Blanton's Gold Edition - 70cl
Blanton's Straight from the Barrel - 70cl
Blanton's Bourbon
The world's first commercial single barrel bourbon — created in 1984 by Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky, in honour of Colonel Albert B. Blanton. Distilled from Mash Bill #2, aged exclusively in metal-clad Warehouse H, sealed with the iconic horse-and-jockey stoppers spelling B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S. The bourbon that started the premium single barrel category — delivered free across Singapore.
Buy Blanton's Bourbon in Singapore
The Liquid Collection stocks the live Blanton's range available in Singapore — the iconic Original Single Barrel and the cask-strength Straight From the Barrel. Blanton's is the bourbon that invented the modern premium single barrel category, made at the historic Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky and aged exclusively in metal-clad Warehouse H. Each bottle comes from one specific barrel, with the barrel number, dump date, warehouse rick and bottling details hand-noted on the label.
Every bottle ships free across Singapore with no minimum order. Browse the range above, or explore the wider American Whiskey category, the broader Whisky selection, or compare with our Japanese single malts at Yamazaki, Hibiki and Hakushu — all of which share the appreciation for cask-individual character that Blanton's pioneered.
The bourbon that changed everything
By the early 1980s, American bourbon was in deep trouble. Decades of Prohibition aftermath, the dominance of mass-market blended whisky brands, and the rise of vodka and single malt Scotch had hollowed out a once-iconic American spirits category. Distilleries were closing. Premium positioning had vanished. The major Kentucky houses were producing high-volume commodity bourbon at low prices and watching the connoisseur drinkers leave for other categories.
In 1984, the Master Distiller at the Ancient Age Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky — Elmer T. Lee, a quietly legendary figure in American whiskey — made a bet. Lee had worked at the distillery since 1949 and had personally known Colonel Albert B. Blanton, the long-serving president who had run operations from 1921 to 1952 and had quietly maintained a tradition of hand-selecting what he called "honey barrels" from one particular section of his metal-clad Warehouse H to bottle as personal gifts for visiting dignitaries. Lee took that informal tradition and made it commercial. He selected one barrel at a time from Warehouse H, bottled it without blending, and put the barrel number, dump date and warehouse details on the label. He named the bourbon Blanton's in honour of the colonel. It was the first commercial single barrel bourbon ever sold. One whiskey writer later called the launch "the whiskey equivalent of a Hail Mary pass."
The pass connected. Blanton's success in the late 1980s and 1990s — particularly in Japan — proved that a market existed for premium, character-rich, cask-individual American whiskey at meaningful prices. The success was followed by Pappy Van Winkle, Booker's, Eagle Rare, Knob Creek, Baker's and the wider premium bourbon revival that pulled the entire American whiskey industry back from the brink. Without Blanton's, there is a real argument that the modern bourbon category as the world now knows it would not exist.
Why Blanton's — Warehouse H, Mash Bill #2, and the colonel
Warehouse H — the metal-clad maturation house
Most American bourbon rickhouses are clad in wood, brick, stone or stucco. In 1935, Colonel Blanton built Warehouse H at the distillery in metal — a deliberate architectural choice that transmits heat and cold far more rapidly than any other warehouse material. The result is a bourbon-ageing environment of dramatic temperature swings: cold winter nights pull the spirit deep into the charred oak; hot summer days push it back out. Every cycle of contraction and expansion drives more interaction between liquid and wood, accelerating the chemistry that turns new-make spirit into mature bourbon. Blanton's bourbons are the only expressions in the entire Buffalo Trace portfolio matured exclusively in Warehouse H — making it not just a warehouse but a defining technical signature of the brand.
Mash Bill #2 — Buffalo Trace's high-rye recipe
Blanton's is distilled from Buffalo Trace's high-rye Mash Bill #2 — a recipe widely understood to contain approximately 12-15% rye alongside corn (the majority grain, as required by bourbon law) and malted barley. The high rye content drives a distinctive spicy backbone in the finished whisky: cinnamon, clove, black pepper and dried herbs running underneath the corn-derived caramel and vanilla. Blanton's is the most famous expression of Mash Bill #2, but the same recipe is used for several other allocated Buffalo Trace bourbons including Elmer T. Lee, Hancock's President's Reserve, Rock Hill Farms and Ancient Age. Mash Bill #1, the lower-rye recipe, is used for Buffalo Trace itself, Eagle Rare, E.H. Taylor and George T. Stagg.
