Buffalo Trace Distillery (Sazerac Company)
Blanton's Original Single Barrel Bourbon Review — Score & Tasting Notes
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey · NAS (estimated 6-9 years)
That iconic horse-topped bottle started the single barrel revolution. But three decades later, is Blanton's still worth the chase—or just the shelf decor?
Get It Here
Rating Breakdown
Flavor Profile
Tasting Journey
Nose
Honeysuckle, vanilla, citrus peel, soft caramel, barrel char, light cinnamon, bubble gum, orange
Palate
Light caramel, honey, vanilla, brown sugar, leather, charred oak, rye spice, pleasant and approachable
Finish
Length: MediumCrisp vanilla, caramel, dry leather, light peppercorn, gentle oak, medium warmth
Specs
Price / Value
MSRP: $55
Your Rating
Click to rate
Our Score: 82/100
Pairings
Food
- Honey-glazed ham
- pecan pralines
- smoked Gouda
- apple crumble
- grilled pork chops
Cocktails
- Old Fashioned
- Bourbon Highball
- Gold Rush
Our Verdict
Blanton's is a solid, well-made single barrel bourbon whose reputation has outgrown its liquid. At MSRP it's a fine bottle. At secondary prices, your money is far better spent elsewhere. Collect the toppers if you must, but drink the alternatives.
Buy NowThree Perspectives
Our editorial panel weighs in.
Marcus Chen
The Explorer
Caramel, vanilla, light oak, hint of citrus. Pleasant but delicate.
Smooth vanilla and caramel with mild spice. Almost too polite.
Medium finish, clean, slightly sweet.
“Finally found this at MSRP ($55) after months of seeing it behind counters for $120+. Brought it to a dinner party like I'd won the lottery. Everyone oohed and ahhed over the horse stopper. Then we tasted it and... it's fine? Just fine. Honestly tastes similar to Buffalo Trace with a fancier bottle. I've had $35 single barrels with more character. The entire Blanton's phenomenon is 90% bottle design, 10% bourbon. I finished the bottle over three months and never once thought 'wow, this is special.' If you see it at $55 and want a cool bottle, sure. Otherwise, it's the most overhyped bourbon in America.”
William Hayes
The Connoisseur
Caramel, citrus, and light oak with subtle vanilla. Pleasant and refined, though not particularly distinctive for a single barrel.
Smooth vanilla, honey, and gentle spice with a silky texture. The 93 proof makes it approachable, perhaps too much so.
Medium-short finish with mild oak and lingering sweetness. Clean but not especially memorable.
“I bought my first bottle of Blanton's in 1992 for $32 at a shop in Lexington, back when you could actually find it without knowing someone. It's good bourbon—I won't pretend otherwise—but the current hysteria is completely divorced from what's in the bottle. I did a blind tasting in 2015 with ten single barrels at similar price points, and Blanton's finished fifth. The iconic bottle and horse stopper have created a collector's market that values packaging over liquid. If you can find it at MSRP, fine. But I've watched people pay $150 for this, and that's insanity when Eagle Rare and Russell's Reserve 10 are sitting on shelves.”
Sophia Laurent
The Host
Honey, citrus, and vanilla with subtle floral notes. Delicate and refined, with less oak than I expected.
Smooth and sweet with caramel, butterscotch, and hints of fruit. It's pleasant but not particularly complex.
Medium-length with gentle sweetness and a touch of spice. Clean but unremarkable.
“I bought Blanton's for my husband's 35th birthday dinner because the bottle looks incredible on the table—and honestly, that's still its best feature. The bourbon itself is good, but not $70 good. I served it alongside filet mignon and roasted vegetables, and while everyone oohed and aahed over the horse stopper, the actual whiskey didn't generate much conversation. It's a beautiful bottle for special occasions when presentation matters, but if I'm being honest, Eagle Rare tastes better and costs half as much.”
How We Score
Every spirit is tasted blind in a Glencairn glass across multiple sessions on different days. We score on a 100-point weighted scale, recording notes before the label is revealed to eliminate brand bias.
Rating Criteria
Aroma complexity, intensity, and appeal
Flavor depth, balance, and mouthfeel
Length, evolution, and lingering notes
Quality relative to price point
Layered character and uniqueness
Why Trust This Review
Boozemakers is an independent spirits publication built by passionate enthusiasts. Every bottle is purchased at full retail — never gifted, never sponsored. We use a structured blind-tasting methodology, scoring across five dimensions before revealing the label. We maintain complete editorial independence: no brand has ever paid for coverage, and affiliate links never influence our scores.
Editorial independence notice: Boozemakers maintains full editorial independence. We purchase all products at retail and are never compensated for our reviews. Affiliate links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Blanton's occupies a fascinating paradox in bourbon culture: it is both the bottle that democratized single barrel bourbon and the one that has come to symbolize everything frustrating about the allocation era. Those collectible horse toppers have adorned more Instagram feeds than Kentucky mantels, and the hunt for Blanton's has become a rite of passage that says more about the hunter than the quarry.
Let's separate the bottle from the bourbon. At its core, Blanton's is a well-made, pleasant single barrel from Buffalo Trace's high-rye Mashbill #2. The nose offers honeysuckle and vanilla, a pleasant citrus peel brightness, and soft caramel notes that invite without overwhelming. It's an approachable aroma—welcoming, almost friendly—which is precisely what made it so popular in the first place.
The palate delivers a classic bourbon profile executed with competence: light caramel, honey, vanilla, brown sugar, and a touch of leather. There's some charred oak and rye spice in the mid-palate that adds structure, but at 93 proof, Blanton's plays it relatively safe. The mouthfeel is pleasant without being particularly viscous, and the flavors, while well-balanced, don't reach for the complexity that modern bourbon drinkers have come to crave.
The finish is crisp and medium-length, with vanilla, caramel, dry leather, and a light peppercorn warmth that fades gracefully. It's a polished close to a polished bourbon—nothing to criticize, nothing to write sonnets about.
Here's our honest assessment: at MSRP ($55), Blanton's is a good bourbon that earns its place on any shelf. The single barrel format means occasional exceptional dumps that genuinely impress. But the secondary market prices ($120-200+) are indefensible when E.H. Taylor, Four Roses Single Barrel, and Wild Turkey Rare Breed offer equal or superior experiences at or near retail. Enjoy the horse toppers. Just don't let them gallop away with your wallet.
I poured Blanton's blind alongside three other single barrels in the same price corridor—no labels, no horse toppers, just Glencairn glasses and a notepad. It scored third out of four. Not a failure by any stretch, but revealing. Stripped of its mythology, Blanton's is a polished, pleasant bourbon that doesn't take the risks that separate good from great. The nose charmed me every time, but the palate kept pulling its punches right when I wanted it to commit.
On the competitive shelf, Blanton's faces a crowded field. Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch offers more complexity at a lower MSRP from the same distillery. Four Roses Single Barrel OBSV delivers barrel-to-barrel variation that keeps things genuinely interesting. And Wild Turkey Rare Breed outmuscles it on depth and proof for roughly the same retail dollar. Blanton's remains a solid bourbon—just not the revelation its waiting list implies.
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