Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project Barrel 80 Kentucky Rye 375ml

The Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project Barrel 80 Kentucky Rye is the 2026 re-release of the single barrel that emerged as the consumer-voted favorite of Buffalo Trace's original Single Oak Project — a 192-barrel experiment that ran from 2011 to 2015 testing every meaningful variable in American whiskey-barrel construction (tree half, grain tightness, char level, stave seasoning, entry proof, warehouse type, and mash bill). Of the 1,396 total bottles drawn from across the 192-barrel experiment, Barrel #80 was the one drinkers consistently identified as the standout. Buffalo Trace announced in April 2026 that the Single Oak Project would be made permanent and that Barrel #80 — the winner — would be the first re-release.

Barrel #80 is a precise combination of attributes. The mash bill is rye-forward and the whiskey entered the barrel at 125 proof (the lower end of Buffalo Trace's permitted entry-proof range). The staves were average wood grain, cut from the bottom half of the tree, with 13 rings per inch of grain density, and seasoned outdoors for 12 months before being assembled into a #4-char barrel. The whiskey was then aged on concrete-floor rickhouse storage for eight years — long enough for the cured-oak signature to emerge fully but not so long that the wood overwhelmed the rye character.

Expect a layered profile of warm baking spice, honey, polished oak, dried fig, light leather, and a long, gently spiced finish — the rye spine pushed forward by the unique stave provenance. It drinks well neat or over a single large cube.

• Size: 375ml
• Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
• Age: 8 Year Old
• Origin: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA
• Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery (DSP-KY-113)
• Style: Kentucky Rye Whiskey, Single Barrel
• Mash Bill: Rye mash bill
• Entry Proof: 125 proof
• Barrel Construction: Bottom half of tree, average wood grain (13 rings per inch), 12-month stave seasoning, #4 char
• Release: 2026 — winner of the original 192-barrel Single Oak Project experiment (2011-2015)
• Ownership: Sazerac Company