Benchmark Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey
Benchmark Small Batch is a 90-proof (45% ABV) Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey distilled at Buffalo Trace Distillery — the world's most award-winning distillery and home of Pappy Van Winkle, Weller, and E.H. Taylor — at a price that makes everyday sipping painless. Named for the surveyor's benchmarks left by the McAfee brothers as they explored 1770s Kentucky, the Small Batch is one of the five expressions Buffalo Trace added to the Benchmark line to give value hunters a real bourbon bargain. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 45% (90 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Age: no age statement (straight bourbon = minimum 2 years)
- Origin: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky; Sazerac Company
- Production: Kentucky straight bourbon, small-batch vatting
The Buffalo Trace Value Play
Benchmark started in the 1960s as a Seagram's premium decanter bourbon honoring the McAfee brothers' pioneering surveys of Kentucky. Today under Sazerac, the line runs on the same low-rye mash bill shared with Eagle Rare and Stagg — the distillery's celebrated recipe — proofed down and priced for daily drinking. The Small Batch sits above the Old No. 8 in the range, giving you a touch more barrel character for barely more money. Explore all the Benchmark expressions and the broader bourbon collection to find your proof point.
Tasting Notes
Vanilla extract and caramel apple on the nose with wet oak and a leather note. The palate stays in that lane — honey, caramel, soft grain — with a short, sweet finish of leather, oak, and vanilla.
How to Enjoy
Neat or on the rocks for an easy pour, and it pulls its weight in a whiskey-and-Coke or a no-fuss Old Fashioned where you want real bourbon character without the guilt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who makes Benchmark bourbon?
Benchmark is distilled at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, and owned by the Sazerac Company.
What is the proof of Benchmark Small Batch?
90 proof (45% ABV).
Is Benchmark Small Batch good for beginners?
Yes — it is one of the best-value introductions to genuine Kentucky straight bourbon, mild enough to sip neat and priced for mixing.
Real Buffalo Trace-distilled bourbon at a daily-drinker price — order Benchmark Small Batch online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.