Corazón Single Barrel Program Featured In Forbes
How To Buy A Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrel of Corazón Tequila
A few years back, my friend, David Moritz, wanted to celebrate his company, The Society Award’s 10th anniversary, by purchasing a single barrel of Eagle Rare10-Year-Old bourbon from the Buffalo Trace Distillery and asked me to come along for the ride. Little did we know that our barrel pick experience was the beginning of a much longer journey. Here is the story of how a humble whiskey barrel became the centerpiece of a relationship between Buffalo Trace, the customer, and a whole other world of spirits.
For the uninitiated, a single barrel program involves purchasing the bottled contents of an individual barrel of spirit—an experience that’s like pumpkin picking for bourbon infatuated grown-ups like Moritz. A bourbon barrel is 53 gallons and yields 150-220 bottles depending on evaporation that naturally occurs during maturation. For consumers, the cost is the retail value of each bottle determined by a retail partner and typically swings between $5-$15,000. At Buffalo Trace, there are three options to purchase a single barrel: the distillery provides barrel samples to the customer through a wholesaler, an expert selects the whiskey for you, or consumers are invited to visit the distillery and pick a barrel on-site. The contents are then emptied, bottled, and shipped to the customer through the retail partner.
While Buffalo Trace has a modern and prolific barrel program, the company has been selling barrels of bourbon rather on-the-fly for decades. The distillery was named George T. Stagg during the 80’s when distillery manager, Elmer T. Lee, released its first single barrel product, Blanton’s, in 1984. Blanton’s is aged exclusively in the fabled Warehouse H, which was constructed by distillery manager Albert Blanton, in 1934. When Blanton became company president he resided on the distillery grounds, where he would occasionally dispatch his warehouse team to deliver him a choice bourbon barrel to entertain friends and family. A young Elmer T. Lee was one of those crew members, and it was Blanton’s single barrel picks that inspired Lee to release an unbatched, single-barrel bourbon, aptly named after his former boss.
It was also Lee who first began selling the contents of individual barrels to loyal consumers throughout the 1990s, a time when bourbon sales were in a downward spiral. Selling by the barrel was a slick way to not only move some product, but it also creates free advertising since participating bars and liquor stores naturally displayed their barrel and its bottled contents to promote themselves. The ad hoc program had zero publicity or promotion, so the barrel picks spread via word-of-mouth. But a renewed interest in American whiskey began its ascent, and by 2010 the distillery had a steady stream of customers. Sazerac’s President, Mark Brown, took notice.
When we pulled into the Frankfort, Kentucky Distillery, we were greeted by Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley, along with the director of Buffalo Trace’s Single Barrel Select Program, Beau Taylor Beckman. After walking us through the Eagle Rare barrel selection process, Beckman turned to Moritz with an unexpected proposition.
“We’d like to gauge your interest in having us send your barrel to Mexico,” Beckman said. “We will age Corazón Tequila inside of it, and give you the option to purchase that single barrel in a year or two.”
Moritz agreed on the spot. When the men shook hands, Moritz became the first customer to participate in what was to become Beckman’s Boomerang Program.
Sazerac hired Beau Beckman in 2011, and in 2013 started building what became singlebarrelselect.com, a modernized single barrel program. When Beckman took on the project, barrels of bourbon was widely available. But when the program was ready to roll out two years later, the whiskey landscape had changed, and like a kid who had Christmas canceled, Beckman was told there’d be no additional bourbon to sell that year. The distillery was struggling to keep up with sky-rocketing orders. Even today, securing a slot to pick a barrel at Buffalo Trace is about as likely as scoring a pair of Rolling Stones tickets in a 300-seat-theater. Supply is low, and demand is off the charts. Beckman’s response was to get creative. If he couldn’t sell Buffalo Trace, maybe he could sell something else. The answer came in the form of alternative spirits that's across Sazerac’s portfolio. Suddenly Beckman was selling single barrel selections of 1792 Bourbon, Corazón Tequila, The Last Drop, and Caribou Crossing Canadian Whiskey, to name just a few.
