EH Taylor Single Barrel Review
EH Taylor Single Barrel is a highly sought-after bourbon from Buffalo Trace’s EH Taylor product line which was first released in late 2011, and continues to be released several times each year. The “EH” in the name refers to Edmund Haynes, the founder of the distillery. This particular expression is crafted using the low-rye mash bill #1, which is also used for other popular bourbons like Eagle Rare 10 and Stagg Jr.
What sets EH Taylor Single Barrel apart from EH Taylor Small Batch is its production process. While the Small Batch version is blended from various barrels to create a consistent flavor profile, the Single Barrel version comes exclusively from a single barrel. This means that each bottle of EH Taylor Single Barrel offers a unique flavor experience, showcasing the distinct characteristics of that particular barrel.
From the Buffalo Trace website:
“Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. is widely considered one of the founding fathers of the bourbon industry, fighting for the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, nearly three decades after he purchased what is now called Buffalo Trace Distillery. During his time, Taylor implemented several innovative methods still used today, including climate controlled aging warehouses. E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel is aged exclusively in Warehouse C, which was built by Taylor in 1881 and proven to be an excellent aging warehouse. Each barrel is hand-picked and Bottled in Bond at 100 proof to honor its namesake.”
Series: Colonel E.H. Taylor series
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Age: NAS, but rumored to be ~7 years
Proof: 100
Proof Designation: Bottled in Bond
Filtered Status: Chill Filtered
Mash bill: Buffalo Trace Mash #1, speculated to be 75% corn, 15% barley, 10% rye
Distillery: Buffalo Trace
Company: Sazerac Company
Distilled/Aging Location: Frankfort, Kentucky
Batch Release Date: 2022
Release Cadence: several releases per year
MSRP: $60 – $70
Aftermarket $: $150 – $300
Availability: Low/Rare
Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel Review
My tasting reviews are unique in that I include the notes of several well-known whiskey critics. The hope is that this format will help me and others to explore and expand their tasting experience. After you have taken your own tasting notes, read the reviews and see if there is a flavor note that others discerned that now you can detect as well.
Other Reviewer’s Tasting Notes
Special Note: since this is a Single Barrel bourbon, the “Other Reviewer’s Perceptions” below are definately from different barrels and probably from different years, so tasting notes will vary.
Nose
Vanilla, sweet oak, caramel, honey. With a light inhale through nose & mouth I caught a light scent of creamed corn.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
The Whiskey Shelf: 2018 release: Nice blend of honey, baked bread, vanilla, and light apples, raisins, and grapes, like a lightly sweetened bread stuffed with fruits. Black pepper, citrus, and grass with a light underlying wood note round it out, bringing a bright and refreshing pine and lemon scent to my nose.
Breaking Bourbon: 2020 release: Oak infused creamy vanilla is most prominent. Joining in are wafts of oatmeal, creamed corn, bubble gum, and fresh summer flowers. The vanilla scents are the highlight of the nose and are both delicate and prominent all at once.
Whiskey Jar Blog: 2019 release: Apple notes, like caramel apples at Halloween. Hints of rye and oak as well on the nose.
Palate
Semi-sweet. It hits the back palate first with light barrel char, spicy barrel, old cedar, and black pepper, then the mid-palate with mild baking spices, leather. Mildly sweet caramel, vanilla, brown sugar, and honey throughout the taste. It has a nice, creamy mouth-feel.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
The Whiskey Shelf: Moderately strong honey sweetness with fruits, freshly ground black pepper, clove, and charred oak initially cover my taste buds. “Chewing” brings out more honey, vanilla, and apricot sweetness, as well as slightly sweet yet bitter orange rind. The wood, infusing cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and peppermint patty-like chocolatey mint add to the overall bright and enjoyable flavors.
Breaking Bourbon: This single barrel provides a palate that rewards you for taking your time and really exploring the sip. The vanilla carries over to the palate, however it isn’t the main focus. Instead a multitude of flavors develop alongside, including raisins, brown sugar, butterscotch, rye spice, dried oak, and leather. Its breadth and depth are a delight to explore, and when you add in its creamy mouthfeel, the palate is clearly the star of the sip.
Whiskey Jar Blog: Heavy vanilla, corn syrup, apple, caramel, followed by baking spices, cloves, and perique pipe tobacco on an extremely long finish. The mouthfeel is medium heavy as far as body.
Finish
Moderately long with vanilla, leather, tannic walnuts, sweet oak, brown sugar.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
The Whiskey Shelf: The finish starts with honey and apple sweetness, charred wood, and grass. With “chewing”, the finish becomes more oaky and sweeter with honey, apples, and buttercream. As the wood fades, mint, cocoa powder, and anise sweetness appear.
Breaking Bourbon: The finish is full of drier flavors, which includes tobacco, leather, oak, and rye spice. A light dollop of butterscotch helps to temper the dryness. Oak and white pepper linger for an incredibly long time, giving the finish a welcomed staying power that ends on a high note.
Whiskey Jar Blog: Some Buffalo Trace bourbons have a drying oaky finish on palate, particularly Eagle Rare. The finishes on the E.H. Taylor line, however, tend to be very juicy, and I just prefer that as a matter of taste.
The Burn
5 out of 5. This means that the burn from the alcohol is a lot lower (10% to 20%) than what I would expect it to be for something that’s this high of a proof. I would guess this to be around 90 proof, not 100 proof.
Summary
If you can find this for MSRP then it is a great bottle. But, since it tends to be difficult to find, the aftermarket prices of $100 – $300 just are not worth the juice in the bottle. Especially when the E.H. Taylor Small Batch is a little more available and significantly cheaper.
Which Batch of E.H. Taylor Single Barrel do I Have?
The Buffalo Trace laser code on the bottom side of the bottle will tell you which year’s release you have. This bottle has the laser code L221010101:46K. The L stands for the bottling Lot at Buffalo Trace Distillery. 22 stands for 2022. 101 is the day of the year that it was bottled, which would be April 11th. 01 is the plant number. The end of the code designates the time of day (in military time) that it was bottled, so 01:46 would mean 1:46 am. And K stands for the bottling Line.
My Tasting Notes
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EH SiB is one of my favorites. Especially the SP’s!