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Buffalo Trace Distillery releases the eleventh round of the Single Oak Project Bourbon which focuses on recipe differences, with variances between wheat and rye recipes, and also warehouse type – concrete floor warehouse or wooden floor warehouse.
The wood grain size also varies in this release between coarse, average, or tight, leaving other variables in this experiment constant – char level, tree cut, stave seasoning and entry proof.
Warehouses play a vital part in the aging process of bourbon, and by using two different warehouse types in the Single Oak Project, Warehouse K, a brick warehouse with wooden floors, and Warehouse L, also a brick warehouse but with concrete floors, the differences between the two warehouses can really be examined in this eleventh release.
Warehouse K has nine floors, all wooden, and is considered a good warehouse for different ages of bourbons. It has good air flow, with the first floor being cool and damp for slow aging, and the top floors being hot and dry, which ages young barrels more quickly. “We like Warehouse K because it gives us a lot of variety,” said Harlen Wheatley, master distiller. “We know based on experience and the anticipated use of the bourbon where to best store each brand in this warehouse.”
Inside a Buffalo Trace warehouse
(Credit: Joana Thomas)
By contrast, Warehouse L has five floors which are all concrete and is considered by some at Buffalo Trace to be the best all-around aging warehouse. The windows on the west side of the building bring a consistent air flow. With its slow temperature changes, Warehouse L is great for slow aging wheat bourbons. Its concrete walls and floors create a very concentrated aging environment. “Warehouse L is one of our best warehouses,” continued Wheatley. “We dedicated L to our Warehouse Operations Manager Leonard Riddle who has served us in the operations department for 49 years (and counting!) and knows a thing or two about aging good bourbon.”
Consumers still continue to log into www.singleoakproject.com to review and score multiple bottles, with more than 3,000 reviews so far. Buffalo Trace Distillery encourages more people to get involved, as there are still 60 more bottles to be released and reviewed before this project ends in 2015!
The Single Oak Project is part of an intensive research project Buffalo Trace Distillery started conducting in 1999 by hand picking 96 trees with different wood grains and then dividing them into a top and bottom piece, yielding 192 unique sections. From there, staves were created from each section and were air dried for either 6 months or 12 months. After all the staves were air dried, a single barrel was created from each tree section, resulting in 192 total barrels. These barrels were given either a number three or a number four char and then filled with either wheat or rye recipe bourbon.
To further the variety of experiments, the barrels were filled at two different proofs, 105 and 125 proof. And if this wasn’t enough, two completely different warehouses were used, one with wooden floors and one with concrete floors. In total, seven different variables were employed in Buffalo Trace’s ultimate experiment.
For eight years the Distillery continued with its tracking process, creating intricate databases and coming up with a potential of 1,396 tasting combinations from these 192 barrels!
The Single Oak Project
(Credit: Buffalo Trace)
The Single Oak Project Bourbon is being released in a series every three months from 2011 through 2015 until all of the 192 barrels have been released. The first release hit select stores in 2011. This eleventh release will reach stores towards the end of November. Like all the other releases, the quantities are very limited. Every case will contain 12 bottles, each from a different barrel. The eleventh release is made up of barrel numbers 19, 23, 51, 55, 83, 87, 115, 119, 147, 151, 179, and 183. All releases will be packaged in a 375ml bottle. Suggested retail pricing per bottle is $46.35.
At the conclusion of the Single Oak Project, the Distillery plans to take the top rated Single Oak Project Bourbon and make more just like it, under the Single Oak name.
