Buffalo Trace started its year of giving with a digital experiment that went very well for the distiller and five non-profits addressing everything from humanitarian work to art therapy to living with HIV. The distillery auctioned off five big bottles of 30-year-old whisky via non-fungible tokens. BlockBar, a marketplace that specializes in NTFs for wine and spirits, hosted the event.
Buffalo Trace raised $280,000 from the auction, which represented several firsts for the distillery:
Buffalo Trace put five bottles of O.F.C. Bourbon Whiskey distilled in 1982 up for auction on BlockBar on Monday. According to the company, the ultra-rare whiskey is the Distillery’s only vintage-dated bourbon and will be the first bourbon released in a six-liter bottle and sold in a digital format.
BlockBar sells NFTs directly from luxury liquor brands. Each NFT corresponds to a
physical bottle. Buyers can exchange the digital version for the physical version.
BlockBar stores it for them, and the digital version serves as proof of authenticity,
verification of ownership, and the right to have the physical bottle delivered. This is the first time the company has hosted an auction and the first time it has offered bourbon.
The Buffalo Trace bottle is two feet tall and weighs 22.5 pounds. That’s nine times the size of a usual whiskey bottle and over a gallon of whiskey. Copper letters spell out “O.F.C.” on the front of the bottle which sits in a wooden display case, along with a provenance card that notes the milestones from 1982, the year the whiskey was
distilled.
The bids started at $25,000 or 8.83 Ethereum on Monday. At midday on Thursday, the highest bid was $32,000 for lot #1 and lot #3. The remaining three lots stood at $30,000. The auction closes at 10 am March 18. Some of the bidders included EMusk, DerbECigs and giddyCardinal1.
The winner of each auction can redeem the NFT for the actual bottle on Nov. 22, 2022.
Buffalo Trace describes the bourbon this way:
Nose: Toffee-like, honeyed-vanilla, and candied ripe fruits with undertones of oak.
Palate: Layers of apple, pecans, ripened pear, dark Belgian chocolate, caramel, and a kiss of black cherries.
Finish: Dried dark fruit with delightful lingering oak.
This auction is part of the distillery’s year-long effort to support non-profits with a
donation of 2,022 bottles of whiskey for fundraising. Proceeds from this initial auction will go to these organizations:
World Central Kitchen: This non-profit provides meals in the wake of humanitarian, climate and natural disasters and is currently working in Poland,
Romania and Moldova with Ukrainian refugees.
The James Beard Foundation: This group’s Open for Good campaign is helping independent restaurants survive the COVID-19 crisis, rebuild better and thrive for the long term.
Elton John Aids Foundation: This global charity funds frontline partners to
prevent new cases of HIV, fight stigma, and provide care for people living with the illness.
The Art of Elysium: This Los Angeles group works with artists to provide events for people living through illness, hospitalization, displacement, confinement and/or crisis.
261 Fearless: This global non-profit encourages and unites women through running.
The distillery also will offer these bottles as part of the fundraising campaign:
300 375ml bottles of The Single Oak Project Bourbon, a very limited release from the most extensive bourbon experiment ever undertaken.
Weller vertical consisting of Weller Special Reserve, Weller Antique 107, Weller
12 year old, Weller Full Proof, Weller Single Barrel and Weller Craft Your Perfect Bourbon (CYPB)
Blanton’s vertical with Blanton’s Original Single Barrel, Blanton’s Gold and
Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel Bourbons
E.H. Taylor, Jr. special release collection consisting of E.H. Taylor, Jr. 18 Year
Marriage; E.H. Taylor, Jr. Amaranth; E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain; and E.H. Taylor, Jr. Warehouse C Bourbons