Sips & Sites & Bites

If you’re driving through Wyoming anytime soon, you might want to leave a little room in the trunk. Wyoming Whiskey just released a special edition bourbon … and it’s a spirited nod to one of the West’s most legendary figures: Buffalo Bill Cody.

This new release, simply named Buffalo Bill Cody, is a six-year-old straight bourbon, blended from 26 barrels pulled from the distillery’s rickhouses in Kirby. It clocks in at 96 proof and offers a tasting ride worthy of its namesake … from leather and tobacco to honeyed almonds and molasses. But what makes this bottle stand out even more is the story behind it.

Buffalo Bill was more than just a guy in a big hat. He was a Pony Express rider, Union Army scout, frontier legend, and a showman who practically invented the idea of celebrity tours. His Wild West shows brought the drama of the American frontier to audiences around the globe. Even Annie Oakley called him “the simplest of men,” just as at ease with ranch hands as he was with royalty. It’s fitting, then, that Wyoming’s first legal distillery would tip their hat to him in the form of a bourbon that’s both bold and nuanced.

Wyoming Whiskey’s master blender Brendan Cook leaned into the frontier flavor profile with this one. There are classic WW notes here … caramel, vanilla, spice … but they’re joined by deeper, duskier tones: toffee, tobacco, Black Forest cake, and candied ginger. The finish is long and slightly drying, like the high plains wind that no doubt followed Cody wherever he rode.

Released to mark the anniversary of the distillery’s first production (July 4, 2009), this annual tradition has become a sort of love letter to the Cowboy State. Each year’s Wyoming-exclusive release honors a different thread in the state’s long, dusty tapestry. This year, that thread just happens to wear fringe and ride a painted horse.

Buffalo Bill Cody bourbon is available now, in limited supply, in select states across the U.S. And if your travels take you near Yellowstone, the Bighorns, or maybe the town of Cody itself, consider making a detour. This is the kind of bottle that won’t just sit on a shelf … it’ll spark stories. Just like the man himself.