At Lazy Dog, our commitment to excellence in developing a high-quality menu isn’t just limited to our food, it extends all the way to the beverages we serve our guests. That is one of the reasons we are so excited to partner with our friends who make Buffalo Trace Bourbon.

Buffalo Trace Distillery got its name from the ancient buffalos that led pioneers to the banks of the Kentucky River and has been making bourbon whiskey the same way for more than two hundred years.

Not only is it made with the finest corn, rye and malt barley mixture, but their process of barreling and aging is second to none and is what makes Buffalo Trace an award-winning bourbon.

Each barrel is oak aged for at least six months and is handmade before being charred in an oven, helping to provide each batch of bourbon with a distinct flavor. While some other distilleries have opted for more high-tech methods to help with the bourbon-aging process, Buffalo Trace has maintained the same process for years, allowing Mother Nature to do the work for them.

And, it’s during this aging method that their bourbon obtains its familiar rich color from the wood sugars and tannins of the barrel, which is why choosing the prime climate location for the barrels is a crucial part of the process.

“We tend to pick middle floors or sweet-spots for Buffalo Trace based on climate, and then the colder weather extracts the whiskey out of the wood,” said master distiller Harlen Wheatley. “So, you’re going to get a variation of the breathing of the barrel, of the whiskey going in and out of the wood, and that’s a good thing because it’s extracting those good flavors from the wood.”

Our team traveled to Kentucky recently to visit the Buffalo Trace Distillery, sampling fifteen barrels of Wheatley’s best bourbon before selecting their top five to be bottled for Lazy Dog.

While Buffalo Trace bourbon is a fantastic pour in and of itself, we’ve taken it a step further with our new seasonal Honey Thyme Old Fashioned. Combining the caramel, candied fruit flavors of single barrel select Buffalo Trace Bourbon with Cointreau, Amaro Montenegro, honey, fresh thyme and orange peel, we’ve brought a new twist to an old classic just in time for spring.

As we continue our quest to provide the best dining experience possible for our guests, we’re proud of our collaboration with Buffalo Trace Distillery and their mutual commitment to innovation and integrity.

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