The horse-and-jockey stoppers
Few bottle features in luxury spirits are as instantly recognisable as the Blanton's stopper — a small pewter horse-and-jockey figurine on a cork base, capping the short, ribbed, gourd-shaped bottle that Elmer T. Lee designed in tribute to Kentucky's deep horse-racing tradition. There are eight different stoppers in the set, each depicting the horse and jockey in a different stage of a race: from the start at the gate, through the gallop, the lean, the home stretch, and across the finish line in victory. Since 1999, each stopper has carried a single letter on its base — B, L, A, N, T, O, N, S — and assembling the complete set has become one of the great collector journeys in modern whiskey. Pre-1999 stoppers carry no letters and are recognised as a separate vintage collectible category. Whichever bottle of Blanton's you receive, the stopper that arrives is the stopper you get — there is no choosing the letter at the moment of purchase. Among serious Blanton's collectors, completing the eight-letter set is a genuine accomplishment.
The Blanton's range
Colonel Blanton — the man behind the bourbon
Albert Bacon Blanton was born in 1881 on a farm just outside Frankfort, Kentucky, and joined what was then the Old Fire Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery — the same site that would become Buffalo Trace — as a sixteen-year-old office boy in 1897. By the age of twenty he had been promoted to superintendent of the distillery. By 1921 he was its president, a position he would hold for the next thirty-one years until his retirement in 1952. Colonel Blanton's tenure spanned nearly every challenge that the American whiskey industry encountered in the twentieth century. He kept the distillery operating through Prohibition under medicinal whisky permits issued by the federal government, restored production within twenty-four hours after the catastrophic 1937 flood of the Kentucky River left the distillery underwater, and steered operations through World War II when the distillery was required to suspend whiskey production and produce industrial alcohol for the war effort. In 1935 he built Warehouse H — the metal-clad rickhouse that to this day matures every drop of Blanton's bourbon. Throughout his presidency, he also quietly maintained a personal tradition of selecting individual "honey barrels" from a particular section of Warehouse H to bottle as gifts for visiting dignitaries. That informal tradition is what Elmer T. Lee turned into Blanton's Single Barrel in 1984 — a formal commercial tribute to a man who had spent his working life caring for one Kentucky distillery.
The Buffalo Trace family
Blanton's is owned by Sazerac Company, the privately held New Orleans-based American spirits group, and produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Buffalo Trace has operated continuously on the same site since 1775, making it the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States — it survived Prohibition under medicinal whisky permits and is recognised as a National Historic Landmark. The Buffalo Trace portfolio is one of the most celebrated in American whiskey: alongside Blanton's, the distillery produces Buffalo Trace Bourbon itself, Eagle Rare, W.L. Weller (the wheated bourbon that shares its mash bill with Pappy Van Winkle), Colonel E.H. Taylor, George T. Stagg, Stagg Jr., Sazerac Rye, Old Charter, Ancient Age, Elmer T. Lee, Hancock's President's Reserve, Rock Hill Farms, and Pappy Van Winkle (under joint arrangement with the Van Winkle family). Many of these expressions are heavily allocated and difficult to find at retail — a reflection of the broader American premium bourbon shortage that Blanton's helped to create.
The Japan connection
For most of its history, Blanton's commercial momentum came from Japan rather than from the United States. Through the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, bourbon was deeply unfashionable at home — the post-Prohibition American whiskey industry had collapsed into commodity production, and serious whiskey drinkers had moved to single malt Scotch. Throughout that period, the Japanese market kept Blanton's premium positioning alive. Several Blanton's expressions were created specifically for Japan: Black Label, Red Edition, and originally the Gold Edition (which has only recently been released in limited quantities domestically in the US). The Japanese distributor Takara Shuzo handled Blanton's in Japan for decades. The pattern is a familiar one to anyone who follows the history of premium whisky: when an established whisky tradition fades at home, the Japanese market often steps in to keep the highest-quality examples alive — the same role Japan played in preserving rare single malt Scotch through the same era. Today, in the bourbon revival of the 2010s and 2020s, Blanton's is once again sought after worldwide, but the brand's quiet Japan years are an essential part of its heritage. Drinkers who enjoy the appreciation-of-craft sensibility that defines Japanese whisky — see Yamazaki, Hibiki and Hakushu — often arrive at Blanton's by the same route.
