Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Hot Box Toasted Barrel Bourbon Whiskey 375ml

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Hot Box Toasted Barrel is a Bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. This 2013 release was one of two bottles in the 12th edition of the Experimental Collection (alongside the Heavy Char Barrel), built on BT Rye Mash #2 distilled and barreled in February 1996. The barrel staves were placed in a "hot box" at 133°F and then steamed before being assembled into barrels brought to a #4 char - a treatment designed to drive flavor compounds deeper into the wood.

The Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection launched in 2006 as the distillery's ongoing program of small-scale bourbon and whiskey experiments. Over 30,000 experimental barrels age in Buffalo Trace's warehouses, each crafted with unique variations in mash bill, wood type, barrel toasting, char level, and aging conditions. Selected experiments are bottled and released in limited quantities in 375ml "lab-style" bottles, each labeled with detailed production notes - a direct window into how master distillers Harlen Wheatley and the BT team push the boundaries of American whiskey-making.

After 16 years and 8 months of aging, the barrels lost an extraordinary 73% of their volume to the angel's share - one of the most extreme evaporation rates in the line's history - leaving a deeply concentrated spirit. The seven surviving barrels were emptied in October 2012 and bottled the following year.

Paired with the Heavy Char Barrel as a study in how barrel preparation (steam, heat, char) reshapes bourbon character. It drinks well neat or over a single large cube.

• Size: 375ml
• Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
• Age: 16 Year, 8 Months
• Origin: Frankfort, Kentucky
• Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery