Distillery
Blanton's
In 1984, master distiller Elmer T. Lee did something nobody in the United States had tried commercially. He bottled bourbon from a single barrel rather than blending many together. That bottle was Blanton's, made at Buffalo Trace in Kentucky. Lee named it for Colonel Albert B. Blanton, who once handpicked his favourite barrels for guests. Those came from Warehouse H, a metal-clad building whose thin walls let Kentucky's heat and cold swing fast. The bourbon ages quickly and steadily there, and it is still bottled one barrel at a time. It is widely credited as the first single barrel bourbon ever marketed, the spirit that launched the super premium category. The bottle is unmistakable too. Each stopper carries a horse and jockey, and eight different poses spell out the name across a full set.