Awards and global recognition
Blanton's holds an unusual place in the awards landscape: more than any specific medal or rating, the bourbon is defined by category-creation impact. Blanton's was the world's first commercial single barrel bourbon, and the entire premium American whiskey category that followed — Pappy Van Winkle, Eagle Rare, Booker's, Knob Creek, Elijah Craig, the renaissance of E.H. Taylor and George T. Stagg — exists in part because Blanton's proved in 1984 that a market existed for premium, individually bottled, character-rich bourbon. Blanton's has been the most-searched whiskey on the major spirits price-tracking websites for multiple years, has been featured in virtually every serious bourbon guide and tasting list published since the 1990s, and is genuinely difficult to find at retail outside allocated distribution. The Original Single Barrel, the Gold Edition and the Straight From the Barrel are routinely featured in best-bourbon roundups by major spirits writers. The hype around the brand is often debated, but the historical importance is not.
Blanton's FAQ
What is Blanton's?
Blanton's is the world's first commercial single barrel bourbon, created in 1984 by Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee at the Ancient Age Distillery (now Buffalo Trace) in Frankfort, Kentucky. The bourbon is named in honour of Colonel Albert B. Blanton, the legendary distillery president who ran operations from 1921 to 1952 and pioneered the practice of selecting individual "honey barrels" from a specific section of Warehouse H for personal gift bottlings to dignitaries. Today every bottle of Blanton's still comes from a single, individually selected barrel, with the barrel number, dump date, warehouse rick and bottling details hand-noted on the label. Blanton's is owned by Sazerac Company through Buffalo Trace Distillery.
Why is Blanton's so famous?
Blanton's is famous for three reasons. First, history: Blanton's invented the commercial single barrel bourbon category when it launched in 1984. Before Blanton's, bourbon was always blended from many barrels for consistency. Blanton's broke that convention and proved a market existed for premium, individually bottled, character-rich bourbon — paving the way for Pappy Van Winkle, Booker's, Eagle Rare and the entire premium American whiskey category that revived a near-collapsed industry in the 1990s and 2000s. Second, the bottle: the short, ribbed, gourd-shaped flask with its iconic horse-and-jockey cork stoppers (eight different stoppers, each bearing a single letter that together spell B-L-A-N-T-O-N-S) is one of the most distinctive packages in luxury spirits. Third, allocation: Blanton's has become so sought-after that it has been the most-searched whiskey on price-tracking sites for multiple years and is genuinely difficult to find at retail.
What does Blanton's taste like?
Blanton's house style is rich, rounded and complex — built on Buffalo Trace's high-rye Mash Bill #2 and the dynamic temperature swings of metal-clad Warehouse H. The signature notes include vanilla, honey, caramel, butterscotch, dry corn sweetness, nutmeg, rye spice, toasted oak, dark chocolate, dried fruit, citrus zest and toasted nuts. Because each bottle comes from one specific barrel, profiles vary slightly bottle to bottle, but the Blanton's signature is consistent: weighty, sweet-and-spicy, full-bodied, with the distinctive interplay of sweet corn-derived caramel and the high-rye prickle of cinnamon, clove and pepper. The Original Single Barrel is bottled at 93 proof (46.5% ABV); the Straight From the Barrel expression is uncut and unfiltered at full cask strength, typically around 130 proof (around 65% ABV), and reaches deeper into dark chocolate, toasted oak, brown sugar and tobacco spice.
Who was Colonel Blanton?
Albert Bacon Blanton was born in 1881 on a farm just outside Frankfort, Kentucky. He started work at the Old Fire Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery — now Buffalo Trace — as a sixteen-year-old office boy in 1897, was promoted to superintendent by the age of twenty, and ultimately served as president of the distillery from 1921 until his retirement in 1952. Colonel Blanton's tenure spanned some of the most challenging episodes of American distilling history: he kept the distillery operating through Prohibition under medicinal whisky permits, restored production within twenty-four hours after the catastrophic 1937 flood of the Kentucky River, and steered the operation through World War II when the distillery was required to produce industrial alcohol for the war effort. Blanton built the metal-clad Warehouse H in 1935 and personally selected what he believed were the finest barrels from a particular section of that warehouse to bottle as gifts for visiting dignitaries. The single barrel bourbon Elmer T. Lee created in his honour in 1984 is the formal commercial expression of that tradition.
