Buffalo Trace Distillery continues its exploration into oak tree varietals with the release of its Old Charter Oak Canadian Oak.
In late 2018, Buffalo Trace announced its Old Charter Oak series, a collection exploring the different taste profiles of barrels obtained from trees grown in different countries, climates and soil. The Old Charter Oak collection is designed to explore, honor, and celebrate the role of oak in making great whiskey. The oak trees used for this brand vary by country of origin, or species, or U.S. state. Some barrels are even made from century oaks, 100, 200, or 300-year-old oak trees.
For the newest release, Buffalo Trace obtained a small number of barrels from Canada and filled them with its Mash #1, the same mashbill used to make Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, and several other award-winning bourbons at the Distillery.
Canadian oak trees differ from American oak trees in that they are harder and have a tighter grain structure, which affects the bourbon as it ages. Harlen Wheatley, master distiller, explains the difference further by stating, “The tighter grain allows the whiskey to penetrate more layers in the wood, but it does take it longer to do it. So the longer the bourbon ages, the more flavor can be extracted.”