Friday, April 29th is Arbor Day. So what is Arbor Day?
“Arbor” is Latin for “tree”. Per history.com, Arbor Day goes back to the late 1800’s (Nebraska of all places) with the purpose of honoring trees and their importance to our environment. Planting trees is a common celebrational component of it.
While it may not be stenciled on your calendar (we forgive you), if you appreciate Bourbon, well, you definitely appreciate trees. Oak is the vessel that ages Bourbon giving all its color and a substantial part of its flavor. No oak. No Bourbon.
Today, Buffalo Trace Distillery will dedicate the morning teaching the next generation about the importance of trees and how to properly plant and care for them.
In conjunction, they are also donating bottles of our Single Oak Project Bourbon to nonprofits whose missions support environmental education, preservation and sustainability.
Representatives from Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Blackacre, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and White Oak Initiative will be on hand to receive these bottles and available to speak.
Buffalo Trace Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley will also be on hand to speak about their Single Oak Project and the importance of hands-on learning. So in the name Bourbon, go out today and please be good to our trees and our environment. And thereafter would be even better, for the Bourbon:)
SINGLE OAK PROJECT
You may recall, SOP goes back to 2011 and was a uniquely innovative data driven journey by Buffalo Trace Distillery to find what the consumer really wants in a Bourbon. Below is recap from the SOP website.
It all started with 96 individually selected American oak trees. These trees were carefully chosen with special consideration for the thickness of the wood grain. Then, staves were made from these trees and kept close together for seasoning. Not just staves of the same tree, but staves of the same half of the tree, both bottom and top, were then made into single oak barrels and uniquely charred.
Next, the oak barrels were filled with different whiskeys, altering the combination of mashbill recipe and entry proof used. The barrels were aged in a variety of warehouses , on different floors and in different locations. Each barrel in the Single Oak Project is different from every other barrel in at least one aspect.
As the bourbon aged, we prepared ourselves to reveal the results — the outcome of the most experimental undertaking of its kind — to the whiskey connoisseurs of the world. Savor these unique bourbons and give us your feedback. We want you to share your thoughts with other like-minded whiskey drinkers and have open discussions about this experimental undertaking. We want you to be a part of the exciting, groundbreaking piece of research we call the Single Oak Project.
