Buffalo Trace Barrel Pick Experience

 Buffalo Trace Barrel Pick Experience.

If you’ve been around the scene for a couple of years, you’ve surely heard about the Sazerac Barrel Select program. The program has been around since 2014 but was rebranded and modernized in 2023 to allow everyone a chance to get a barrel of whiskey with their name on it. It is notoriously hard to win. Even though your points increase every time you don’t win, there are hundreds of thousands of entrants and only a hand full of people get selected every time. I have been accumulating points since 2023 and am at 12. I haven’t even come close to having my number called. But to the lucky ones that do win, the experience is unparalleled. 

That being said, imagine yourself having a relaxing pour on a calm afternoon when out of no where you get this text.

You reply… 

And to your absolute surprise and delight…

I was over the moon for the opportunity to pick a barrel at Buffalo trace. For it to be one of my favorite bourbons, fah-geta-boutit.

The date was a few months out so I had time to put together a plan to make it out there. There are many choices on how to get there, what to see, where to stay.. I could drive, fly, or even take a train out.

As a family, we decided that it would be a blast to all go together and rent an RV.

We got a pretty nice deal from Cruise America. Btw, if you ever want to do this, don’t go through the website. Call your local vendor and they’ll find you discount codes. 

Our plan was to drive from Texas to Tennessee to stay with uncle David, then head on up to Bardstown, and Frankfort to meet up with the rest of the crew to do the tour and barrel pick and whatever other fun we can get into. We’d stay in camping areas along the way, and head back in time for halloween and to return the RV on time. Seems pretty solid but they don’t always go according to plan.  

The day comes. I go get the RV, load it up, grab the wife, grab the kid, grab the cat, and we’re off on an adventure.

The trip out to Tennessee was nice. A bit unnerving since we’re riding in a giant sardine can on wheels with a brand new house-cat. Btw. Side note… Don’t do this. Someone had to hold that thing at all times because we didn’t realize that it could run under the pedals. It rained nearly the entire time. My wife drove most of the way and we took a break at an RV park in Nashville. Quick note… in case you thought I might be sponsored by Cruise America, I am not. The RV, although very affordable, was quite unconformable. Mainly, the queen size mattress was unbearable to sleep on. Secondly, the roof was extremely loud from raindrops falling on it and we barely got any sleep. 

The next day we made it to Knoxville to stay with Uncle David. It was a delight to be with family and sleep in a nice bed for a couple nights. The next day, as we’re getting ready to leave, disaster strikes. As we’re backing out the RV to load it, the cat disappears. Uncle David says that he may have left the door cracked. We spent the next 2 hours walking up and down the golf course calling her to no avail. She is new to us and a rescue from the wild.

Uncle David's Patio

There was little to no chance to find her but we tried. I told my kiddo that since she’s an outdoor cat, she’ll be ok and that we would get another cat soon. We had no choice to leave for Kentucky if we were going to make it in time. 

As we approach Kentucky, my wife tells me that Uncle David had mentioned that the visitor center is pretty nice. 

We decide to stop to stretch our legs and the second we do, I get a text from Uncle David…

(Insert screenshot)

She was in the sofa

So now, we have a choice; to add 4 hours to this trip or swing back through on the way back. 

This is great news, but this is what I was talking about when I mentioned that plans got modified. We decided it was best to go back afterward but that meant we couldn’t stick around after the barrel pick . 

We took a different route to return to Texas and got drive through 5 more states. Although the RV was uncomfortable and at times, downright nerve wrecking to drive, I was glad to be passing through the beautiful terrain of America. 

Overall, a pretty nice experience. 

The Detour

What I didn’t previously mention is our small detour in Nashville. Have you ever heard of the Nashville House of Bourbon? As it so happens, I am friends with John G. Brittle on Facebook. He runs this incredible non-profit organization. I admittedly don’t know the inner workings of the non-profit, but this place has been on my bucket list to visit for a while now. So I reached out to John and asked if it would be ok to stop by for a quick tour. He was glad to oblige. When I arrived, he was not present but I met up with a friend of mine, Dan Macdonald from Texas, who just

happened to be there. He and another friend, Kim Page, were gracious enough to give me a tour. It was astounding. Every wall of this building is covered with incredible whiskeys. The front room is adorned with old decanters. There are themed rooms for bourbon, rye, international, 50 states, vintage, and even a, “ask before you touch” room. At first it is dizzying. Although I didn’t go crazy, it is my understanding that people may sample bottles on the walls. I didn’t arrive empty handed. I brought a gift for the house so if you happen to be lucky enough to visit, look around for my bottle of “Mixtape” and give it a try. You’ll love it.

The Tour

Buffalo Trace is the oldest and arguably one of the best bourbon distilleries in the world. They make products you know and love, such as Weller, Eagle Rare, and Buffalo Trace, as well as incredibly hard to find and sought out whiskies, like Pappy Van Winkle, George T. Stagg, and Old Fashioned Copper. Talk about a bucket list item! I have been to a few distilleries before and I’ve done barrel picks but nothing compares to Buffalo Trace. First of all, the place is huge. There’s a giant gift shop after you enter, and there are several humongous warehouses, historical buildings, still rooms and fermenter rooms; all set in the natural beauty that surrounds the shores of the Kentucky river. 

We were guided from room to rick by a talented and knowledgeable guide. There’s just so much rich history at this distillery. We saw a structure that was buried by Colonel Blanton for some reason and unearthed decades later (as was told to us, he was notoriously bad at writing anything down so people didn’t even know about that building). We were treated to pours in the E.H. Taylor house. We saw the spot where they buried a time capsule(I wonder what’s in there) and were shown some, “super secret/no pictures allowed” stuff. I can’t discuss any of that. The tour eventually led us to a tasting area that was already set up for us to get to work. Four samples from four barrels all arranged for us to judge. 

The Pick

As I mentioned, there were 4 choices labeled, “ABCD”. We get to work. As I nose the first pick, I already know that it’s going to be my choice. It just smells of beautifully done, classic bourbon. I keep an open mind and nose on. The 3rd sample stands out as meh but the other two, have something going on with them. I would call them “unique”. I would call them “off profile”, I would call them “bold”. As a group, we tend to gravitate to the unique styles, and this time...

...was no exception. The majority of the group was wafting between these two and Eric, the winner and our ticket to all of this fun, has already written off my first pick. The thing is, after trying them all, it was my opinion that the other two were unique, but the first one was a great example of classic bourbon. In fact, I couldn’t believe that it was even offered to us. It’s the kind of barrel that grows up to be a Pappy. I made a strong case for it but as time went on, I noticed that, even though some other pickers agreed with me, they were reluctant to speak up. The concern was that
since Eric had dismissed it, it wasn’t their place to rock the boat. I addressed that by letting them know that we are there for a reason. Eric respects our opinion and palate. The whole room started to come around when our tour guide tried all four and also picked the first. So a consensus was reached to thieve another pour, this time, from the middle of the barrel. Once people tried that, it was a unanimous winner. Eric decided to call this barrel, “Thievein’ A” in honor of how we all got there. 

The whole experience was like going to bourbon Disneyland. Lots of fun was had. 

The Head-to head review

Click on this link below to see a review and a side by side comparison of this barrel and another. 

https://www.theprivatebarrel.com/2026/05/weller-full-proof-showdown.html