From Robb Report · Jonah Flicker · · 1m 20s
Elmer T. Lee goes cask strength at last
Buffalo Trace is finally bottling its most hunted single barrel bourbon uncut, and the only way in is a lottery.
In brief
Buffalo Trace is finally bottling its most hunted single barrel bourbon uncut, and the only way in is a lottery. The 40th Anniversary Elmer T. Lee is the first cask-strength release of the label, and access runs through an online lottery opening the day after the announcement. Originally reported by Robb Report.
More news after Pappy
Buffalo Trace had just unveiled its 2026 Pappy Van Winkle lineup. Then the Kentucky distillery followed it with a second announcement.
A 40th anniversary bottling
The new release is the Elmer T. Lee 40th Anniversary Edition, marking four decades of the label named for the distillery's legendary master distiller.
Cask strength, a first
This is the first time the single barrel bourbon has been bottled uncut and unfiltered at full barrel proof. Every previous release was proofed down.
“the first time that this highly coveted single-barrel bourbon has been released uncut and unfiltered at cask strength”
Still a single barrel
Each bottle comes from one barrel rather than a blend, so proof and flavor shift from barrel to barrel instead of being evened out.
A lottery, not a shelf
Buying happens through an online lottery that opens the day after the announcement. Elmer T. Lee rarely reaches retail shelves at list price.
Why collectors chase it
Elmer T. Lee is one of the most coveted bottles Buffalo Trace makes. A cask-strength anniversary version raises the stakes for an already thin supply.
What it means
The 40th Anniversary Elmer T. Lee is the first cask-strength release of the label, and access runs through an online lottery opening the day after the announcement.
