Blanton’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is “The Original” single barrel bourbon whiskey. The iconic Buffalo Trace shingle has a massive following, from whiskey newbies to experts who enjoy a subtle and approachable pour of Kentucky bourbon (read our full tasting notes here). But the hype around the brand and a (seeming) scarcity of bottles means that finding a Blanton’s bottle often means paying a premium for a relatively inexpensive product.
To avoid paying that premium, it’s good to know when Blanton’s is actually released — so that you have a chance of catching a bottle at its suggested retail price off the actual shelf at your local liquor store. That can be the difference between paying $200 for a bottle and paying $60. Surprisingly, that’s not as hard as it might seem.
There are four mainstream Blanton’s products — Blanton’s “The Original” Single Barrel Bourbon, Blanton’s “Special Reserve” Green Label (low ABV version), Blanton’s Gold (higher ABV version), and Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel (barrel strength version). Then there are store picks for “The Original” Blanton’s Single Barrel as well — those come in when they come in. But that’s what you’ll be able to get out in the wild.
Blanton’s “Special Reserve” Green Label, Gold, and Straight From The Barrel are released once a year. Blanton’s “The Original” Single Barrel is released quarterly. Generally speaking, the releases are as follows:
- Blanton’s “The Original” Single Barrel Bourbon is released in January, April, July, and October.
- Blanton’s Gold is released in October (generally).
- Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel is released at the end of summer (though sometimes some trickles out in spring too).
- Blanton’s Green Label is generally an end-of-summer release and is primarily for the international market.
Right now, you can score a bottle of Blanton’s at the Buffalo Trace Distillery Gift Shop for $63 plus tax. You just have to be there on the right day. You might also get lucky and see some on the shelf at your local liquor store. My store in rural Kentucky had six on the shelf a week ago. They were priced at $67 each with a “limit one” sticker. All of that said, at this point, you might have to wait until the end of March/early April to see the next batch hit shelves.
Good luck out there!
