a contract distiller for Age International, which is a funny concept to wrap your head around, but there it is.
Yeah, makes me wonder what kinda coin gets tossed around for something like that
Got a bottle this year. Didn’t last long. It’s excellent.
Damn shame, ain’t it? They go so fast
As they should. Thoroughly enjoyed sharing it. Honestly I just need a few tastes of the special stuff - I enjoy the share more.
Given this score, how much over MSRP would you pay for a bottle of this?
Using my other top score as a reference for price… I’d have to say around $150 is where I’d top out. Anything much higher I’d just exercise patience with. Theres a spot around me right now selling one for about $350, and that ain’t happening.
Thanks! I saw it for $300 a couple weeks ago and $2000 about a month ago. I usually find $200 is the most I’d pay for any bottle (outside of a few obvious exceptions) so I definitely agree in being patient.
It's pretty findable online for 230-250 for a 700ml.. I'd probably pay that if I was a huge Blanton's fan and really wanted this. Like OP said though, with patience you may find it cheaper later.
I liked this review a lot. Haven’t tried this bottle yet but I’ll definitely get a pour next time I’m at WHP!
Glad you liked the review, and I hope you like your future pour even more!
Love this pic lol RIP 🤣