It was 2015 when discussions about adding tequila to the barrel program took root. Sazerac already owned Corazón Tequila, which is produced at Casa San Matias distillery in Jalisco’s highlands. San Matias routinely used barrels from ultra-premium products such as The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, Pappy Van Winkle, and Blanton’s to age their tequila. It just made sense to release single barrel tequilas aged in these sexy casks.
The next phase was producing premium single barrels of Corazón Tequila through the singlebarrelselect.com platform. Here customers can choose tequila aged in ex-Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight, Eagle Rare, Weller Special Reserve, Blanton’s Single Barrel, or 1792 Small Batch barrels. Once Beckman secured a steady stream of customers, he implemented the Boomerang Program. This gives singlebarrelselect.com customers an opportunity to mature alternative spirits such as Corazón in the same barrel from their bourbon selection.
“I thought customers would respond to the idea of continuing the story of their barrel after the bourbon inside is bottled," says Beckman. “Maturing Corazón tequila in your barrel, for example, gives you the option of having two or more products tied to a great story and a unique barrel lineage. It connects people who understand bourbon with tequila, and we provide a one-of-a-kind spirit and a truly unique experience.”
Two years and four months after the frigid December morning when Moritz chose his barrel of Eagle Rare, we found ourselves in the Mexican sun at Casa San Matias in Jalisco, the heart of tequila country. We were greeted personally by CEO Carmen Villarreal, an impressive, soft-spoken woman who raised six children and has helmed the 133-year-old distillery since 1997. Aside from her responsibilities at San Matias, Villarreal is Vice President of Social Responsibility for the local Chamber of Commerce and frequently collaborates with the Jalisco government to promote economic growth in the Tequila community. At San Matias, Villarreal assures gender equality by guaranteeing equal salaries for women and men. But Villarreal's greatest passion lies in supporting women at risk of poverty. Carmen has been the leader in the development of Casa Hogar Alegría in Guadalajara, Mexico, a network of girls’ homes committed to ending the abuse of young women and providing tools to foster their independence. Corazón translates to “heart,” and Villarreal and her team run a company that’s easy to support. For Beckman, San Matias is a dream partnership for the Boomerang Program.
“When we first presented the idea to Casa San Matias, Carmen’s main concern was how can we use this to promote Casa Hogar Alegría. It was never about profit. It was always about how this could help the community. We already knew the tequila is delicious. But meeting Carmen made made this partnership better than I imagined.”
Now two-years-old, Moritz’s tequila has morphed into a golden-hued anejo. Touring the company’s warehouse, we notice rows of barrels emblazoned with Buffalo Trace logos lining the racks. David was reunited with his Eagle Rare barrel, as well as the spirit inside, and we sampled the toffee laden, slightly spicy tequila on the warehouse floor. The next stop was the bottling line, where we watched the tequila fill. We broke for lunch, which included a feast and tequila tasting that included Moritz’s single barrel tequila. After lunch, we spent the afternoon in the quaint town of Tlaquepaque, where you can shop, dine, bar-hop, or hang out in the park. Beckman and Villarreal put a lot of thought into organizing a rounded experience for their barrel select customers.
“I’m a bourbon lover, and that makes me a Buffalo Trace fan, so the idea of keeping the lineage of my barrel alive across a spectrum of spirits is unprecedented,” says Moritz. “It’s special to be a part of something truly innovative in a field that you love. With Beau and Sazerac’s distilleries, it’s been exciting, adventurous, and we became great friends. I can’t believe we got to do this, and that it qualifies as ‘work.’”
While Buffalo Trace’s Boomerang Program continues to gain traction, it’s still in its infancy. Sazerac owns distilleries all over the world, and plans to expand its program to brandy, rum, and Indian whiskey, with long term goals stretching out to 2041. For now, Moritz’s barrel is on its way to A. Smith Bowman in Virginia, where he and distiller, Brian Prewitt, are hatching a plan to age a unique whiskey, or maybe something else, in David’s Eagle Rare, Corazón Tequila soaked barrel. Chances are, the cask’s journey will continue from there, as well.
“As we continue developing barrel programs, there are more options for customers,” says Beckman. “You can use your barrel again to age something else, whether it be tequila, rum, or different styles of whiskey. Eventually, brandy will be an option. Building the Single Barrel Select Program has been the most exciting thing in the world, and the best part is that we are just getting started.”