Description
Cured Oak is one of the rarest bottles in the line from Buffalo Trace. The idea is all about the wood. Barrel staves at the distillery usually dry outdoors for about six months. For this bourbon, they dried for 13 months, more than twice as long.
The finished barrels then rested in Warehouse C, which Colonel Taylor built himself. The whiskey is a Kentucky straight bourbon, Bottled in Bond at 100 proof. The first edition came out in 2015 after 17 years in wood. A 10-year-old edition followed in 2026, so check your label for the age.
Tobacco and dried fruit fill the aroma. On the palate you get vanilla, toffee and ripe figs, with dry oak underneath. The body is medium, and the finish is long and dry.
The 2015 edition won Silver for Best Non-Age Statement Bourbon at the 2016 World Whiskies Awards. It also honors a giant of the trade. Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. is called one of the founding fathers of bourbon. He fought for the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897.
Pour it neat into a tulip glass and give it a few minutes to breathe. A drop or two of water can lift more of the fruit. Try it with smoked brisket, aged cheddar or dark chocolate. Collectors will want to keep a bottle for a special night.
