Why Not Select and Buy Your Own Single Barrel Whiskey?

The single barrel selection process is a treat. Barrel hunters often take a private tour of the distillery and the warehouses, and sample from a number of barrels to decide what matches their palate. The process is wildly popular nowadays, and stock sells out every year. Some distilleries cope with demand by keeping a waiting list, while others use a lottery to determine who can participate.

At Four Roses, master distiller Brent Elliott and his team evaluate and select their prize barrels for the program, usually setting aside 40 to 80 total. After touring the Four Roses campus, barrel buyers taste the whiskey in one of the warehouses. “There’s a sense of ownership and pride when someone has control over the bourbon they’re purchasing,” Elliott says. “The program is more popular than ever. We’ve increased the barrel allocation, but demand is still greater than supply.”

For the typical whiskey lover looking to buy a single barrel, the process isn’t easy to navigate. Alcohol sales in the U.S. must pass through the three-tier system (producer-distributor-retailer) before reaching you, the end-user. Thus nearly all private barrel orders are sold to retailers and bar-restaurant accounts. “My best advice to someone who wants to participate is to build a relationship with a retailer who plans to select barrels in the future,” says Elliott. “Having a good palate helps to get that invitation.” The individual bottles from the single barrel—which are often personalized with custom-designed labels—are subject to additional fees like sales tax and other markups.

But Buffalo Trace makes room for consumers. Brand owner Sazerac Company’s Single Barrel Select program allows enthusiasts to hand-pick a barrel from many of its American whiskeys, including Buffalo Trace, 1792, Blanton’s, E.H. Taylor, Eagle Rare, Bowman Brothers, W.L. Weller, Stagg Jr., and Sazerac rye. Consumers who want to buy a barrel must register with the company online, apply for a barrel spot, and then partner with a retailer to make the purchase. If picked, they can travel to Warehouse H at Buffalo Trace Distillery to sample up to four barrel options. The company employs a tasting panel to narrow down barrels for the program, and that panel must unanimously agree that a barrel qualifies before becoming a candidate.

Once buyers pick a barrel, they can customize their bottles’ labels and logos, create a personalized medallion for their selection, and have their name printed on it. At Sazerac, it can take up to 20 weeks to receive the bottles after a barrel is selected. Because of the rising popularity of the program, Sazerac is expanding its Single Barrel Select program this year. “We have very strong growth plans in place for the future,” says Diego Bianchi, general manager of Sazerac’s single barrel program.

At Old Forester, in addition to its own bottled single barrel offerings the company has a curated program to buy a barrel. The distillery offers three whiskeys for prospective buyers to choose from—a rye, a barrel proof bourbon, and a 100 proof bourbon. At Old Forester’s sister distillery Woodford Reserve, single barrel releases are a bit unusual—they’re actually crafted from batching two barrels together. “The reason we do this is to allow customers to create their own flavor profile, and the only way to do that is to blend, or batch, two barrels together,” explains master distiller emeritus Chris Morris. He pulls barrels with different production dates, from different warehouses and different floor levels, to offer single barrel customers a range of flavor profiles when building their personalized whiskey. Woodford’s Personal Selection program is solely focused on bourbon—at one point, private barrels of Double Oaked and rye variants were also available, but demand was too high so the focus was limited to bourbon, where supply is more plentiful.

Heaven Hill, meanwhile, has had a private-barrel program for well over a decade. Currently, the company offers private barrels of Elijah Craig bourbon and Rittenhouse rye. Elijah Craig can be bottled at the traditional 94 proof or at barrel proof, while Rittenhouse picks are selected from 4 year old whiskeys that will be bottled at 100 proof, in line with the brand’s bottled in bond profile. Barrels generally range from $6,500 to $11,500 and yield anywhere from 140 to 200-plus bottles, depending on the brand and the proof.

