As it’s nearly summertime, that means that for many, myself included, it’s bourbon whiskey season. 

While I enjoy bourbon whiskey all year long, I especially enjoy it on a warm summer’s day. I can quite happily sip it neat, over ice, with cola, ginger ale, lemonade, in an Old Fashioned, and in many other ways besides. I’m also partial to a bourbon with my BBQ (as you’ll probably be aware if you’ve read a few of the blogs I’ve written in the past). With whisky/whiskey, I try not to pick favourites, but when it comes to Blanton’s Bourbon, it’s definitely up there with the best. 

Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon whiskey is considered by many to be the ultimate bourbon whiskey. It’s the Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, and Jaguar of the bourbon world all rolled into one. It should come as little surprise then, to learn that Blanton’s has acquired a cult following over the years and has positioned itself as one of the finest whiskies ever produced. It’s also very rare and has the price tag to match.

But what is it about Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon that makes it so special? Well, that’s precisely what I’m going to talk about today. 

What is Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon?

Distilled in Kentucky (of course) at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Blanton’s is marketed and produced by the Sazerac Company. Sazerac, however, do not own the brand. Instead, they simply hold the distilling rights. Blanton’s is in fact owned by Age International Inc, who acquired the brand back in 1984. 

The whiskey is renowned for its smooth, rich, and complex characteristics, as well as its uniquely shaped bottle and signature metal stopper/cap featuring a horse and jockey motif. These stoppers have become hugely collectible over the years as each one features a horse and jockey in a different position, representing the different parts of a horse race. Each stopper is also engraved with a letter, which, when combined with the rest of the stoppers in a set, spells out the word ‘BLANTON’S’. 

Produced from one single bourbon cask at a time, (hence the name) the whiskey helped make bourbon a premium whiskey and has since obtained cult status. Once you try Blanton’s, you’ll never look at bourbon in the same way again. 

The Man Behind the Name

Typically, when bourbon first came on the scene, it was common practice to take different whiskies from different barrels, and blend them together until you achieved a product worth selling. Don’t get me wrong, some of the finest bourbons in the world have been produced this way, and still are in fact. Blanton’s however, wanted to create a product that stood head and shoulders above the rest. They wanted a product that not only stood out, but one which was superior. 

Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon can be traced back to Colonel Albert B. Blanton. Blanton was Kentucky born and bred. Born in 1881, he grew up a stone’s throw away from what is now known as the Buffalo Trace Distillery (previously known as the Old Fire Copper Distillery and the George T. Stagg Distillery). At aged 16 he began working in the office there, gradually learning the ins and outs of the bourbon trade. He helped steer the distillery through conflict, as well as Prohibition, floods, and The Great Depression. 

Blanton would eventually become president of the distillery, and rightfully so. During the 1940s, the distillery was far more established and often welcomed VIPs. Here, they would of course be presented with the finest bourbon at the distillery, by Albert himself. Blanton, ever perceptive, began noticing differences in the quality of the bourbon stored in the metal-clad warehouse. He noticed that barrels stored in one part of the warehouse produced bourbon that smelled, looked, and tasted better than all the rest. It was from these very barrels that he would source bourbon for special occasions. 

The warehouse, known as Warehouse H, had been commissioned by Blanton after prohibition. The metal cladding, coupled with the contrasting Kentucky seasons, produced dramatic temperature fluctuations in the warehouse. This meant that barrels stored in different parts of the warehouse aged differently. 

Creating Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon

While Colonel Albert B. Blanton is the name behind the bourbon, had it not been for a man named Elmer T. Lee, Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon would likely not be here today. 

Following WW2, Elmer began working at the distillery, after initially being turned away by the Colonel himself. He too worked his way up from a maintenance engineer, before eventually becoming a Master Distiller.

Ironically, it wasn’t until he was one year away from retirement that Elmer helped to revolutionize the bourbon whiskey industry as we know it today. The distillery tasked Elmer with coming up with a new and unique bourbon. They wanted one which stood out and was truly innovative. Elmer racked his brains and thought back to his time as an apprentice in the 1940s. 

Elmer remembered how, whenever VIPs would visit the distillery, the Colonel would always select bourbon from one single barrel in Warehouse H. This was notable because, like we learned earlier, it was common practice to blend bourbons. Elmer decided to bottle Blanton’s bourbon from one single barrel. Each bottle is an expression of one single, unique, hand-picked barrel. Nowadays, single cask bottlings are very common. Back then, it was revolutionary. 

Named in Colonel Albert Blanton’s honour, the whiskey was introduced in 1984 and immediately revolutionized the bourbon whiskey biz. The whiskey proved hugely popular, and quickly gained notoriety all over the States, before eventually expanding across the globe. 

Why is Warehouse H so Important?

To this day, the world-famous Warehouse H still stands prominently at the Buffalo Trace Distillery. 

Rather than bricks and mortar, Albert had commissioned the warehouse to be made predominantly from metal. It was this decision which ultimately helped turn Blanton’s into arguably the most popular premium bourbon in the world. 

Whereas in Scotland you can experience all four seasons in one day, in Kentucky, each season is very different to the last. The summers get hot and humid, whereas the winters can get extremely cold. It is this contrast in temperatures that helped to produce such exquisite whiskey. 

The metal-clad walls react different to the heat and cold. They allow hot and cold temps to creep in much quicker. This causes the oak barrels to contract and expand more frequently. This allows the whiskey to become more heavily influenced by the oak. Not only does it help give it such a unique amber-ruby colour, it helps give more complex flavours, aromas, and notes, all capped off with a silky-smooth finish.