Buffalo Trace Traveller Blended Whiskey Review

At a time when package store shelves are clogged with celebrity owned and celebrity endorsed booze of every variant, you can’t fault the likes of country music star Chris Stapleton for specifically targeting the hypest of the hype for his own debut in the world of branded whiskey. Regardless of the confusing optics of Stapleton partnering on a alcohol brand at all, months after a GQ profile seemed to prominently imply that the singer had embraced sobriety–comments that have subsequently been walked back by Stapleton and co.–it makes rock-solid financial sense for the singer to hitch his wagon to the likes of Sazerac’s Buffalo Trace. After all, simply having a whiskey brand all your own? That’s no longer remarkable, not when there are distilleries out there specializing specifically in providing “unique” whiskey brands to a dozen disparate bands at the same time. But a Buffalo Trace collaboration? That will catch the attention of even the bourbon-hoarding cognoscenti. And as such, the announcement of Buffalo Trace Traveller Blended Whiskey caught a lot more attention than any normal celebrity partnership would have in this day and age.

But just as quickly, the confusion and questions about this product began to mount. “Blended whiskey”? A blend of what and what? Traveller is sold as a collaboration between Stapleton and Buffalo Trace Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley, but what is the actual Buffalo Trace component of what ends up in this bottle? Such details are hard to come by, the blend simply being labeled as “Blend No. 40” of a reported 50 that were created and sampled.

At the very least, the company has reported that Traveller does not contain any grain neutral spirits, which legally can be used in blended whiskey brands. But if they’re not using grain neutral spirits, why use the term at all, considering that “blended whiskey” doesn’t exactly often imply quality on the American whiskey shelf? Surely if the brand could qualify as straight bourbon or American straight whiskey, those terms would be used. A possible answer is one I’ve seen implied by various spirits writers across the web: The blend may contain Canadian spirit, which would make a certain ideological sense for a brand trying to market itself as approachable, “lighter” and inviting. But this is ultimately all conjecture: We have no age statement, mash bills or origin point for any of this spirit, just a 45% ABV (90 proof), which matches the company’s own flagship Buffalo Trace Bourbon, and a similar $36 MSRP. Note that this invites an obvious comparison to that flagship bourbon brand.

Regardless of all the cloak-and-dagger secrecy, let’s get to tasting this new expression.

On the nose, Buffalo Trace Traveller Blend Whiskey initially displays toffee sweetness and then a certain green apple fruit tartness, with the suggestion of acidity and some Tootsie Roll-like chocolate. It’s not the easiest dram to nose, with character that is fairly muted–faint ethanol reinforces that impression of apple fruitiness, while the sweetness is somewhat nebulous.

On the palate, this is quite sweet up front, with heavy vanilla extract and green apple, joined by a milk chocolate note. I’m getting caramel candies and toasty cookies infused with honey, though these impressions are shown up to some degree by an indelicate, “raw” sort of ethanol booziness, which has a chile-like spice to it. This is a somewhat unexpected characteristic to encounter here, given that so much of the marketing for Traveller revolves around it being “smooth and approachable,” yet to me it reads as oddly hot and spicy for this relatively low proof point.

All in all, this isn’t particularly objectionable whiskey–I’ve read some negative reviews of this particular product that contain over-the-top vitriol and exaggeration, seemingly intent on proving a point. However, it does beg the question of whether most fans–particularly fans of the distillery–wouldn’t prefer to simply just buy a bottle of the standard Buffalo Trace Bourbon instead, at the same proof and price point. There’s no denying that the classic Buffalo Trace Bourbon is a significantly more composed and complex product than whatever this is.

At the end of the day, though, it is fairly clear that Buffalo Trace Traveller is not a brand being aimed at whiskey geeks or bourbon collectors. The company seems to be trying to tap some kind of ephemeral, whiskey-adjacent market that has always been curious about brown spirits but doesn’t regularly consume them, hoping that Traveller would function as a gateway product to ease them into a world that would presumably then lead back to the rest of the Buffalo Trace portfolio. Personally? I’d simply try to get that consumer to try the flagship bourbon instead. If you’re putting one foot forward, let it be your best one.

Distillery: Buffalo Trace
City: Frankfort, KY
Style: Blended whiskey
ABV: 45% (90 proof)
Availability: 750 ml bottles, $36 MSRP

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.