EH Taylor Barrel Proof Batch 14a, 127.2

Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey — Batch 14, 127.2 Proof

Price

$259.95

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

Age: NAS (Non-Age Stated) | Region: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA | Proof: 127.2

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

127.2

Proof

63.60%

ABV

None

Age

2025

Year

750 mL

Format

L25

Code

Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Barrel Proof Batch 14a is the first of three bottlings Buffalo Trace released under Batch 14 in 2025, at 127.2 proof, 63.60% ABV, uncut and unfiltered. For thirteen years the line produced one batch per year. In 2025 it produced three, at 127.2, 127.3 and 127.4 — a total spread of two-tenths of a proof point. This is the principal bottling of the three.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

127.2 proof, 63.60% ABV — level with the lowest figure the line has ever produced.

The first of three sub-batches issued under one batch number in 2025.

The three span 0.2 proof in total. Nothing in the line had been split this way before.

Matches the 2015 release exactly, ten years apart — the widest twin gap in the run.

Buffalo Trace issued no batch numerals. "Batch 15" and "Batch 16" are trade inventions for the other two.

The principal 2025 bottling, and the one reviewers covered as Batch 14.

Nº 02

Barrel Proof, Explained

Barrel Proof Batch 14a

A sub-batch is not a batch. Buffalo Trace issued these three bottlings under a single batch designation, which means the distillery treated the 2025 output as one release presented at three strengths rather than as three separate annual batches. The numbering the trade uses — calling the second and third Batch 15 and Batch 16 — implies a sequence that does not exist, and it has a practical consequence beyond pedantry: those numbers suggest the line reached its fifteenth and sixteenth annual releases in a single year, which would put every future release out of step. Buffalo Trace has published no explanation for the split and no outturn for any of the three. What can be said is that the change removed the one identifier this line had, since three proofs two-tenths apart cannot be told apart by the figure on the label.

Nº 03

The Identifiers

What separates this release

Strength

Barrel proof

Uncut, not proofed down

Filtration

Non-chill filtered

Proof shared with

Batch 4, released 2015 at the same

127.2 proof

Batch numeral on label

None

Colonel E.H. Taylor labels carry no batch number.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Strength is not the variable: Two-tenths of a proof point separates the three 2025 bottlings — a spread of 0.10% ABV. That is below any threshold at which strength registers, so whatever distinguishes them, it is not how strong they are.
Against the 2015: 63.60% exactly matches the release from a decade earlier, which shares the distinction of being the lowest the line has gone. The 2015 carries a decade of enthusiast reputation; this one carries none of it.
What is documented: 127.2 proof, a 2025 bottling, hand-selected barrels, no water added, no chill filtration.

Strategic Position

The interesting thing about 2025 is not the proof, which is the line's floor repeated. It is that Buffalo Trace stopped doing one release a year. Thirteen consecutive batches had arrived as single bottlings, which is why the proof figure could identify a year at all; in 2025 three landed within two-tenths of a point of each other under the same batch number, and that identification method stopped working overnight. The trade responded by inventing numbers the distillery never issued. This bottling is the one that most listings and reviews treat as Batch 14 proper. It sits within the 2025 release and the years before it, beside the 127.3 sub-batch of the same year.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

→

Collector Note

Buying 2025 means buying into a numbering mess, so be precise about what you are after. Buffalo Trace released Batch 14 at three proofs and printed no numeral on any of them; the trade filled that gap inconsistently, and the same 127.2 bottle is currently sold by some retailers as Batch 14 and by others as Batch 15. Ask for the proof, not the batch number. 127.2 with an L25 code is this bottling. Note also that 127.2 alone is not sufficient — the 2015 release carries the identical figure, and L15 distinguishes it. Of the three 2025 sub-batches this is the most widely distributed and the easiest to buy near suggested retail, which is around $80. The 2015 batch that set the same floor trades at a considerable multiple of that.

→

How to Taste It

Open this one and leave the older bottles alone. It is the only release in the line you can still buy at roughly suggested retail, which makes it the sensible reference bottle — the one to keep on the shelf, pour freely and use to calibrate everything else in the range. Every other batch here costs a multiple of its release price, and opening a bottle you cannot replace to establish a baseline is an expensive way to learn what 127 proof tastes like. Neat, no particular ceremony. If you own any of the older 127s, this is what to compare them against rather than the other way round.

Collector IndexMW VAULT

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Class: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Batch: Batch 14a
Release year: 2025
Proof: 127.2
ABV: 63.60%
Age statement: None

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Class	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Batch	Batch 14a — first of three 2025 sub-batches
Release year	2025
Proof	127.2
ABV	63.60%
Strength	Barrel proof — uncut, not proofed down
Filtration	Non-chill filtered
Laser code	L25
Sibling bottlings	Batch 14b at 127.3 and Batch 14c at 127.4, same year, same batch number
Proof shared with	Batch 4, released 2015 at the same 127.2 proof
Batch numeral on label	None. Colonel E.H. Taylor labels carry no batch number.
Age statement	None. Buffalo Trace publishes no age for this line.
Mash bill	Not disclosed. Buffalo Trace does not publish mash bills for its brands.
Region	Kentucky
Distillery	Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Brand owner	Sazerac Company
Format	750 mL

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 proof is E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof Batch 14a?

127.2 proof, or 63.60% ABV, bottled uncut and unfiltered. It is the first and principal of three bottlings Buffalo Trace released under Batch 14 in 2025, the others being 127.3 and 127.4. It also matches the 2015 release exactly, which remains the lowest figure the line has produced.

Why were there three E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof releases in 2025?

Buffalo Trace issued Batch 14 at three separate proofs — 127.2, 127.3 and 127.4 — instead of the single annual bottling the line had produced every year since 2012. The distillery has published no explanation and no outturn for any of the three. Because all three carry the same L25 laser code and no batch numeral, the proof on the face is the only thing separating them, and they span just two-tenths of a point.

Is this Batch 14 or Batch 15?

Batch 14. Buffalo Trace released all three 2025 bottlings under Batch 14 and printed no batch numeral on any label, so the second and third are properly Batch 14b and Batch 14c. Some retailers sell this 127.2 bottling as Batch 15 and others as Batch 14, which is why the proof and the laser code are the reliable identifiers rather than a number in a listing.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Barrel Proof Batch 14a

Curated For You

Michter's US★1 Barrel Strength Sour Mash Whiskey 112.6 (2026 Limited Release) Michter's Distillery

$169.95

The Macallan TIME : SPACE Sherry Cask 20 Years Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2026 Release) The Macallan

$1,699.95

The Macallan TIME : SPACE Mastery 200 Year Anniversary Edition Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky — 2024 Bicentenary Release The Macallan

$1,599.95

3 in stock

The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky Suntory

$449.95

1 in stock

E.H. Taylor, Jr.

The Elemental Distinction

Barrel Proof, Explained