At smaller player New Riff, single barrels have been on the radar since the distillery opened in 2014. The distillery’s co-founders, Ken Lewis and Jay Erisman, worked at Kentucky retailer The Party Source (Lewis was the founder), where their rich experience with single barrels helped inform New Riff’s private barrel program. The distillery offers full barrels (around $10,000) and is one of a few that has fractional barrels available: half (around $5,000) and quarter (approximately $2,500) with prices varying depending on yield. “There’s a lot of attention around single barrels at our size, and for craft distilleries in general,” says Lewis. “We wrap our arms around everyone who’s interested in going through this process and understanding what it is, and coming to Kentucky to learn the nuances of single barrels and New Riff.” Both Lewis and Erisman see opportunity for one-off expressions like the 100% malted rye and heirloom rye to have single barrel releases of their own, though there isn’t enough whiskey for that quite yet.

When it comes to single barrel releases, Barrell Craft Spirits is in a unique position, since it sources its whiskey and is famous for its blending skills. But founder Joe Beatrice and his team of blenders, who include Tripp Stimson and Nic Christiansen, create what they call microblends, which are rebarreled for 2 to 4 months. “Then people select the barrel, though they’re not single barrels (in the traditional sense),” Christiansen says. In addition to its single barrel offerings at retail, the company has a curated program for retailers and restaurateurs.

Want To Buy A Barrel?

Private-barrel whiskeys are generally intended for retail stores and restaurants, but many major distilleries say they’ve gotten requests from individual customers. The process isn’t easy to navigate for the average person, but it can be done.

1. Find A Retail Partner

Even if you want the entire bottle haul from a barrel yourself, you have to make the purchase through a retail store due to federal and state regulations. Most stores that offer their own private barrel labels have an account with major distilleries. Get acquainted with staff at a liquor store to start the process.

2 .Pick A Distillery And Register For A Barrel Visit

Many distilleries have waiting lists just to get an appointment for a private-barrel tasting. Book early and be patient.

3. Hone Your Palate

While you’re waiting, practice tasting whiskey and identifying what flavor profiles you’re looking for from a private barrel. You want to be ready when it’s your turn to start the process.

4. Enjoy The Experience

Once you’re selected to purchase a private barrel, you’ll get to make a trip to the distillery and see it from a whole new perspective. Many tasting trips include visits through private areas of the facility that the general public can’t access. Plan to spend at least two to three hours at the distillery and enjoy the perks of the buying experience.

5. Make Your Pick

During your visit, the distillery will present three to five barrels for you to sample. Most distilleries will ask what you’re looking for, or what you gravitate toward in a whiskey, so they can narrow their options down to a few quality barrels that suit your palate. Many also have staff on-site to guide you through the tasting process. Sample all the options and make honest critiques. If you love one, you’ve found your barrel. If you don’t, you can decline them all and go back to the waiting list for another tasting appointment in the future.

6. Personalize Your Pick

As part of the process, most distilleries allow you to customize the bottle labels for your private barrel selection. You can add your name, at the least. Some allow you to add custom artwork too.

7. Fund The Fun

Buying an entire barrel of whiskey isn’t cheap. For most bourbons, the cost ranges from $5,000 up to $13,000 a barrel. The total bottle yield depends on the age and the proof of the whiskey.

8. Be Patient

Once you’ve selected a barrel, it can take anywhere from two to six months to receive your bottled, customized whiskey.

9. Celebrate Your Purchase

Enjoy your exclusive whiskey! Be the envy of your friends. Personalized bottles from a personally selected barrel make a great, albeit expensive, gift.

Want More Info?

The following distilleries all have private barrel programs in place.

Brown-Forman

Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniel’s (also Glenglassaugh, Benriach, and GlenDronach scotches); the waitlist to taste through offerings and buy a private barrel of Woodford Reserve or Old Forester is currently more than a year.
privatebarrelselections.com

Four Roses

Visit the website and select “Contact.” Complete the form in the “Department” field, then select “Private Barrel Selections” from the drop-down menu.
fourrosesbourbon.com

Sazerac

Buffalo Trace, 1792, Blantons, E.H. Taylor, Eagle Rare, Bowman Brothers, W.L. Weller, Stagg Jr., Sazerac rye (also Last Drop Distillers 1971 blended scotch, Caribou Crossing Canadian, Paul John Indian)
singlebarrelselect.com

Heaven Hill

Elijah Craig bourbon, Rittenhouse rye
elijahcraig.com
heavenhilldistillery.com
*You must go through a licensed retailer to start the process.

Maker’s Mark

makersmark.com
*You must go through a licensed retailer to start the process.