What is Warehouse H?
Warehouse H is the only metal-clad warehouse at Buffalo Trace Distillery, built by Colonel Albert B. Blanton in 1935. Most rickhouses in Kentucky are clad in wood, brick or stone; Blanton chose to face Warehouse H in metal, which transmits heat and cold far more rapidly than other materials. The result is a warehouse that experiences much more dramatic temperature swings between summer and winter — pushing the bourbon harder into and out of the charred oak with every seasonal cycle. This accelerates the maturation chemistry and produces a richer, more concentrated bourbon character at a given age. Every drop of Blanton's is matured in Warehouse H, making it the only Buffalo Trace expression with that exclusive maturation provenance.
What are the horse-and-jockey stoppers?
Every bottle of Blanton's is sealed with a cork stopper topped by a small pewter horse-and-jockey figurine — a tribute to the Kentucky horse racing tradition that runs deep through the bourbon country around Frankfort and Lexington. There are eight different stoppers in total, each depicting the horse and jockey in a different position from the start of a race through to crossing the finish line. Since 1999, each stopper has carried a single letter on its base — B, L, A, N, T, O, N, S — that together spell out "BLANTON'S". Collectors aim to assemble the complete eight-letter set, which has become one of the great collector journeys in modern whiskey. Pre-1999 stoppers carry no letters and are considered separate vintage collectibles.
What is Mash Bill #2?
Mash Bill #2 is the high-rye bourbon mash bill used at Buffalo Trace Distillery. The exact recipe is undisclosed, but it is widely understood to contain approximately 12-15 percent rye, with the balance made up of corn (the majority grain, as required by US bourbon law) and malted barley. The high-rye content gives Mash Bill #2 bourbons a distinctive spicy character — cinnamon, clove, black pepper, dried herbs — alongside the sweet corn-derived caramel and vanilla. Blanton's is the most famous expression of Mash Bill #2, but it is also the mash bill behind several other allocated Buffalo Trace bourbons including Elmer T. Lee, Hancock's President's Reserve, Rock Hill Farms and Ancient Age. Mash Bill #1 (the lower-rye mash bill) is used for Buffalo Trace itself, Eagle Rare, E.H. Taylor, George T. Stagg and Stagg Jr.
Why was Blanton's so popular in Japan?
From the late 1980s through the early 2000s, bourbon was deeply unfashionable in the United States — the post-Prohibition American whiskey industry had collapsed into mass-market commodity production, and serious whiskey drinkers had moved to single malt Scotch. Throughout that period, Blanton's preserved its premium positioning largely thanks to the Japanese market, where appreciation for craft, hand-finished single barrels and connoisseur spirits remained strong. Several Blanton's expressions — including Black Label, Red Edition and originally the Gold Edition — were created specifically for the Japanese market, distributed for many years by Takara Shuzo. Japan's role in keeping Blanton's vital is parallel to Japan's role in saving rare single malt Scotch through the same period: when an established whisky tradition fades at home, the Japanese market often steps in.
Who owns Blanton's?
Blanton's is owned by Sazerac Company through Buffalo Trace Distillery. Sazerac is a privately held American spirits company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a portfolio of celebrated American whiskey brands including Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, W.L. Weller, E.H. Taylor, George T. Stagg, Sazerac Rye, Pappy Van Winkle (under joint arrangement with the Van Winkle family), Stagg Jr., Old Charter, Ancient Age, Elmer T. Lee, Hancock's President's Reserve and Rock Hill Farms. Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky has been operating continuously on the same site since 1775 and is recognised as the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States.
Is Blanton's a good gift?
Yes — Blanton's is one of the most universally respected bourbon gifts available, particularly for whisky collectors. The Original Single Barrel is the iconic gift bottle and the recognisable Blanton's silhouette; the Straight From the Barrel is the connoisseur's pick at full cask strength. The horse-and-jockey stopper, hand-noted barrel label, and short ribbed flask make Blanton's one of the most visually striking bottles in any spirits cabinet — and the brand's role as the original single barrel bourbon gives it genuine historical weight. See our wider gifts selection for presentation options.
Do you deliver Blanton's across Singapore?
Yes. Free delivery anywhere in Singapore with no minimum order. Standard lead time is 3 working days.