Blanton's - Gold (Europe) - 103 Proof
$150
Blanton’s – Gold (Europe) – 103 Proof – 700ml
Barrel Info: Dumped 04/15/21 – Warehouse H – Rick No 15 – Barrel 148 – Bottle 270
Proof: 103
Age: 6 Years
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Single Barrel
Mash: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #2 (Estimated around 15% Rye)
Website: Buffalo Trace Distillery
*Disclaimer: A score of 5 is the midpoint for my reviews. Above 5 I like it. Below 5 I didn’t for some reason. Most of my reviews are between 4-7. It takes something really really special to go above 7 or below 4. See the methodologies for rating at the end of the article
Nose: Bit of Rye spice accompanied by sweet notes of Caramel and Vanilla. Deeper into the nose there’s Mild Oak, Sweet Tobacco, Red Apple, Dark Fruits, Earthy Floral, and some Cinnamon.
Taste/Palate: Straight out of the gate you get Charred Oak, Leather, and Tobacco then it quickly fades to sweeter notes of Honey, Caramel, and Vanilla.
Finish: The Oak, Tobacco, Caramel and Vanilla linger in the background and then the Cinnamon and Rye spice make a subtle appearance. There’s remanence of Charred Oak that comes through and sits on the palate for an extended period.
Verdict: This bottle was my favorite of all 7 that were reviewed in this line-up comparison. From Nose to Finish it had the best balance, complexity, alcohol presence, and overall delivered.
Price Ceiling (The Most I’d pay for this bottle): $150-$200 – If it wasn’t hard to find from overseas I wouldn’t pay more than $100.
The Story: It took me a while to amass the entire “standard” collection to do this head to head (times 7) review. I even had to borrow the bottle of Takara Gold on loan from a friend. After finally getting all 7 in my collection I had the wife put all 7 in random order for a blind tasting. I took my tasting notes on each as I went and I ranked them all prior to revealing which one was which. After I release all 7 reviews I’ll do one final write up that consolidates all 7. I can say that there were some surprises in the results, but nothing too crazy.
If you know anything about Bourbon I’m sure that that Blanton’s name is not new to you. What might come as a surprise is the different variations of Blanton’s that go across the pond that never see the light of day in the US. Here’s a breakdown of what I reviewed in the 7 Bottle Blanton’s Showdown. (All are Single Barrel)
– Japan – Blanton’s Gold – 103 Proof (Aged 8 Years)
– Europe– Blanton’s Special Reserve – 80 Proof (Aged 6 Years)
– United States – Blanton’s – 93 Proof
– Japan – Blanton’s Black – 80 Proof (Aged 8 years)
– Europe – Blanton’s Gold – 103 Proof (Aged 6 Years)
– United States – Blanton’s Straight From the Barrel – 129.2 Proof (Aged 6 Years)
– Japan – Blanton’s “Red” (Label looks cream color, but the box is red) – 93 Proof (Aged 8 Years
Blanton’s Euro Gold can be distinguished by the ml on the bottle. If it is slightly smaller and reads 700ml most likely it came from Europe. The Gold variations that come from Japan and the US are 750ml. Not to mention if it came from Japan you’ll see a sticker on the back with Japanese symbols. It’s rumored that US and Euro Gold Blanton’s are aged 6 years whereas the Japan version is aged 8. You won’t find Takara Gold in the states so you would need to find someone who lives there or grab it in a secondary market, which fetches around $400 for the Takara Gold. Head to head between these two bottles I sided with the Euro version that fetches a secondary of around $250. Since they are all single barrel offerings you might get get a winner or it could be a dud. There’s no denying Blanton’s is hot right now and I’m happy I got to sample 7 different offerings, but I will confirm it wasn’t a mind blowing experience. The difference in proof was evident, but the overall profile was consistent. Trust me when I say I enjoy sampling different Blanton’s bottles from time to time, but this stuff doesn’t live up to the hype. The secondary prices are well beyond that the juice delivers. At MSRP I enjoy Blanton’s, but that’s it. Just for reference. There was a Buffalo Trace Store pick that I really liked. I put it up against the 3 top Blanton’s from this head to head and the $25 Buffalo Trace store pick was clearly the winner. Just goes to show there might be more out there that people are missing just because they are chasing a shelf trophy.
The Distillery’s Story: “Named after former distillery president Colonel Albert B. Blanton, who always had very special supply of bourbon – his private reserve – handpicked and stored in legendary famous Warehouse H. The Blanton’s brand was launched in 1984 when Elmer T. Lee introduced the world to Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon a year before he retired. In doing so, he revolutionized the industry with the world’s first single barrel bourbon.”
Blanton’s is one of the highly sought after lines coming out of Buffalo Trace Distillery. Other high demand brands coming out of Buffalo Trace are Eagle Rare, Sazerac, Weller, E.H. Taylor, The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, Pappy Van Winkle, Old Carter, Elmer T Lee, & George T Stagg. Even the standard line of Buffalo Trace and their Bourbon Cream are hard to come by. Buffalo Trace pumps out a lot of high quality bourbon at usually a more than fair MSRP.
For Blanton’s specifically I asked myself the question “Why the heck does Japan get all the 8 year Blanton’s? Why does Poland have a special Blue label Blanton’s (Not included in the head to head)? Up until 2020 the United States, the only country that can produce bourbon had only one variation of Blanton’s. That was the Standard Tan Label, 93 Proof aged 6 years. In 2020 Blanton’s released on a very limited supply, Blanton’s Gold 103 Proof and Blanton Straight from the Barrel in the US. Both are 6 year offerings though. So once again, why is Europe and Japan getting all these variations on proof and extra age?
I went down a bit of a rabbit hole, but here’s what I found out. Blanton’s is distilled with Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #2. This Mash bill is said to be the “high rye” at around 15%. In my opinion that’s not “high rye” but at Buffalo Trace it is. Anywho, It’s said that Ancient Age actually owns that Mash Bill and has ties back to Japan. The older “good stuff” is sent oversees to Europe and Japan and here in the US we are left with the one variation. In 2020 that did change slightly when the US added on a very limited supply the Blanton’s Gold and Straight from the Barrel. I’m not sure if there was a change of heart here in the us, a change in ownership, or what, but it’s good to see. From what I hear Blanton’s is well liked in Europe and in Japan, but not like it is here. It’s much easier to find on the shelf and you don’t have to sell your first born to get it.
Methodologies for Rating:
1. Dump it down the drain or regift it to someone you don’t care for.
2. This doesn’t even belong in a mixed drink. Use in case of an emergency.
3. It’s really not for me, but I heard some people like it.
4. Its only good when I’ve had too many and it’s decent in a mixer.
5. Average. Not bad, but not special.
6. Above average. Good to bring to an event and you wouldn’t expect any guff from it.
7. Buy two if you see it to make sure you have one on reserve.
8. Very Very good. Constantly a GREAT POUR.
9. Superb. If I were to drink this and only this from now on I’d be a happy person.
10. Perfection is impossible. But this really comes as close as you can possibly get.
Reviewer: David S
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