Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Amaranth Grain Of The Gods

Colonel E.H. Taylor's most experimental release. An ancient Aztec grain — once called the "food of the gods" — used as the flavoring grain in a Buffalo Trace bourbon for the first time.

Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr. is known as the father of the modern bourbon industry — the man who pioneered copper fermentation tanks, championed the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, and set quality standards that shaped American whiskey for generations. The E.H. Taylor line honors that spirit of innovation with releases that push beyond convention.

Amaranth is the most ambitious of them. Amaranth is an ancient grain revered by the Aztecs as a sacred food — banned by Spanish conquistadors specifically because of its ceremonial importance, then largely forgotten in the Western world for centuries. Buffalo Trace introduced it as the flavoring grain in this expression, replacing the conventional rye or wheat in the mashbill with something genuinely unprecedented in American whiskey. The result is a bourbon unlike anything else in the category: butterscotch, spearmint, pecans, and dark berries on a full-bodied, distinctly different grain foundation.

Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Rich amber with a warm copper glow.
• Aroma: Butterscotch, spearmint, baking spice, and a subtle nuttiness. Immediately distinctive from any standard bourbon profile.
• Palate: Full-bodied and complex — pecans, dark berries, vanilla, and a warm grain sweetness that reads nothing like rye or wheat. The amaranth contribution is unmistakable.
• Finish: Long and layered — dark fruit, baking spice, and a lingering nutty warmth.

About the E.H. Taylor Collection

The Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Collection is produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky — the same site where Taylor himself operated in the 19th century. Each release in the collection honors Taylor's legacy of innovation: Small Batch, Single Barrel, Barrel Proof, Straight Rye, and special experimental releases like Amaranth. All are bottled in Taylor's iconic cylinder and tube packaging, modeled after the original designs he used during his lifetime.

Specs

• Distillery: Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, Kentucky
• Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Flavoring Grain: Amaranth
• Size: 750ml
• Packaging: Iconic cylinder and tube

Explore the full Colonel E.H. Taylor collection or browse all bourbon at Wooden Cork.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is amaranth and why is it significant in bourbon? Amaranth is an ancient pseudocereal grain that was a staple crop of the Aztec civilization, revered as the "food of the gods." It was banned by Spanish conquistadors and largely disappeared from Western agriculture for centuries. No bourbon distillery had used it as a flavoring grain before this release — making it a genuinely unprecedented mashbill in American whiskey history.
• How does E.H. Taylor Amaranth taste different from standard bourbon? Standard bourbon uses rye or wheat as the flavoring grain, producing familiar spice or softness profiles. Amaranth produces a nutty, slightly sweet, and distinctly different grain character — butterscotch, spearmint, and dark berry notes that don't appear in conventional bourbon profiles.
• Who was Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr.? Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr. is widely considered the father of the modern bourbon industry. He purchased and rebuilt the distillery that became Buffalo Trace, introduced sanitary copper fermentation tanks, and championed the landmark Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 — which established legal standards for bourbon quality that still exist today.
• Is E.H. Taylor Amaranth a limited release? Yes. Like most E.H. Taylor special releases, Amaranth was produced in limited quantities and is not a standard ongoing expression. Once existing stock is gone, it will not be reproduced in the same form.