Honey, vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, and baking spice in an easy-drinking 93-proof single barrel. I've always enjoyed it. The harder question now is whether the bottle is still worth the price.
This bottle: Barrel 96 · Warehouse H · Rick 1 · Dumped 7-15-20
Honey, vanilla, and baking spices. Sweet and familiar from the first pour without being overly heavy.
Smooth from start to finish, with honey, vanilla, caramel, and brown sugar carrying the pour.
Smooth across the palate with an easy finish that keeps the sweeter notes in the conversation.
I've always enjoyed Blanton's. It's approachable, smooth, recognizable, and this bottle delivers the honey, vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, and baking-spice profile I expect from it.
But price matters. At $69.95, I was happy to have it on the shelf. At $82.95, the value equation changes. In my opinion, Blanton's has become overpriced for what is in the bottle.
I already have several bottles bought at the older price points, so I'm in no hurry to replace one at the new Oregon price.
Buffalo Trace credits Blanton's, introduced in 1984 by Elmer T. Lee, with pioneering the modern single-barrel bourbon category. The brand is tied closely to Warehouse H, the distillery's metal-clad warehouse, and each bottle is drawn from a single barrel.
The horse-and-jockey stoppers are part of the bottle's identity, but the reason Blanton's still matters is bigger than the packaging. It helped make single-barrel bourbon a category people actively looked for.