McAfee's Benchmark
 | |
| Type | Bourbon whiskey |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sazerac Company |
| Country of origin | Kentucky, United States |
| Alcohol by volume | 40.00% |
| Proof (US) | 80 |
| Related products | Buffalo Trace |
McAfee's Benchmark is a brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey produced by the Sazerac Company at its Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky.[1] It is an 80 proof bourbon aged "at least 36 months" according to its label.
History
The Mcafee's Benchmark brand was created by Seagram's in the late 1960s to be a luxury or premium-level bourbon. At that time, the whiskey was not called McAfee, but simply Benchmark Bourbon; and the name McAfee came much later. Originally Benchmark was sold in a decanter-style bottle with a black label.[2]
The Benchmark brand name was purchased by the Sazerac Company in 1989 from Seagram's. It is still owned by Sazerac Brands of New Orleans which also now owns Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, where Benchmark is now made. The origin of the McAfee name is that Hancock McAfee was, in 1775, one of the first European settlers at the site where Buffalo Trace stands today. The original Benchmark was made at Lawrenceburg, KY at the Four Roses Distillery when Seagram owned it. Buffalo Trace has packaged McAfee's Benchmark similar to Jack Daniel's and markets it as a less expensive alternative to the Tennessee Whiskey.[2]
References
- ^ Regan, Gary; Mardee Haidin Regan (October 15, 1995). The Book of Bourbon: And other Fine American Whiskeys. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 113, 129. ISBN 978-1881527893.
- ^ a b Jim Murray reviews two "McAfee's Benchmarks" in his Whiskey Bible 2006, but in neither review is there any mention of Benchmark being packaged similarly to Jack Daniel's, nor is there any mention of Buffalo Trace marketing it as such.