Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project

Making whiskey can be a tricky business. Everything from the ingredients used in the mash to the type of wood used for barrels will influence the final flavor. But what happens when a distillery gets incredibly precise about every element that could possibly change the flavor of a bottling? This is the question Buffalo Trace Distillery sought to answer in 1999 when the distillery launched one of the most ambitious projects in the country, the Single Oak Project.

Aiming to devise a batch of whiskey the public would clamor for, every aspect of production was controlled, recorded and compared to other production options to see how each decision would alter the final flavor. To begin, the distillery hand-picked and harvested 96 oak trees, which were used to make 192 barrels for experimentation. From there, they experimented with recipe, proof, stave seasoning, grain size, warehouse, char level, and tree cut (top or bottom half of the tree). Some were made with wheat, others rye; some entered the barrel at 105 proof, while others amped the volume to 125; grain sizes were tight, average or course. All of the whiskies were aged for a total of eight years.

Each bottling was released to the public intermittently, and for the past four years feedback from drinkers has helped the distillery narrow down the options to identify the best batch. More than 5,645 people participated in this process, culling 5,086 unique whiskey reviews. Now, the distillery has announced the final selection. Batch #80 is a rye-based bourbon with oak harvested from the bottom half of the tree and staves aged for 12 months. The grain size of the wood is “average” and the barrel received a number four char inside before the liquid entered at 125-proof. The barrels were aged in a concrete floor warehouse for eight years before bottling.

Master Distiller Harlan Wheatley says the winning whiskey is “full flavored, rich and sweet vanilla with a hint of oak.  Much more flavor than others with very nice balance.”

The only downside? Whiskey takes time and patience to be crafted to these standards, so the first batches of Single Oak Bourbon won’t finish aging until 2025.