A Bourbon with a "Stormy" History

There's a very special bourbon on the shelves at Joe Canal's, that was recently released by the Buffalo Trace Distillery. It's called EH Taylor Tornado Bourbon, and it's got quite an interesting backstory. Here's the scoop from Buffalo Trace:

It was a Sunday evening, April 2, 2006, when a severe storm tore through Central Kentucky, damaging two Buffalo Trace Distillery aging warehouses. Fortunately, no one was injured and Warehouse “B” was empty at the time. However, Warehouse “C” sustained significant damage to its roof and north brick wall. Warehouse “C” is one of the most treasured warehouses on property, built by Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. in 1881. This historic aging warehouse stores more than 24,000 prized bourbon barrels in its ricks. It is also a favorite warehouse for tourists; its century-old wooden beams and pungent aroma of bourbon make it an ideal stop for the 55,000-plus tourists that visit Buffalo Trace Distillery each year.

Throughout the strong storm that raged across the Distillery, the bourbon barrels stood strong, never budging from their resting spots. Patiently they waited while the roof and wall repairs took place that summer. The barrels sat exposed to the central Kentucky climate for months as the sun and wind took their toll.

Finally in late 2011, those same barrels were tasted and the bourbon was married into a single batch dubbed “Warehouse C Tornado Surviving Bourbon.” It was only fitting this bourbon would be released under the Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. moniker, as he was a bourbon industry survivor himself. Taylor owned and lost more than seven distilleries in his lifetime and built many of the buildings at Buffalo Trace Distillery, including the storm damaged Warehouses B and C.

All of the 93 Tornado Surviving Bourbon barrels were located on the top two floors of Warehouse C, and were at least 9 years, 8 months old when dumped; many of them were as old as 11 years, 11 months old. Like the previous two E. H. Taylor, Jr. releases, the Tornado Surviving Bourbon is “Bottled in Bond” at 100 proof.

During the summer of 2006 the sun and weather inevitably contributed to increased evaporation, wood interaction and rich flavors in this bourbon whiskey. The angel’s share amounted to an astonishingly high 63.9% loss.

Taylor is widely considered one of the founding fathers of the bourbon industry, fighting for the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, nearly three decades after he purchased the now Buffalo Trace Distillery. During his time, Taylor implemented several innovative methods still used today by Buffalo Trace, such as climate controlled aging warehouses. In addition to his bourbon interests, Taylor had political ties. He was the great-nephew of President Zachary Taylor and elected the mayor of Frankfort, state representative to the Kentucky General Assembly and a member of the State Senate.

You can try this stormy bourbon for only $66.99 at Joe Canal's Woodbridge and Lawrenceville!