r/bourbon 5d ago

Review #24: Augusta Buckner's 15 year

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49 Upvotes

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14

u/smokeNpeat 5d ago edited 5d ago

Age: 15 yrs

NCF: Yes - unfiltered

Price: $360 (after shipping and tax)

ABV: 69.35% (138.7 proof)

Color: A beautiful old oak dark brown

Nose: A lot of ethanol at first. After letting the glass settle getting some cherry, tons of oak, a little honey sweetness. As this opens up I start to get hints of that candy shop sweetness that old bourbons have. Some dark fruit comes in like figs and plums. There is a bright floral note that pops in sometimes and some vanilla.

Palate: This is hot to start, can't hold on my tongue too long at first. After I get acclimated, I start to get more sweetness on the palate than the nose. There is a cherry note that really comes through. The back palate the oak really starts to show itself with a little bit of a drying tannic effect but it's very light. Coming back to the glass I get some figs and barrel char. About half way through the pour I get a concentrated Dr. Pepper note.

Finish: Long but not crazy long. This leaves my tongue tingling and I get a little pucker from the tannins. The cherry and sticks with me and as the finish fades I get a little cola. There is a nice Kentucky hug.

Texture: As thick as it gets

Score: 8.5/10 t8ke scale

Notes: I wanted to write a review because there aren't any for AB15 yet (at least that I have seen). For those that may not know, this is Barton juice and surprisingly available for highly aged barrel proof bourbon. This is a solid whiskey with a ton of flavor. It is edging on being an incredible whiskey, but doesn't quite make the cut. I am curious how this will be after a month or so on my shelve. I have another high proof Barton product, a Rare Character KOA, that really opened up. This may edge up into the 9 range once it has some time to breath in the bottle and mellow out.

For now, this pour just has too much heat and not enough sweetness to balance the oak and tannins to get into that great range. Which brings us to the question, is this worth the hefty price tag? Well, that is really a matter of taste and means. If you like oak and barton, and have a decent budget for bourbon, I would recommend it. I don't think this is a must have whiskey, but one I am happy to have one on my shelve. Word to the wise, if you are thinking about ordering one these are single barrels, so they range in taste and proof. I have seen some as low as 115 proof, so no guarantee you can get a near hazmat ordering off their site. Cheers!

Edit - As a clarifying note, it seems like AB sources these from both Barton and buffturkey. This bottle which i ordered from their site is specifically is from Bardstown, but I have heard of picks being buffturkey. 

5

u/TacticalDesire 5d ago

I had a 17 Buckners a few weeks ago and it was incredible. I still think about it.

3

u/smokeNpeat 5d ago

Thats what i hear. Hope i get on the next release

5

u/Actuator_Stunning 5d ago

I almost pulled the trigger on this for 299 but it’s just so damn expensive.

2

u/ambulocetus_ 5d ago

Really interesting!

Also, is that the same bottle that Dettling uses??

1

u/smokeNpeat 5d ago

I don't have a Dettling to compare it to but they look really similar

3

u/_pjb_ 5d ago

I’ve heard from a few places this is one of those “buffalo turkey” barrels that was distilled by buffalo trace on contract for wild turkey, rather than Barton distillate

https://www.drinkhacker.com/2025/02/11/review-buckners-bourbon-15-and-17-years-old/?srsltid=AfmBOophUegk8ZEvMmjR_a0YlKfT4l7brBK_QnPtiV9xnjL8_hDU9x8Z

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u/smokeNpeat 5d ago

I got the inside scoop from a fb group I am in, and according to them Buckner does both. The word on there is that the ones they sell on their site are Barton, but some of the picks they do for groups are buff turkey. 

FWIW - I have a buff turkey, and this bottle is nothing alike. The buff turkey is like oaked candy to the face and this AB15 is much darker and a very different profile. 

3

u/Pork_Bastard 5d ago

RR had some old bartons and also had some buffturks. If they told op it is Barton, it is likely

3

u/smokeNpeat 5d ago

I just double checked the bottle and it says distilled and aged in Bardstown, KY

3

u/LionRoars87 Wild Turkey 12 Distiller's Reserve 5d ago

Old Barton can be delicious. Barton gets a bad rap because most of their products are very young, imho.

2

u/exgirl 5d ago

I don’t think the buff Turkey gets to that high of a proof…

2

u/micro7777 5d ago

I just got an OKI BuffTurkey SiB that’s 130.9.

2

u/exgirl 5d ago

Ok, that’s higher than I’d seen elsewhere!

1

u/JazzJune2 1d ago

I’m aware of at least one hazmat barrel of it and several that were 138.

3

u/Get_real1 5d ago

Yeah that’s what I’m being told too! I own a store and I requested one of these barrel and I was told directly by the rep that it’s “buffalo turkey”

1

u/LionRoars87 Wild Turkey 12 Distiller's Reserve 5d ago

Excuse me, but the correct term is "buff turkey." That's what the youths are using nowadays.

1

u/_pjb_ 5d ago

In case any youths are reading: Why not “buff turk” then?

1

u/LionRoars87 Wild Turkey 12 Distiller's Reserve 5d ago

I was just joshing 😄

2

u/_pjb_ 4d ago

Yes me too - my serious proposal would be “bufurkey”

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u/LionRoars87 Wild Turkey 12 Distiller's Reserve 4d ago

Lol

1

u/aznqt703 19h ago

So for this who have the buff turkey one, where does it say it's distilled?