Blanton's Original Single Barrel Bourbon

Price

$109.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: NAS (Typically 6–8 Years) | Region: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA | Proof: 93 Proof

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

Proof

46.5%

ABV

750 mL

Format

Single Barrel

Batching

Warehouse

1984

Introduced

Blanton's Original Single Barrel is a 93-proof (46.5% ABV) Kentucky straight bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, bottled one barrel at a time from the center cut of Warehouse H since Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee introduced it in 1984. Each 750 mL label records its own barrel: dump date, barrel number, warehouse and rick number.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

93 proof, 46.5% ABV — the fixed strength of the Original; the Gold Edition is bottled at 103.

One barrel per bottling. Nothing is married across barrels, so each bottle answers to its own cask.

The center cut of Warehouse H, the metal-clad warehouse Colonel Blanton ordered after Prohibition.

Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #2, the recipe the Gold Edition and Straight From The Barrel share.

Eight stoppers since 1999, applied at random, one letter each.

Introduced in 1984 by Elmer T. Lee, a year before he retired.

Nº 02

Colonel Blanton & Elmer T. Lee

1897 to 1984

Albert B. Blanton joined the distillery in 1897 as a 16-year-old clerk, became its president in 1921 and ran it until 1952. When Prohibition ended in 1933 he ordered a metal warehouse because it could go up quickly; that building is Warehouse H, and he came to prefer the way its walls aged whiskey. Barrels he chose from its center were bottled one at a time for dignitaries, friends and family. In 1984, a year before his retirement, Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee made that practice a brand and named it for the Colonel — the world's first commercially available single-barrel bourbon, in Buffalo Trace's words — and Warehouse H has held Blanton's barrels ever since. Buffalo Trace also bottles a single barrel bourbon under Elmer T. Lee's own name.

Nº 03

Construction & Identification

What the bottle records

Barrel Record

One Label, One Barrel

The label names the barrel behind the bottle — dump date, barrel number, warehouse and rick number — and states that the bottle was individually selected, filtered and bottled by hand at 93 proof. The dump date is the day the whiskey left the barrel.

Recipe

Mash Bill #2, Three Bottlings

Buffalo Trace lists the Original, the Gold Edition and Straight From The Barrel under its Mash Bill #2 and states that they share one recipe. What separates them is how each is bottled: 93 proof here, 103 for Gold, and for Straight From The Barrel the barrel's own proof, uncut and unfiltered.

Warehouse

The Center Cut of H

Blanton's takes the Original from the center cut, the middle sections, of Warehouse H. Buffalo Trace says the metal-clad building amplifies temperature swings and so speeds maturation; it has been the home of Blanton's since 1984.

Stopper

A Race in Eight Frames

Since 1999 the horse-and-jockey stopper has come in eight versions, applied at random and each marked with one letter of B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S, so there are two different N stoppers. The poses follow a horse race; the S stopper shows the horse winning.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Nose: Creamy vanilla with caramel and butterscotch, underscored by baking spice — clove, nutmeg or cinnamon.
Taste: Sweet, with citrus and oak — the profile Blanton's publishes for the Original.
Single barrel: every bottle comes from one cask, so the balance moves a little from bottle to bottle.

Strategic Position

The Original is the fixed point of the line. The 103-proof Gold Edition uses the same recipe at ten proof points more, and the uncut, unfiltered barrel-proof bottling leaves each barrel at the strength it reached. In Japan, Takara Shuzo imports a 93-proof Blanton's Single Barrel in a maroon box — the bottling collectors call Takara Red.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

→

Read the Label First

The label is the bottle's own record of its barrel. Before paying for a Blanton's Original, check that the dump date, barrel number, warehouse and rick number are filled in and legible, and that the printed strength reads 46½% alcohol by volume, 93 proof.

→

The Stopper Set

Buffalo Trace applies the eight lettered stoppers at random, so a single bottle carries one letter and only a full run of eight spells B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S. The lettered set began in 1999.

Collector IndexMW VAULT

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Brand: Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon
Proof / ABV: 93 / 46.5%
Batching: Single barrel
Warehouse: H, center cut
Introduced: 1984, by Elmer T. Lee
Format: 750 mL

Browse every Blanton's bottling on our shelves, from the 93-proof Original upward.

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Class	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, single barrel
Proof	93
ABV	46.5%
Format	750 mL
Batching	Single barrel — one barrel per bottling
Mash bill	Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #2
Warehouse	Warehouse H, center cut
Barrel record	Dump date, barrel number, warehouse and rick number on each label
Label statement	Individually selected, filtered and bottled by hand at 93 proof
Recipe	The same recipe as Blanton's Gold Edition and Straight From The Barrel (Buffalo Trace, 2020)
Stopper	Horse and jockey; one of eight lettered stoppers, applied at random (since 1999)
Introduced	1984, by Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee
Distillery	Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Blanton's is bottled one barrel at a time. The Original's barrels come from the center cut of Warehouse H, the metal-clad warehouse Colonel Albert B. Blanton had built after Prohibition, and each is dumped, filtered and bottled at 93 proof; Buffalo Trace bottles the Gold Edition and Straight From The Barrel from the same Mash Bill #2 recipe at higher strengths. The label records the barrel's dump date, number, warehouse and rick.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Blanton's bourbon made?

Blanton's is made at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, and aged in Warehouse H, the metal warehouse Colonel Albert B. Blanton had built there after Prohibition. Blanton's Original Single Barrel is drawn from the center cut of that warehouse and bottled one barrel at a time.

What proof is Blanton's Original Single Barrel?

Blanton's Original Single Barrel is bottled at 93 proof, 46.5% alcohol by volume, on every bottle. From the same recipe, Buffalo Trace bottles Blanton's Gold Edition at 103 proof and Blanton's Straight From The Barrel at whatever proof its barrel reached.

What do the letters on Blanton's bottle stoppers mean?

Each Blanton's horse-and-jockey stopper carries one letter, and the eight different stoppers, applied at random, spell B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S when collected together. The lettered set was introduced in 1999; the poses follow the stages of a horse race, and the S stopper shows the horse winning.

What mashbill does Blanton's use?

Buffalo Trace lists Blanton's Original Single Barrel under the distillery's Mash Bill #2, and its 2020 announcements state that Blanton's Gold Edition and Straight From The Barrel are made from the same recipe. What differs is the bottling: the Original at 93 proof, the Gold Edition at 103, and Straight From The Barrel uncut and unfiltered at its barrel's proof.

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Blanton's

The Elemental Distinction

Colonel Blanton & Elmer T. Lee