Blanton's Black 80 Proof Bourbon (Japan)

Q: What is Blanton's Black?

Blanton's Black — ブラントン ブラック in Takara Shuzo's Japanese range — is a Blanton's single barrel bourbon bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV) and sold in Japan as a 750 mL bottle in a gift box. Its distillery is Buffalo Trace, in Frankfort, Kentucky; it wears a black label lettered in gold, and Takara, its importer, describes it as made by Blanton's method with a slightly milder mouthfeel.

Price

$179.95

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

Age: 8-Year Minimum (Japanese Standard) | Region: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA | Proof:

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

Proof

40%

ABV

750 mL

Format

Single Barrel

Batching

Japan

Market

Gift Box

Presentation

Takara Shuzo sells this Blanton's in Japan as ブラントンブラック, Blanton's Black: a single barrel Kentucky straight bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort at 80 proof, 40% alcohol by volume, in a 750 mL bottle and gift box, its label black and lettered in gold. In Takara's words it keeps Blanton's method unchanged and is finished a little milder in the mouth; it is the lowest-strength Blanton's on Takara's lineup.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

Bottled at 80 proof, 40% alcohol by volume, as the label prints and Takara Shuzo lists.

The lowest strength Takara lists for Blanton's: Black 40%, Blanton's 46.5%, Gold 51.5%, Straight From The Barrel 66%.

Black, lettered in gold — front label, neck band and the carton photographed.

One barrel per bottling; its dump date, barrel number, warehouse and rick are written onto each label by hand.

Listed as ブラントンブラック, 750 mL in a gift box, in Takara Shuzo's Japanese range.

Blanton's method, a milder mouthfeel — Takara's own summary of the bottling.

Nº 02

Takara Shuzo & the 80-Proof Blanton's

Four strengths for Japan

Of the four Blanton's bottlings Takara Shuzo sells in Japan, every one in a 750 mL bottle, Black is bottled the lowest, at 40%; Takara's Blanton's comes next at 46.5%, then the 51.5% Gold, then the 66% Straight From The Barrel, sold only through designated sales routes. Takara writes that Black carries Blanton's method over unchanged with a slightly softer mouthfeel, keeping the fine edge and depth it credits to single barrel bourbon. Takara's history of the brand opens at the Ancient Age Distillery, now Buffalo Trace, where in the winter of 1984 Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee, close to retirement, introduced Blanton's in honor of Albert Bacon Blanton — who, Takara relates, had special barrels known as honey barrels drawn from Warehouse H and bottled to entertain dignitaries and honored guests.

Nº 03

Construction & Identification

What the bottle records

Label

Gold Script on Black

The front label is black, printed in gold. Filled in by hand: when the barrel was dumped, its barrel and rick numbers, its warehouse, and the proof — 80 — in the line stating that the whiskey was individually selected, filtered and bottled by hand. Printed along the foot: the class line and 40% ALC./VOL. (80 PROOF).

Neck

Name Above Katakana

The neck band, black and gold like the label, reads Blanton's, then Single Barrel Bourbon, then ウイスキー — whisky, in katakana.

Carton

A Black Gift Box

Takara Shuzo sells Black in a gift box. The box photographed is black, with Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon in gold inside a framed panel and gold horses and jockeys racing along its base.

Stopper

Eight Riders, One Letter Each

Takara describes the stoppers as a horse and jockey at eight points of a race, from start to finish, each stamped with one letter of B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S; the S rider is the winner.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Takara Shuzo's note: a faintly floral nose with a trace of cedar and raisin, wrapped in soft vanilla; light and airy on entry, then vanilla and toffee in the lead, with fine accents of dried fruit and white pepper.
Takara's shorthand: cedar on the nose, vanilla on the palate.
Barrel by barrel: each bottling draws on a single barrel, so the balance can move from one barrel number to the next.

Strategic Position

Black sits at the bottom of Takara Shuzo's Blanton's strengths: 80 proof, against 93 for Takara's 46.5% Blanton's in its maroon carton and 103 for Takara's Gold Edition at 51.5%. Each is a single barrel bourbon; strength and dress set them apart. Blanton's own website lists one bottling at the same 80 proof, Special Reserve, for select international markets outside the United States.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

→

Read the Proof Twice

A Japanese-market Blanton's at 40% shows its strength twice: the proof written into the barrel record reads 80, and the printed line at the label's foot reads 40% ALC./VOL. (80 PROOF). On Takara's 46.5% bottling the written proof is 93.

→

A Name From Takara

Takara Shuzo lists the bottling as ブラントンブラック, Blanton's Black. The neck says Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon, as on Takara's 46.5% bottling, so the strength and the black label, neck band and carton are what tell the two apart.

Collector IndexMW VAULT

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Importer: Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.
Listed as: ブラントンブラック
Proof / ABV: 80 / 40%
Batching: Single barrel
Format: 750 mL, gift box

Black is shelved with our bourbon, single barrels included, and beside Blanton's bottled for the US and for Japan.

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Class	Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, single barrel
Label name	Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon, with ウイスキー (neck label)
Listed as	ブラントンブラック (Takara Shuzo)
Proof	80
ABV	40%
Format	750 mL, in gift box
Batching	Single barrel — one barrel per bottling
Market	Japan; imported by Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.
Barrel record	Dump date, barrel number, warehouse and rick number handwritten on each label
Label statement	Individually selected, filtered and bottled by hand at 80 proof
Label	Black, printed in gold
Carton	Black, printed in gold, with a frieze of racehorses (the box photographed)
Wax	Black (the bottle photographed)
Stopper	Horse and jockey; one of eight, each stamped with a letter of B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S
Distillery	Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Takara Shuzo presents Black as Blanton's made by the brand's own method. Every bottling is drawn from a single barrel, and the label names that barrel by hand — dump date, barrel number, warehouse, rick — under the statement that the whiskey was individually selected, filtered and bottled by hand at 80 proof, 40% alcohol by volume. Takara describes Warehouse H at Buffalo Trace Distillery, where Blanton's began in 1984, as still holding barrels of single barrel bourbon as they mature.

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

What is Blanton's Black?

Blanton's Black — ブラントンブラック in Takara Shuzo's Japanese range — is a Blanton's single barrel bourbon bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV) and sold in Japan as a 750 mL bottle in a gift box. Its distillery is Buffalo Trace, in Frankfort, Kentucky; it wears a black label lettered in gold, and Takara, its importer, describes it as made by Blanton's method with a slightly milder mouthfeel.

What proof is Blanton's Black?

The label of Blanton's Black gives 80 proof and 40% alcohol by volume, and Takara Shuzo, which imports it into Japan, lists the same 40%. No Blanton's on Takara's lineup is bottled lower: Takara's Blanton's is 46.5%, the Gold 51.5%, and the uncut Straight From The Barrel stronger still.

What is the difference between Blanton's Black and Blanton's Takara Red?

Takara Shuzo imports both into Japan as 750 mL Blanton's single barrel bourbons from Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Strength separates them first: Blanton's Black is bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV), and Blanton's Takara Red, which Takara lists simply as Blanton's, at 93 proof (46.5% ABV). They also look different: Black's label is black, lettered in gold, and Takara Red is sold in a maroon carton.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Black

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Blanton's

The Elemental Distinction

Takara Shuzo & the 80-Proof Blanton's