You think you have what it takes to be a master distiller? Did you ever take a slow sip of bourbon, chew it in your mouth and say to yourself, “I wish it had a bit more rye to make it a little spicier. Or, maybe if it had a bit more wheat in the mashbill it would move the flavor finish to the front of my tongue.” Back in October 2015, Buffalo Trace Distillery launched a creative and engaging set of web pages that allowed fans to be their own master distiller and build their own bourbon, step-by-step. You visit the website and spend about three minutes answering the following questions and you can build your own bourbon.
Craft Your Perfect Bourbon Experience
- Mashbill Recipe – What percent corn, rye, wheat, or barley?
- Make Whiskey – Milling, Cooking, Fermenting, Distilling
- Oak Barrels – Pick your char. Light or dark?
- Warehousing – Which floor in the rickhouse will host your bourbon.
- Aging – How long are you willing to wait?
- Proof – To cut or not to cut. Lowest possible proof to be a bourbon would be 80 proof. Straight from the barrel aged at the top of the warehouse it could be as high as 140. Can you handle that?
Well, after two years and 100,239 bourbon drinkers completing the process of “crafting” their perfect bourbon, Buffalo Trace fans have picked their perfect bourbon. It seems the more than 100k fans that completed the “Craft Your Perfect Bourbon” experience, agree that wheat is king.
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The overwhelming number of armchair master distillers chose a wheated bourbon recipe aged for eight years. Most chose for their barrel to mature on the top floor of the bourbon warehouse and ultimately be bottled at somewhere between 90-99 proof. So in response, Buffalo Trace Distillery will be releasing a new edition of W. L. Weller Bourbon called “CYPB,” short for Craft Your Perfect Bourbon.
Senior Marketing Director Kris Comstock.
“Although we certainly didn’t set out to produce a new bourbon based on this ‘Craft Your Own’ experience, the results are overwhelmingly consistent, so why not give whiskey drinkers what they want?’” explained Kris Comstock, senior marketing director. “We’re thrilled how so many fans have interacted with the website, and we hope more will try their hand at crafting their perfect bourbon.”
As directed by fans, this bourbon will be made from a wheat recipe, aged eight years on the top floors of the warehouses, and bottled at 95° proof. Although very limited, one batch of this new bourbon will be released each year, beginning this summer. The recommended price for W.L. Weller Craft Your Perfect Bourbon is $39.99 for a 750ml bottle.
And that math thing. Craft Your Perfect Bourbon started in 2015. Not sure how you can squeeze an eight year old bourbon out in three years but they’ve done it 😉
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