Blanton’s Bourbon Whiskey Review

Updated April 25, 2025

By Richard Thomas

Average Rating: A-

Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon has the looks to go with an original whiskey classic, and as the first modern single barrel bourbon it is definitely that. The ornate spherical bottle and trophy-like race horse stopper are so eye-catching that some are drawn to Blanton’s bourbon for the packaging alone, and therefore inadvertently discover the grande dame of modern Kentucky bourbon whiskey. Hands down, Blanton’s has been one of the best bourbons on the market for almost 30 years.

Blanton’s is named for Col. Albert Blanton, a Frankfort, Kentucky native who began working at what became the Buffalo Trace distillery in the late 1890s and rose to manage the distillery around the time it was renamed in honor of George T. Stagg (another prominent name in the history of Kentucky bourbon) in 1912. Blanton decided that the barrels aged in the middle of the distillery’s Warehouse H produced the best whiskey, and adopted the practice of personally tasting and selecting barrels from this area to create a private reserve. When Buffalo Trace’s Elmer T. Lee invented the idea of single barrel bourbon — whiskey drawn entirely from a single barrel and not blended with other whiskey or additives — in 1984, he chose to use only barrels aged in the middle of Warehouse H and named the label after Blanton. In modern times, Warehouse H may or may not be used for the entire six to eight years of aging for a barrel of Blanton’s; Col. Blanton himself would sometimes move barrels he identified as particularly worthy to Warehouse H to finish their maturation, which is now a typical practice for the popular brand.

The Bourbon
Blanton’s has a deep reddish-gold color, the sort of off-amber appearance that is usually a good portent with bourbon whiskey. As the standard product for the Blanton’s bourbon line, the whiskey is aged for eight years in white oak barrels with a #4 char, and the date the whiskey was dumped from the barrel is noted on the label. It is bottled at 93 proof (46.5%).

Blanton’s Single Barrel has a nose of caramel and orange. The flavor is full-bodied with a hint of cloves and the burnt sweetness of caramel and orange.

Addendum by Kurt Maitland

Nose: Sharp citrus, bound with spice and vanilla

Color: Copper Red

Taste

• Sampled neat, one has the pleasure of a smooth drink, both in taste and feel. It doesn’t burn but still has bite. The promise of the nose is fulfilled in the taste. Carmel, vanilla and spice, melded into a perfect balance. Not too oily, not too dry with a finish that lingers for a while.
• With ice, the flavor opens up in new ways, with the citrus notes initially becoming more prominent and rounded, then fading into the vanilla/caramel. Later tastes shift the spices to the front and now the finish is a slightly drier yet still perfect blend of all the prior flavors.
• Final notes – One of my favorite bourbons bar none. This has been a constant in my liquor cabinet since I was first introduced to it.

The Price
Officially, Blanton’s is priced at $65 a bottle. However, as Pappy Fever spread to engulf all things made by Buffalo Trace, even Blanton’s was eventually consumed. The expression was hunted to extinction on store shelves during the Pandemic, with Wine-Searcher listing its market value (what you will pay to acquire a bottle on demand from an online retailer) at $149. That is actually an improvement on the market value in 2024, which was approximately $200.