If you’ve been on these forums long enough, you probably know I am not a Buffalo Trace fan. My unpopular hot take is Blanton’s is overrated (although I know many on here agree with me). Now, don’t get me wrong, Buffalo Trace makes good bourbon. In fact Stagg Jr is excellent....if you can find it. As for Blanton’s and Buffalo Trace, the hype doesn’t match what you are getting IMHO, so I don’t bother searching for it and, honestly, when I see a bottle of Blanton’s I usually pass it up for something better. Here in my state, whenever anything Buffalo Trace hits the shelves, every Tom, Dick, and Harry hurries to the store and scoops them up them up before lunch. It’s quite silly, really. Again, it doesn’t affect me because there is better bourbon to be enjoyed.

Enter John J Bowman Single Barrell. Bowman Distillery is a small distillery in Fredericksburg, VA. You’ve probably seen their bottles in stores but passed them up because you have never heard of them before. In fact you may have ignored their bourbon as you were itching to buy that fancy bottle of Blanton’s. Well, guess what? Bowman doesn’t produce their own distillate. They source it. Well, guess where their distillate comes from? Glad you asked. It comes from Buffalo Trace. Buffalo Trace distills a custom mashbill for Bowman - some say it’s a mix of mashbills #1 and #2 (both higher rye mashbills - one has 9% rye and the other has 12% rye) but can’t get 100% confirmation on that. Anyway, the it’s distilled twice at BT before it is shipped to Fredericksburg, VA. When the folks in Virginia get it, they distill it a 3rd time in a copper pot still (which isn’t as "efficient" as a column still but provides more flavor). After distilling, the white dog is barreled in new charred oak barrels and stacked in the warehouse vertically. The barrels that go into Bowman Single Barrel are rumored to be aged 10 years and are considered the "honey" barrels. They get bottled in Fredericksburg, from what I understand while the other barrels are sent to Baltimore for bottling ther other products (small batch, etc). At least that is what I have read from multiple sources.

Bowman Single Barrell is an 8-10 year bourbon bottle at 100 proof and costs around $50 here in VA. What about taste? Well, it’s every bit worth it’s price and is a lot better than Blanton’s. The taste is bakery sweet, oakey, and oh so smooth. This one’s a winner folks. Next time you go on a hunt for Blanton’s or any other Buffalo Trace product, go get yourself some Bowman Single Barrel and save a few bucks on a better bourbon. It just might become your new Buffalo Trace favorite. And it’s more available too.

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