OLD CHARTER OAK
French Oak (2021)MASH BILL – Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 (low-rye)
PROOF – 92
AGE – 12 years
DISTILLERY – Buffalo Trace
PRICE – I got this in a bottle trade (msrp is $70 but good luck!)
K&L LIQUORS EVERY DROP BOURBON
Batch No. KY-01-25 (2025)MASH BILL – 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley
PROOF – 120
AGE – 15 years
DISTILLERY – unstated (Buffalo Trace contract distilling for Wild Turkey)
PRICE – $217
Old Charter Oak is a limited release series out of Buffalo Trace, using their ubiquitous bourbon Mash Bill #1—exact grain ratio unstated, but widely believed to be the lower-rye mash bill of their two primary bourbon recipes. Other Buffalo Trace bourbons using Mash Bill #1 include the namesake release, as well as Benchmark, Eagle Rare, E.H. Taylor, and Stagg.
With the Old Charter series, they age that bourbon recipe in an alternative oak barrel to their usual. Alternate oak varietals have included Mongolian, French, Canadian, and Chinkapin.
The first Old Charter I had was the Chinkapin oak, a tree native to a swath of eastern and central North America. Comparing the Old Charter Chinkapin to a single barrel store pick of Eagle Rare I had on hand, the Chinkapin came across like a spicy riff on the familiar cherry and chocolate notes of Mash Bill #1. Definitely family.
So I was curious what the distinctions of the French Oak aging might be.
But rather than compare it to another of the standard Buffalo Trace products, I opted to put it next to this K&L dip into the “Buffalo Turkey” phenomenon, their 15 Year in-house “Every Drop” release from early 2025.
The “Buffalo Turkey” nickname came from bourbon geeks sleuthing the www and putting two and two together. The basic skinny on these secondary bottlings is that some years ago Wild Turkey had a temporary issue with their distilling equipment, leaving them concerned about a break in production, so they contracted some bourbon from Buffalo Trace.
Oddly, though Buffalo Trace used the Wild Turkey mash bill—75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley—everything else about this contracted bourbon was pure Buffalo Trace. Their grains, their yeast, their barrels, their equipment. After aging at the Wild Turkey warehouses, the bourbon’s flavor profile was so distinct from Wild Turkey products they had no use for it. They sold it off to secondary bottlers across the country. These secondary releases have mostly gone for $300 to $500 to even higher. But K&L sold theirs for $200, so, I bit.
Tasting it, I immediately recognized it as a Buffalo Trace product. It tasted to me very much like George T. Stagg, the annual BTAC release so coveted by bourbon fans and which also uses Mash Bill #1.
Although Old Charter French Oak and K&L’s Every Drop have different mash bills, are separated in age by 3 years, were aged in distinct barrels, and bottled at significantly different proofs, they share the same grain source, yeast (a key flavor component), and were created via the same equipment. Seems like a good enough excuse for a side-by-side to me. It’s like two cousins meeting one another for the first time!
And so here we are, ten days after uncorking the Old Charter and three pours into the bottle, and six+ months after uncorking the Every Drop and just over halfway through the bottle.
Given the 30 degrees of heat between them, I’ll taste through the 90-proof Old Charter first, then the 120-proof Every Drop, and take a break to reset my palate before then going back and forth between them. These notes were taken using traditional Glencairns.
COLOR
OLD CHARTER – medium oranges with smoldering orange and tarnished gold highlights
EVERY DROP – the same, only a notch darker and murkier
NOSE
OLD CHARTER – bright baked cherry, lively oak and rye spice, gooey caramel, vanilla, subtle wood varnish
EVERY DROP – chocolate fudge cake with a thick cherry frosting, aged cherry brandy, subtle refined oak, a dried bundle of savory baking herbs, flaky buttery pastry
TASTE
OLD CHARTER – very like the nose, with a nice syrupy texture, the cherry notes darkening bit, the oak wood itself stepping forward even more so than the oak spiciness; an unusual spice also in the mix, possibly a rye spiciness but something a touch mulchier
EVERY DROP – those savory herbs swarm the cherry notes, blending together; a thick syrupy texture, a burst of oak and ABV spice right at the end
FINISH
OLD CHARTER – oak, lingering cherry, like some artisanal cherry cough syrup
EVERY DROP – oak and herbal spices, cherry, subtle oak tannin, lingering warmly on a low heat
OVERALL
OLD CHARTER – a bright, sweet, spicy dessert pour with an edge
EVERY DROP – a savory herbal and sweet cherry dessert pour, made for lingering thoughts…
WORTH BUYING?
BOTH – at msrp, sure, though I don’t need a back-up of either.
Interesting indeed. Generally, the Old Charter leans brighter and the Every Drop darker. Both share a desserty quality based in cherry and caramel / chocolate candy notes. Both have oak spice and herbal qualities that are definitely family. But the Every Drop’s herbaceous aspects lean more savory, like the kind of herbs I might expect to flavor baked meats, while the Old Charter herbs have that subtle mulchy quality, and really take a backseat to a more prominent spiciness.
Then there is the alcohol note. In the Old Charter, it comes off varnishy. In the Every Drop, it has a more pleasing brandied quality. In terms of heat, it’s surprising how approachable the 120-proof Every Drop actually is. Over the past handful of months I’ve more often than not toned it down with a bit of water, and enjoyed it quite a lot. Today, with my palate prepped by the 90-proof Old Charter, the Every Drop is coming across wonderfully, without much burn to speak of. But undiluted, I wouldn’t make it the first pour the night.
To those with consumer questions, I’d say nobody needs to go out of their way for either of these. But if you find them at or very near msrp, and these flavor profiles appeal, they’re both worthy one-off buys, for sure.
Setting consumerism aside, from a sipping and tasting standpoint, I enjoy both of these. When I’m in the mood for something lighter but complex, I’ll reach for Old Charter French Oak. A good whiskey for a lively dinner party with engaged conversation. When I’m in a slower, more quiet and thoughtful mood, I’ll reach for the Every Drop 15 Year. It certainly won’t leave me alone with my thoughts—that savory herbal bundle is too attention grabbing for that. But it will make a very nice companion to my thoughts as they wander, for sure.
Cheers!
The Right Spirit 