Buffalo Trace Distillery Announces Second Release of Col. E.H. Taylor Jr. Four Grain Bourbon Whiskey

E.H. Taylor Four Grain.

Buffalo Trace Distillery has announced a second release of its E. H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon Whiskey, available this spring. This is the “last call” for this Bourbon, with no plans of further releases in the near future. The first version was released in the Spring of 2017.

The E. H. Taylor Four Grain was made from a distinct Bourbon recipe using corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley. This Bourbon was distilled in 2005 and has a distinctly different flavor profile from the typical rye and wheat recipe Bourbons made at Buffalo Trace Distillery. These four grains were chosen since they are the four grains E. H. Taylor would have had access to when he set up shop at Buffalo Trace (then the O.F.C. Distillery) in the late 1800s. During the 1860s, Taylor traded in grains and learned that they can vary tremendously from different farmers and harvests. Taylor consistently wanted the products produced in his distillery “of upmost class,” right down to the grains.

The E. H. Taylor Four Grain is a small batch bourbon aged for 13 years, 100 proof, Bottled-In-Bond. Suggested retail pricing is $69.99 per 750ml bottle, the same as the first Four Grain release last year. It is part of the Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. collection, first released in early 2011 with several subsequent releases since then. Previous releases were the Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon, Warehouse C Tornado Surviving Bourbon, Barrel Proof Bourbon, Straight Rye Whiskey, Small Batch Bourbon, Cured Oak Bourbon and Seasoned Wood Bourbon. The Sour Mash, Warehouse C Tornado Surviving, Cured Oak, and Seasoned Wood Bourbons were one time only releases and are no longer available.

Like some of the previous releases, this limited edition will be hard to find. Also consistent with past releases, the Four Grain Bourbon displays a vintage label and is offered inside a distinct canister reminiscent of Taylor’s whiskey package from over one hundred years ago. These six bottle cases will be shipped in a wooden box modeled after the wooden crates used by Taylor to transport goods during the days before Prohibition.

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 the distillery that is known today as the Buffalo Trace Distillery. During his time, Taylor implemented several innovative methods still used today by Buffalo Trace, such as climate controlled aging warehouses. In addition to his Bourbon interests, Taylor had political ties. He was the great-nephew of President Zachary Taylor and elected the mayor of Frankfort, state representative to the Kentucky General Assembly and a member of the State Senate.

Caroline Paulus
Caroline Paulus is the Senior Editor for The Bourbon Review. She lives and writes in Lexington, Kentucky. Follow her on Instagram @misswhiskeyhistorian to keep up with her latest in bourbon news - and a few old finds, too.