Every Buffalo Trace Prohibition Collection 2025 Whiskey, Ranked Worst To Best

When I sampled the inaugural Buffalo Trace Prohibition Collection in 2023, I was sitting in the distillery's event hall in Kentucky, and it came as a surprise. After all, at that time, I was on a trip to Buffalo Trace to review its 2023 Antique Collection. But this year, the speakeasy vibe came to me, as the Kentucky distiller hosted New York whiskey tasters at Club Macanudo (one of Manhattan's last licensed cigar bars) to sample each bottle in its 2025 edition.

For this year's Prohibition Collection release — which celebrates whiskeys that were produced legally for medicinal purposes during Prohibition in the U.S. — Buffalo Trace partnered with Scandinavian Tobacco Group to create custom cigars meant to pair with each spirit in the collection. Whether or not this becomes a regular part of its release remains to be seen, though yours truly refrained from smoking any cigars to focus on the tasting notes of the whiskey itself.

While you won't be able to buy these bottles individually, you might spot them on the shelf at your local (cigar?) bar. With that in mind, here is my review and ranking of the five Buffalo Trace Prohibition Collection offerings for 2025.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Starting in January 2025, the Buffalo Trace Prohibition Collection is available in a set of five 375-milliter bottles, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $999.99. A limited number will be sold throughout the U.S. at select retailers, bars, and restaurants, though the distillery doesn't specify where exactly you might be able to find it.

Now, while there's always collectability in the first installment of a venture like this, it's not unreasonable to expect repetition. But interestingly enough, Buffalo Trace has continued to work up old recipes rather than simply release new batches of the previous edition's selections with the 2025 collection.

Since you're getting quite a degree of variation year to year, specific releases like this are even more desirable and difficult to procure (although it's always possible that a runaway hit could enter regular production). Consequently, there's a decent chance the 2025 Buffalo Trace Prohibition Collection, like the first edition, will cost significantly more than the listed price in the near future — if you can even find it.

Does corn grow on mountainsides? Apparently so (you learn something new every day, I guess). Regardless, this Kentucky straight corn whiskey — which we were told is the oldest in the Prohibition Collection — clocks in at 55% ABV. The nose gives up a dark, almost asphalt scent, before the corn's sweetness kicks in. Molasses is followed by a quick step of spice, herb, and grasses, with that grassiness continuing into first sip.

While this has a decent burn to it, there's not a lot of ethanol kick to make it a rough ride, and I'd even go so far as to describe the burn as pleasant. In short, it's simple, straightforward, and very much feels like your grandpa's whiskey.

That being said, whatever the final mash bill for this was, corn whiskey (which is at least 80% corn) generally has a tougher time winning my favor. In fact, this bottle is a good example of how they're kind of funky and hot, with a very narrow bandwidth. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to say something moonshine-adjacent shouldn't be part of a historical collection like this, and it's not a bad whiskey by any stretch (even if it comes in last in this ranking).

At the event, Buffalo Trace's archivist and exhibits designer, Nick Laracuente — possibly the only person who could write "bourbon archeologist" on a resume — told me that determining what the original label copy was trying to declare for this bottle was a challenge. Very Oldest Procurable's awkward (or archaic) phrasing appeared to be declaring that its liquid was aged 30 years, which is a feat for Kentucky bourbon.

Starting off of an aroma of prune and hays, I had idea what I should expect from actually drinking V.O.P.'s 67.5% ABV potency beforehand. But it's sour, followed by a long astringency. These are two tastes I'm not inclined to love in my whiskey, but this time, I was here for it. While its flavor is the most contentious (and part of why I placed it fourth), I also think it had a nicer body than the rest of the set — much closer to what you'd find in the modern Buffalo Trace lineup.

Even so, the Prohibition Collection has a clarity to it that is much more likely to remind some of Irish whiskey than most bourbons, despite different grains. On that note, this set (and this particular whiskey) really does taste old fashioned, focused, and simplified compared to the complexities coming out of the distillery under other labels.

Even the higher-proof whiskeys in this lineup are mighty easy drinking, though Anderson's Belle is a relative lightweight at 50% ABV. And while each and every glencairn glass lined up in front of me had a very satisfying scent before I tasted a drop, Anderson's Belle walked away with a special prize for olfactory excellence, exhibiting a musky raisin and wheat bread. Of course, while Buffalo Trace never discloses mash bills, Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley did cop to this one having an unspecified amount of wheat in it, so there's your explanation.

Anderson's Belle might be the smoothest of the bunch here, and if I'm not ranking it higher, it's mainly because the next couple spots were so tightly contested. Additionally, there was a tart and bitter three-legged race finish on this that ... well, it didn't spoil it for me. But it did give me reason to place something with a little more body ahead of it (even if the next placement brings a greater volatility).

The previous edition's Golden Wedding is presumably close to this one in some combination of mash bill, process, or aging — and that was my top pick of the 2023 collection. It must have been popular, too. After all, we were told that it inspired fans of the brand to write Buffalo Trace, recalling Golden Wedding as a fond memory on their grandparents' liquor shelves — something very in keeping with the Prohibition Collection's mandate to tell stories.

Now, this one came in so tight to the number one spot that I honestly had it crowned until a few final side-by-side sips with Mirror Brook, which confirmed which one hit better. Still, this is the fruitiest of the family, going beyond citrus into berry and cherry. It will burn you, but as my notes said, it has a "very nice taste" after the burn subsides — with "very" underlined. Rich and balanced, I'm still not sure I shouldn't name it my top pick. But for now, Silver Wedding Rye Whiskey earns the silver medal.

For the second time, the entire Buffalo Trace Prohibition Collection is a triumph in graphic design. But Mirror Brook probably takes the cake in beautiful packaging and labeling, as well as taste. In fact, thank goodness I sipped this one before seeing the container so I could judge the liquid on its own merits — and oh, what merits they are!

Leather and tobacco reside in the fragrance of the glass, making it an easy pairing to any cigar (let alone one formulated for it). This one is smooth like Anderson's Belle, as well, but with a finer finish, with fruit and grain also present in its scent making a throughline to tasting and swallowing.

It pretty much collects the merits of everything else in the boxed set while exhibiting a unity I really like. The entire line, we were told, is aged over 10 years, with a focus on creating the best version rather than aiming for the precise taste that these past recipes would imply. Since it's simply too out-of-hand to do more than guess for some of these older recipes, the better target for Buffalo Trace here is deciding what tastes good now — and Mirror Brook is a strong answer.

While I enjoyed each of these whiskeys, you might hazard some buyer's regret if you're purchasing the lot simply to get at one or two of these bottles. After all, I don't think anything in here is so good it justifies purchasing a few other expensive bottles you dislike in the process. Then again, that's a big if. I personally found each whiskey in the collection to be quite enjoyable, with only a couple I don't think I'd consider spending that much money on.

Now, with that in mind, Costco was recently selling a bottle of Weller Special Reserve for $20.49, while I saw a liquor store selling the same bottle for $120. If that standby is going for that much when not in stock at wholesalers, another $80 for a vanished cousin from Buffalo Trace may not seem like that big a leap by comparison. Unfortunately, you're unlikely to see these Prohibition Collection bottles on many bar shelves, making a smaller investment in the experience of trying them an infeasible option.