E.H. Taylor Small Batch Bourbon

Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon — Bottled-in-Bond, 100 Proof

Price

$69.95

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

Age: At least 4 Years | Region: Frankfort, Kentucky | Proof: 100

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

100

Proof

50%

ABV

None stated

Age

Kentucky

Region

Not disclosed

Mash bill

Small batch

Batching

Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch is a Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky straight bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery, bottled at 100 proof, 50% ABV. Buffalo Trace blends it from barrels selected out of the century-old warehouses Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. built on the Leestown site that became Buffalo Trace. Bottled-in-Bond means it is the product of one distillery in one distillation season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof — a standard Taylor himself campaigned into law in 1897.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

100 proof, 50% ABV — not a house choice but a legal requirement of the Bottled-in-Bond designation.

One distillery, one distillation season, at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse.

Named for the man who fought the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 through Congress, on a bottle that has to meet it.

Matured in the century-old brick warehouses Taylor built at Leestown, now Buffalo Trace.

Buffalo Trace has never published the mash bill for this bottling.

Packaged behind a vintage label and canister drawn from Taylor's own late-1800s bottle design.

Nº 02

How It Was Made

Small Batch

Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. bought the Leestown distillery that became O.F.C. in 1869 and is routinely described as a father of the modern bourbon industry, less for what he distilled than for how he insisted it be made and sold. He introduced climate-controlled brick aging warehouses to an industry that largely did without them, and he spent years pressing Congress for the Bottled-in-Bond Act, which passed in 1897 as one of the earliest consumer-protection laws in the United States. The Act did not promise quality; it promised verifiability. A bonded whiskey must come from a single distillery in a single distilling season, rest at least four years in a warehouse under federal supervision, and be bottled at exactly 100 proof, with the distillery of production identified on the label. Small Batch is made to that standard inside the warehouses Taylor built on the site now known as Buffalo Trace. Buffalo Trace selects the barrels individually and blends them in small lots; the distillery does not disclose which of its mash bills goes into the bottle, and has never confirmed the low-rye recipe commonly attributed to it.

Nº 03

At a Glance

The defining facts

Designation

Bottled-in-Bond under the Act of 1897

One distillery, one distillation season, federally bonded warehouse, exactly 100 proof

Mash bill

Not disclosed

Buffalo Trace does not publish mash bills for its brands.

Batching

Small batch

Barrels individually selected, then blended

Class

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey,

Bottled-in-Bond

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Nose: Caramel corn sweetness, opening into butterscotch.
Palate: That sweetness carries, with licorice running underneath it.
Finish: A soft mouthfeel turning into subtle pepper and tobacco spice.

Strategic Position

Bottled-in-Bond is the only category label on an American whiskey bottle that a federal statute enforces, and it is the reason this bourbon tells you more before you open it than most allocated bottles do. One distillery, one season, four years minimum, exactly 100 proof — none of it is marketing. That makes Small Batch the correct entry to the Taylor line rather than a lesser version of it, and the reference point for everything else in the range. It sits among the Buffalo Trace bourbons in our vault.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

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Collector Note

Two things set the Taylor line apart from the rest of Buffalo Trace's allocated output, and Small Batch is where both are clearest. The first is that it is a standing expression rather than an annual release, so there is no vintage to chase and no year to match — a bottle bought now is the same product as a bottle bought two years ago, which is unusual in this price bracket and is precisely what the bonded designation guarantees. The second is that scarcity here is a distribution artifact rather than an outturn one: Buffalo Trace does not publish volumes, the suggested price has stayed modest, and the gap between shelf price and street price comes from allocation rather than from a small run. Buy it to drink, in other words, and let the bottles that carry a year on them do the appreciating. Elsewhere in the line, the single-barrel Taylor aged in Warehouse C and the bonded rye in the same line take the designation in different directions.

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How to Taste It

Neat, in a Glencairn, with no water to start. At exactly 100 proof this is the most forgiving strength in the Taylor range and it does not need opening up — the caramel corn and butterscotch arrive immediately and water tends to thin them rather than reveal anything behind. If you want to see what the bond designation is actually doing, pour it beside a non-bonded bourbon at similar proof and pay attention to consistency rather than intensity: one distillery, one season is a constraint you taste as evenness across the pour, not as a flavor of its own.

Collector IndexMW VAULT

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Class: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond
Proof: 100
ABV: 50%
Age statement: None stated

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Class	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond
Proof	100
ABV	50%
Age statement	None stated. Bottled-in-Bond requires a minimum of four years.
Mash bill	Not disclosed. Buffalo Trace does not publish mash bills for its brands.
Designation	Bottled-in-Bond under the Act of 1897 — one distillery, one distillation season, federally bonded warehouse, exactly 100 proof
Maturation	Century-old brick warehouses built by Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr.
Batching	Small batch — barrels individually selected, then blended
Region	Kentucky
Distillery	Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Brand owner	Sazerac Company

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

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 does Bottled-in-Bond mean on Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch?

It means the bourbon meets the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897: it is the product of one distillery in one distillation season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. The designation is a federal standard rather than a marketing term, and it is why Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch is always 100 proof and never varies. Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., the man the bottle is named for, campaigned for that Act.

What is the mash bill of Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch?

Buffalo Trace has never published it. The distillery does not disclose mash bills for its brands, and while Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch is widely attributed to Buffalo Trace's low-rye recipe, that attribution comes from collectors and retailers rather than from the distillery. What is confirmed is the category: it is a Kentucky straight bourbon, so at minimum 51% corn, distilled at no more than 160 proof and aged in new charred oak.

Why is Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch hard to find?

Because it is allocated rather than scarce in the way an annual release is. Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch is a standing expression with no vintage and no published outturn, so the shortfall is between distribution and demand rather than the size of a single run. Buffalo Trace releases it continuously and retailers receive it in limited quantities, which is why the shelf price stays modest while the secondary price does not.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Small Batch

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E.H. Taylor, Jr.

The Elemental Distinction

How It Was Made