How Hard Is It To Find Rock Hill Farms Bourbon?
First released in 1990, Rock Hill Farms bourbon is a lesser known brand that is distilled, aged and bottled by Buffalo Trace Distillery. The average bourbon drinker probably doesn’t know about Rock Hill Farms bourbon, but it is highly allocated and extremely hard to find. If you are lucky enough to find Rock Hill Farms on a shelf, MSRP should clock in around $50.
I always dive into the history of the bottle I am drinking but after a quick search I can’t find much. I tried emailing info@BuffaloTrace.com and RockHill@bourbonwhiskey.com (which is located on the back of my bottle) with no luck of obtaining any sort of history, inspiration or backstory on the brand. The Sazerac website does have RHF listed as a product and states that this bottle is “named for a stretch of rich farmland along the Kentucky River”. RHF isn’t even listed as one of their products on the Buffalo Trace website at the time of this writing.
What Is The Rock Hill Farm Mashbill?
Rock Hill Farms bourbon is made with the Buffalo Trace Mashbill #2 (high-rye, 12-15% rye), which is also used to make Elmer T Lee, Blanton’s, Hancock’s Reserve and Ancient Age. Blanton’s and ETL are both rooted deep in bourbon history but RHF might actually be the most coveted and rare. RHF is the highest proofed bourbon out of the mashbill #2 standard releases (not including special Blanton’s bottlings) and is valued on the secondary market around $300.
The Mystery Of Buffalo Trace Mashbill #2
There is not a lot of information available about Mashbill #2. Buffalo Trace really promotes their Mashbill #1 brands (Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare 10 year, E H Taylor, Stagg, George T Stagg, Eagle Rare 17 Year) but fails to even list Rock Hill Farms and Hancock’s Reserve on their website. The combination of not being able to find much information about RHF and no mashbill #2 bourbons in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection raises some questions.
After some more digging I was able to figure out that Buffalo Trace Mashbill #2 isn’t owned by Buffalo Trace! In 1929 present day Buffalo Trace Distillery was purchased by Schenley Distillers Corporation. In the 1982-83 timeframe, Schenley sold the distillery and Age International was formed. For reference, Blanton’s was released in 1984, Rock Hill Farms was released in 1990 and both quickly became a huge success in the Japanese market. In 1991, Takara Shunzo (Japanese company) bought Age International along with the Mashbill #2 brands and sold the distillery to Sazerac in 1992.
Takara Shunzo essentially bought Buffalo Trace Distillery, decided to keep Blanton’s, Elmer T Lee, Rock Hill Farms, Hancock’s Reserve and Ancient Age but sell the remainder portfolio. Buffalo Trace still produces mashbill #2 brands but they do not own them. That might be why Buffalo Trace doesn’t actively promote those labels as much as the rest of the bourbons and ryes they produce.
Rock Hill Farms Bourbon Review
This is actually a single barrel expression, just like the other mashbill #2 bourbons of Elmer T Lee, Blanton’s and Hancock’s Reserve. There is a targeted taste profile for each brand but each single barrel will be different and unique! The only known differences between the mashbill #2 bourbons would be age, proof, warehouse location and targeted flavor profile. This is a non-aged stated bourbon bottled at 100 proof.
I poured neat in a glencairn and let set for around 15 minutes. If you would like to support the site and buy a pair on glencairns, follow the hyperlink!
Color – Light yellow straw hue. Much lighter than I anticipated, making me think the age on this might be in the 6-8 year range.
Aroma – I don’t get much of an aroma approaching the glencairn, but once I bury my nose into the glass I get hit with a nice layering of sweet vanilla, slight cinnamon and brown sugar. The notes are faint but compliment each other nicely with a tinge of alcohol mixed in.
Taste – My first taste is full of a beautiful cinnamon that coats the palate nicely, followed up with graham cracker, caramel and again a hint of vanilla intermingled. The mouthfeel is about average, not thin but not viscous either. The flavors are welcomed but the intensity is not there. On my second sip, oak makes an appearance complimented with cinnamon and a very slight rye spice.
Finish – The finish on pour is fairly muted. It is all above the collar bone and the great cinnamon on the palate dissipates quickly. There is a light rye peppery spiciness that does stick around slightly longer than the cinnamon.
Rating – 7.9/10
Thoughts – Rock Hill Farms is a hard to find bourbon that can run around $300 on the secondary market. Buffalo Trace products receive a lot of hype and I will say this is a good bourbon, but I would only buy this bottle near MSRP. This pour has the classic bourbon flavors of oak, vanilla, brown sugar with a slight spice layered in at a versatile 100 proof. I wish there was a little more of a backstory included with this brand because I think the bottle is beautiful and unique.
RHF is just fine neat but I think it could potentially make a great cocktail. Personally, I don’t think I could bring myself to use such a hard to find bottle in a cocktail but drink your bourbon however you like! There are plenty of bourbons on the shelf I would buy before spending big bucks on a Rock Hill Farm. I would recommend Russel’s 10 Year, Eagle Rare 10 Year, Old Forester 1910 or Old Forester 1920 as a great replacement.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists
5 | Good | Good, just fine
6 | Very Good | A cut above
7 | Great | Well above average
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite
10 | Perfect | Perfect
Debonair Gentlemen 
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