Buffalo Trace O.F.C. Vintage 2004 Bourbon Whiskey 750ml

O.F.C. stands for Old Fashioned Copper, and the name reaches all the way back to 1870, when Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr. purchased and rebuilt the distillery that would eventually become Buffalo Trace. Taylor was a genuine visionary of American distilling, introducing copper fermentation vats, column stills, and an innovative steam heating system decades before those innovations became industry standard — technology that remains integral to Buffalo Trace's production process today. The O.F.C. Vintage series exists specifically to honor that landmark distillery, now a designated National Historic Landmark, with each release vintage-dated to the exact year the bourbon was laid down.

This particular release was distilled in 2004 and rested in Buffalo Trace's rickhouses for approximately two decades before bottling — a genuine, unrepeatable moment in American whiskey history, as the distillery's own marketing puts it. Only a limited number of barrels from the 2004 vintage year were selected, and every individually numbered bottle arrives in a hand-cut crystal vessel with real copper lettering and a hand-applied paper label, presented in a handcrafted wooden display box that includes a provenance card listing notable events from the year the bourbon was distilled. The O.F.C. Vintage series has a genuinely storied history of its own: the very first release, in the early 1980s, consisted of just 200 bottles total — 100 from 1980, 50 from 1982, and 50 from 1983 — distributed entirely free of charge to non-profit organizations as fundraising pieces. Subsequent vintages have followed sporadically from 1985, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, and now into the 2000s, including this 2004 release, each one rare and genuinely collectible.

The Barrel Tap describes notes of dark cherry, caramel, aged oak, vanilla bean, dried fruit, toffee, and baking spice, layered with leather, tobacco, cinnamon, and molasses. The Liquor Bros' extended tasting found "rich aromas of dark fruit, caramel, and aged oak layered with vanilla and spice" on the nose, developing into a palate that's "silky and complex, delivering notes of toffee, dried cherries, leather, and baking spice balanced by deep oak character," closing on a finish that's "long and luxurious — warm, rich, and layered with sweet vanilla, oak, and subtle tobacco." This is a genuine museum-grade acquisition, prized as much for what it represents — nearly a century and a half of continuous distilling tradition, captured in a single, unrepeatable barrel selection — as for what's actually in the glass.

Origins & Craftsmanship

O.F.C. Vintages are produced by Buffalo Trace Distillery, named in direct honor of the historic Old Fashioned Copper Distillery founded by Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. in 1870 — now designated a National Historic Landmark and known today as Buffalo Trace. Colonel Taylor was a genuine pioneer of American distilling technology, introducing copper fermentation vats, column stills, and an innovative steam heating system, all of which remain integral to the distillery's production process to this day.

This bourbon was distilled in 2004 and matured for approximately two decades within Buffalo Trace's rickhouses before bottling. Only a limited number of barrels from the 2004 vintage year were selected for release, with each bottle individually numbered. Presentation follows the O.F.C. Vintage series' established format: a hand-cut crystal bottle featuring real copper lettering and a hand-applied paper label, housed in a handcrafted wooden display box that includes a provenance card detailing notable historical events from the year the bourbon was originally distilled. Bottled at 45% ABV / 90 proof.

Critics Reviews

No numerical critic score is confirmed for this product at this time.

The Barrel Tap (official tasting note):
"Buffalo Trace O.F.C. Vintage 2004 Bourbon Whiskey offers notes of dark cherry, caramel, aged oak, vanilla bean, dried fruit, toffee, baking spice, leather, tobacco, cinnamon, and molasses."

The Liquor Bros (extended tasting note):
"Nose: Rich aromas of dark fruit, caramel, and aged oak layered with vanilla and spice. Palate: Silky and complex, delivering notes of toffee, dried cherries, leather, and baking spice balanced by deep oak character. Finish: Long and luxurious — warm, rich, and layered with sweet vanilla, oak, and subtle tobacco."

Buffalo Trace Distillery (house-style tasting note, O.F.C. series):
"Tasting notes for this bourbon describe cherry cordial on the nose followed by caramel and slightly smoked-oak. Dark chocolate, tobacco leaves and dates are found on the palate, followed by a lingering finish of leather, black pepper and cinnamon."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Rich dark cherry and dark fruit lead, joined by caramel and aged oak, layered with vanilla bean and warm baking spice. A hint of smoked oak and cherry cordial adds further depth.

Palate
Silky and complex, delivering toffee, dried cherries, and leather, balanced by deep oak character. Dark chocolate, tobacco leaves, and dates build genuine richness, alongside baking spice and molasses.

Finish
Long and luxurious, warm and rich, layered with sweet vanilla, oak, and subtle tobacco. Leather, black pepper, and cinnamon linger through the close — a finish that reflects nearly two decades of patient maturation.

Quick Overview

Serving Note

Best enjoyed neat in a Glencairn or whiskey tasting glass. Let it rest for several minutes before sipping to allow the dark fruit, caramel, oak, leather, and spice notes to fully open. A few drops of water can help reveal additional vanilla, dried fruit, tobacco, and old oak depth. Best reserved for special occasions, collector tastings, and milestone pours.