E.H. Taylor Four Grain 2026 Bourbon

Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain Bourbon Whiskey (2026 Release)

Price

$459.95

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

Age: 10 Years (Distilled 2015 - Released 2026) | Region: Frankfort, Kentucky | Proof: 100

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

100

Proof

50%

ABV

10 years

Age

2026

Released

May 2026

Announced

Kentucky

Region

The 2026 Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain is the first Four Grain in eight years and the first drawn from new stock. Distilled in 2015 and bottled at ten years, 100 proof, Bottled-in-Bond, on the same mash of corn, rye, wheat and malted barley. Buffalo Trace announced it on 21 May 2026 at a suggested $79.99 and, with this bottling, established Four Grain as an annual limited release rather than a one-off.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

Distilled 2015, bottled at ten years — new stock, not the 2005 distillate behind the earlier releases.

The bottling that made Four Grain an annual release.

Announced 21 May 2026, the same day as the Cured Oak revival, on sale that month at $79.99.

Bottled-in-Bond at 100 proof, as every Four Grain has been.

Arrived alongside the return of Cured Oak, which came back as a one-off rather than an annual.

Ends an eight-year gap after Buffalo Trace had declared the line finished.

Nº 02

How It Was Made

Four Grain 2026

Buffalo Trace declared Four Grain finished in 2018, having exhausted the 2005 distillate across two bottlings. The 2026 release comes from stock distilled in 2015 and bottled at ten years, on the same four-grain recipe of corn, rye, wheat and malted barley whose proportions the distillery still does not publish. The announcement of 21 May 2026 changed the line's status as much as its contents: Four Grain joined the ongoing lineup as an annual release, while Cured Oak, reintroduced in the same announcement, returned as a rare one-off. Both carry the Bottled-in-Bond standard at 100 proof and both came to market that May at a suggested $79.99.

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

Corn, rye, wheat and malted barley

Buffalo Trace has not published the proportions.

Batching

Small batch

Age

10 years

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Structure: Wheat softness and rye spice working together through the middle, which is what the four-grain mash exists to produce.
Against the earlier releases: Ten years rather than twelve or thirteen, on different distillate — expect a brighter, less oak-dominated reading of the same recipe.
Note: Buffalo Trace published no formal tasting note for this bottling at announcement.

Strategic Position

Scarcity was most of what the earlier Four Grains traded on: two bottlings, one award, then nothing for eight years. An annual release changes that calculation deliberately. The recipe is the same and the bonded 100 proof is the same, but a bottle you can buy every year at under eighty dollars is a different proposition from a grail, and over time that should pull the whole line back toward being drunk rather than held. It sits among the yearly Buffalo Trace bourbons we follow.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

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Collector Note

This is the Four Grain you can actually buy, and the one most likely to be mislabelled. It is ten years old on 2015 distillate — three years younger than the 2018 and two younger than the debut, and from entirely different stock. Any listing pairing a 2026 bottle with a twelve or thirteen year age statement, or with Jim Murray's World Whiskey of the Year, is wrong on both counts; that award went to the twelve-year debut from 2017. For drinking, the annual release at suggested price is the sensible purchase in this line. For collecting, the thirteen-year bottling billed as the last remains the finite one.

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How to Taste It

Neat, and do not expect the earlier releases. Ten years reads differently from thirteen on the same recipe — more grain and less oak, with the wheat and rye interaction sitting closer to the surface where longer ageing would have buried it under wood. That arguably makes this the clearer demonstration of what a four-grain mash actually does. A few drops of water widen the middle. If you have any of the older bottlings open, taste this one first rather than last.

Collector IndexMW VAULT

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Class: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond
Release: 2026
Proof: 100
ABV: 50%
Age: 10 years

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Class	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond
Release	2026 — revival; first Four Grain issued as an annual release
Proof	100
ABV	50%
Age	10 years
Distilled	2015
Mash bill	Corn, rye, wheat and malted barley. Buffalo Trace has not published the proportions.
Batching	Small batch
Announced	21 May 2026
Suggested retail	$79.99
Designation	Bottled-in-Bond under the Act of 1897 — one distillery, one distillation season, federally bonded warehouse, exactly 100 proof
Region	Kentucky
Distillery	Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky

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 is different about the 2026 Colonel E.H. Taylor Four Grain?

It is a different whiskey under the same name. The 2026 release was distilled in 2015 and bottled at ten years, where the 2017 and 2018 releases both came from a single 2005 distillation and were bottled at twelve and thirteen years. The mash of corn, rye, wheat and malted barley is unchanged and it remains Bottled-in-Bond at 100 proof, but the stock and the age are new.

Is Colonel E.H. Taylor Four Grain an annual release now?

Yes. Buffalo Trace revived Four Grain on 21 May 2026 and established it as an annual release, joining the distillery's ongoing lineup rather than returning as a one-off. That reverses the position taken in 2018, when the second bottling was announced as a last call with no further releases planned. Cured Oak, reintroduced in the same announcement, did return as a one-off.

What did the 2026 Four Grain cost at release?

Buffalo Trace gave a suggested retail price of $79.99 per bottle, with availability beginning in May 2026. That is broadly in line with the earlier releases, which came to market around $70, and well below what the 2017 and 2018 bottlings command on the secondary market.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Four Grain 2026

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E.H. Taylor, Jr.

The Elemental Distinction

How It Was Made