Two Coveted E.H. Taylor, Jr. Releases Are Back. And One Will Be Annual
Buffalo Trace is bringing back Four Grain and Cured Oak. Here’s what changed, what didn’t, and how hard they’ll be to find
May 29, 2026 –––––– Sean Evans
For E.H. Taylor Jr. devotees, Four Grain and Cured Oak are deep cuts, the B-sides that make perfect sense once you know the album by heart. Which is why those fans will be overjoyed to hear that Buffalo Trace is bringing these highly sought-after expressions back this May, each as a 10 year old, 100-proof, bottled in bond offering.
Four Grain cements its spot as an annual limited release, while Cured Oak will be a rare and limited offering. Does that mean you’ll be able to get these bourbons more easily? More on that in a second. First, a quick dive into what makes each special.
E.H. Taylor Jr. Four Grain debuted in 2017 as a small-batch bourbon built from a mashbill of corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley. The idea was a callback to the grains Colonel Taylor would have worked with in the 1800s. It ended up being what Buffalo Trace’s master distiller Harlen Wheatley calls a "graduated experiment," one that started as a deliberate exploration and earned its way into a permanent spot in the lineup.
"Rye and wheat are often used separately," he says, "but combining them creates a completely different flavor experience. Alongside corn and malted barley, we're able to build layers of flavor that balance sweetness, spice, and depth in a way you don't typically see in bourbon." The 2017 and 2018 Four Grain releases were 12 and 13 year old expressions from 2005 distillate. The 2026 version is younger at 10 years.
Why the dip? “This particular mashbill is not one Buffalo Trace Distillery has historically produced on a frequent basis, and the whiskey was never intended to align with a specific age statement,” says Wheatley. “Our focus has always been on developing the best possible flavor profile, regardless of age. We have been evaluating and sampling this liquid over the course of several years, and this year we felt it reached an exceptional balance and complexity at the 10-year mark.”
E.H. Taylor Jr. Cured Oak has a different profile and backstory. The barrels used to age this expression are built from white oak staves air-dried for 13 months, more than double the standard six-month curing time. That longer curing process pulls more tannin and terpene development out of the wood before the distillate ever enters it, which, in theory, means the barrel has more to give. The original 2015 release carried a 17-year age statement and fetches $3,999 or more on the secondary market. This, the second release, is 10 years old, which will raise eyebrows among collectors who remember the first bottling. Wheatley again affirms that age was never the point. "For this year's Cured Oak release, we felt the 10-year mark delivered an exceptionally balanced bourbon while still highlighting the influence of the extra-seasoned barrels," he says.
On availability, Buffalo Trace declined to give exact bottle numbers but confirmed that Cured Oak will see wider national distribution through Sazerac's network of retailers, bars, and restaurants. Expect it to have a lower overall bottle volume. While Four Grain will likely have a higher bottle volume, it is available only at the distillery gift shop and select Kentucky and Louisiana accounts. Both have a suggested retail price of $80 and are available starting this month. Don't expect either to sit on shelves.
