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Alcohology - "Buffalo Trace"
Manage episode 520350131 series 3426423
A herd of buffalo carved a path across Kentucky, and that same path led to one of the most storied distilleries in America. We follow that trail from frontier stills to a modern distillery campus, unpacking how Buffalo Trace became a benchmark for bourbon history, science, and hype—often all in the same bottle.
We start with the unlikely origin story: prehistoric buffalo trails guiding settlers to a natural river crossing, early farm mashups turning into documented distilling, and a run of owners who built, rebuilt, and refined through fires and setbacks. The narrative accelerates with E.H. Taylor Jr., who pushed for federal standards and turned whiskey making into a repeatable craft, then shifts to George T. Stagg’s scale-up. The Prohibition chapter proves pivotal too as stills were kept running and knowledge alive.
From there, we spotlight Elmer T. Lee, the WWII veteran who treated bourbon like a system to be modeled. His creation of Blanton’s Single Barrel reframed what premium could mean, celebrating individuality instead of blending it away. Under Sazerac, the portfolio expanded into a galaxy—Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, W.L. Weller, George T. Stagg, Elmer T. Lee, and the Van Winkle partnership—each with distinct mash bills, age statements, and loyal followings.
We break down why bottles vanish and why billion-dollar expansions still can’t rush oak. Through floods, fires, and shifting tastes, Buffalo Trace keeps threading tradition with experimentation, turning history into a living practice that you can actually taste.
If you love bourbon lore and the craft behind the hype, this story is your pour. Hit follow, share with a friend who’s still hunting their first Eagle Rare, and drop a review to tell us what bottle you’re chasing next. Cheers.
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Chapters
1. Cold Open (00:00:00)
2. Origins Of Buffalo Trace (00:00:17)
3. E.H. Taylor’s Science Revolution (00:01:23)
4. Stagg Era And Early Innovation (00:01:50)
5. Prohibition And Medicinal Whiskey (00:02:10)
6. Elmer T. Lee And Single Barrel (00:02:59)
7. Sazerac Era And Brand Galaxy (00:03:35)
8. Scarcity, Aging, And Demand Spike (00:04:22)
9. Warehouse X And Ongoing Experiments (00:05:55)
10. Sponsor And Listener Actions (00:07:11)
66 episodes
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