Blanton’s Gold Edition (Bottled 2020) /51,5%/ – Single barrel bourbon sub-category started with Blanton’s in 1984. Nearing retirement, Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee, was tasked with creating a bourbon of exceptional quality. With careful reflection he recalled the earlier days of his career in the late 1940s, when he worked under Colonel Albert B. Blanton (president of the distillery until 1952). Mr. Lee remembered that when Colonel Blanton would entertain important guests he would pick ‘honey barrels’ from the center of Warehouse H and have their content bottled one barrel at a time. As a tribute to his mentor’s old tradition Elmer T. Lee decided to name the new bourbon ‘Blanton’s Single Barrel’. The barrels are always selected from warehouse H, the only metal warehouse on the distillery grounds, and the exclusive home of the Blanton’s brand. The metal walls are pretty thin and the temperature inside the warehouse is close to the actual outside temperature thus the bourbon is in the best way exposed to natural elements.
Blanton’s Gold was the second edition created, after the Original 93 proof. The 103 proof Blanton’s Gold is very limited, but a favorite among discerning bourbon aficionados – “hints of spicy rye and tobacco on the nose, followed by caramel and honey, dark fruit and citrus notes; the palate emulates the same complex aroma with rye, tobacco and honey, while oak and vanilla contribute to an extremely long and harmonious finish”.
