Sips & Sites & Bites

If you’re a whiskey fan, fall means one thing … it’s Buffalo Trace Antique Collection season. But this year, the excitement hits a little differently. The legendary distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, is celebrating 25 years of BTAC with something we haven’t seen in almost two decades: a brand-new addition to the lineup.

Meet Colonel E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon, the newest (and permanent) member of one of whiskey’s most sought-after collections. It’s a fitting tribute to the man many call the Father of Modern Bourbon, whose vision and meticulous standards still shape the industry today.

A New Chapter for a Historic Collection

Since debuting in 2000, the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection has honored the distillery’s most historic brands and the innovators behind them. For 2025, that legacy expands to six bottles … now featuring Colonel E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond alongside the familiar all-stars:

• Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Bourbon
• George T. Stagg Bourbon
• Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye
• Sazerac 18-Year-Old Rye
• William Larue Weller Bourbon

It’s the first new BTAC member since 2006, and it arrives with the gravitas of its namesake. Taylor not only modernized distilling in the 1800s with copper fermenters and steam-heated warehouses (still in use today), he also helped push through the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 … the landmark law that guaranteed whiskey authenticity.

What’s Inside the Bottle

The E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon is aged 15 years and 4 months and bottled at 100 proof. Expect warm vanilla, seasoned oak, maple sweetness, and a soft caramel finish kissed with cherry. True to Taylor’s legacy, every bottle bears his signature.

The rest of the 2025 Antique Collection lineup offers what collectors have come to expect: powerhouse bourbons and ryes that balance age, proof, and personality. Highlights include a 142.8-proof George T. Stagg that brings unfiltered intensity, and a refined Sazerac 18-Year Rye that channels spice, oak, and history in every sip.

Each bottle is presented in BTAC’s clean, crystal-clear glass with an accompanying letter detailing its production story … a nod to transparency and tradition.

Suggested retail sits at $149.99, though availability remains famously tight. A limited number of bottles will also be offered via Legacy de Forge, Buffalo Trace’s new partnership with Blockbar for direct-to-consumer sales.

A Quarter-Century of Icons

For whiskey enthusiasts, BTAC isn’t just a release … it’s an annual ritual. The fact that this milestone year brings a new chapter to the story makes it all the more special. Colonel E.H. Taylor’s bottled-in-bond bourbon doesn’t just join the collection, it feels like it was destined to be there all along.