Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr.

In 1869, Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor purchased a small distillery situated on the banks of the Kentucky River. Christened the distillery OFC (OFC was an abbreviation for Old Fire Copper) Distillery, Taylor began renovating and modernizing the plant he purchased copper fermentation tanks, new grain grinding equipment, and unique, columnar stills. During his tenure, Taylor also implemented several innovative distilling techniques, including aging whiskey in climate-controlled rickhouses.At the time, an overwhelming number of distilleries were still not aging their bourbon. In order to make their spirits palatable, some distillers and retailers added juices and syrups to sweeten their bourbon, while others added acid and tobacco to give their bourbon its signature amber hue.Armed with distilling experience and a political pedigree, Taylor, together with Treasury Secretary John G. Carlisle, was instrumental in passing the Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897 (27 C.F.R. 5.21). The act required that any spirit labeled as "Bonded" or "Bottled-in-Bond" be the product of one distiller at one distillery during one distillation season. In addition, the Act required that bonded spirits be aged in a federally bonded warehouse under U.S. government supervision for at least four years and bottled at 100 proof. Today, the Buffalo Trace Distillery continues the legacy of one of the founding fathers of bourbon with the Colonel E.H. Taylor collection that was first released in 2011.This small-batch expression features a combination of 3 different 18-year-old bourbons and 3 distinct Buffalo Trace mash bills: two rye bourbon mash bills and a wheated bourbon. After their 18 years of maturation, they were blended and married together, before being bottled at 100 proof. Being a one-time bottling, this premium bottled-in-bond bourbon is bound to sell out fast.Grab one of these limited-edition bottles today!