The Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain and Cured Oak Return After Years Off Shelves
Buffalo Trace Distillery has brought back two of the most talked-about bottles in American bourbon history. The Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain and Cured Oak expressions are hitting select retailers starting May 2026, and for serious bourbon drinkers, this is the kind of news that doesn’t come around often.
Both bottles carry a suggested retail price of $79.99 for a 750ml — a number that should turn heads, considering what original versions of these same expressions have been fetching on the secondary market for years.
The Man Behind the Name
Before diving into the whiskey itself, it helps to understand who Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. actually was — because this isn’t just branding.
Taylor is widely credited as one of the most consequential figures in the entire history of American whiskey. He purchased what was then called the O.F.C. Distillery in 1869 — the very same property that today operates as Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. During his time running the operation, Taylor introduced a number of techniques that transformed how bourbon was made, including advanced grain handling systems, copper fermentation tanks, and steam-heated warehouses for more consistent aging…