Buffalo Trace is once again drawing on its historical reserves with the third annual installment of the Prohibition Collection.
Inspired by its history as one of the only legal operators during the 18th Amendment between 1920 and 1933, the collection is comprised of five bottles named after forgotten cornerstones of Kentucky whiskey history. Buffalo Trace was one of a few distilleries authorized to sell whiskey for medicinal purposes.
The collection is packaged in a wooden display case with archival imagery from the distillery, and the scale and shape of the small 375ml bottles pay heed to their origins as a prescribed medicine; each bottle has distinctive branding that references the unique position that whiskey occupied at the time and comes with accompanying cartons displaying the prescription physicians would hand the liquid out with.
Buffalo Trace Distillery dates back to 1775 and involves such storied characters in American whiskey such as Albert B. Blanton, E.H. Taylor, and George T. Stagg, the distillery’s original namesake.
The distillery itself is based in Frankfort, Kentucky, and is even a National Historic Landmark. 2026’s Prohibition Collection draws on all of this, honoring five brands bottled under President Albert B. Blanton’s tenure at the George T. Stagg Distillery.
There’s the Kentucky River bottle, referring to the former distillery of the same name run by Albert B. Blanton. This is bottled today as a 100 proof (50% ABV) blend of Kentucky straight whiskeys; it offers honeyed grain on the nose, followed by baked apple on the palate.
Another blend is the Walter B. Duffy, named after the owner of the O.F.C distillery after George T. Stagg died in 1893. This is a blend of 10- and 14-year-old Kentucky straight bourbons bottled at 107 proof (53.5% ABV), with suggestions of graham cracker, dried fig, and subtle anise.
Following the theme of these bottles being named after great figures of Kentucky whiskey history, there’s the Henry Watterson. A Pulitzer-winning journalist and U.S. Congressman famous for his anti-Prohibition views, Watterson often had his likeness used, including for a whiskey brand distributed by the George T. Stagg Distillery.
The modern version of this is an uncut, unfiltered 140.6 proof (70.3% ABV) Kentucky Straight Rye reflecting both the original whiskey as well as the man’s reputation as strong and uncompromising.
Another US Congressman is bottled here, too: John G. Carlisle, the inspiration behind E.H. Taylor’s construction of the Carlisle Distillery adjacent to the O.F.C. Distillery. This is a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, bottled at 100 proof (50%) and presenting in a typical bourbon fashion.
The final entry in the collection honors the spring itself that fueled the beginnings of what is now Buffalo Trace. Cove Spring is a wheat recipe Kentucky Straight Bourbon, uncut and bottled at 120.2 proof (60/1% ABV).
Commenting on the release, master distiller at Buffalo Trace Distillery Harlen Wheatley said: “The Prohibition Collection gives us the opportunity to bring important chapters of our Distillery’s history back to life. Each year, we uncover stories, brands and whiskey traditions that might otherwise have been lost to time. By reimagining these historic whiskeys, we honor the resilience, ingenuity and determination that carried this Distillery through one of the most challenging periods in American whiskey history and helped shape the legacy we continue today.”
The Buffalo Trace Prohibition Collection #3 will be released in limited quantities starting in June 2026 at a suggested retail price of $999.99 (£748) for five bottles, 375ml each, presented in a wooden box.
