Buffalo Trace is Pouring Free OFC, Eagle Rare 25, Pappy 23, and More Rare Whiskey This Weekend. Here's the Catch.

A quarter of British people don’t do anything spontaneously, and 40 percent of Brits won’t pick up unexpected calls from unknown numbers. Buffalo Trace Distillery wants to see if this data (pulled from a survey it commissioned) is accurate, so it installed a rebranded British phone booth in the Covent Garden neighborhood of London, steps from its Buffalo Trace Distillery London, a new brand center and "immersive experience" where visitors can, taste, buy, and learn all about Buffalo Trace's whiskeys. This weekend only, May 4th and May 5th, passersby who hear the phone ring and pick up the call will be rewarded with a very rare and VIP tasting flight, which will include some of the most coveted Buffalo Trace products.

Buffalo Trace Distillery London officially opens Monday, May 6th, 2024, but anyone who picks up the call (and a friend) will immediately be whisked inside the place, ahead of the public opening. There, these lucky individuals will be treated to pours of: George T. Stagg, Weller 12 Year Old, Pappy Van Winkle 23, OFC (Old Fashioned Copper), and Eagle Rare 25. (Yes, seriously.)

The phone booth is in Covent Garden in the East Piazza, near Russell Street, so go stake it out if you happen to be reading this in London. (Or buy airfare and pop across the pond, depending on how badly you want to try OFC and Eagle Rare 25.)

This campaign got us wondering about what sort of voice the lucky recipient would hear on the other end of the line—a plummy British accent, or a Kentucky drawl? "We expect they’ll find a British accent with a touch of Kentucky charm on the other line,” says Buffalo Trace Distillery global brand director Andrew Duncan.

Buffalo Trace’s aim of opening a London outpost is to help bolster sales in the United Kingdom, so starting Monday—when the free OFC and Eagle Rare 25 pours will be done—regular Buffalo Trace products will be on offer for visitors.

“Through the guidance of our fully-trained, expert tasting guide, our guests can discover their favorite whiskies from our range,” says Duncan. The brands selected for tasting very closely follow the daily offerings at Buffalo Trace Distillery. “On opening day, visitors will find Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Sazerac Rye, Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream, and Wheatley Vodka available,” he says. (All will be available for purchase on-site, too.) That flight of samples, plus an optional Buffalo and Ginger Ale cocktail sample, is called the Taste of the Trace, and that’ll be a standard option for visitors.

Another tasting experience is dubbed Tradition and Change (a nod to the Buffalo Trace slogan of “Honor tradition; embrace change.”) This lineup includes White Dog Mash #1, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Eagle Rare 10-Year-Old, E.H. Taylor Small Batch, and a small pour of a Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned. “We plan to expand the lineup over time to include the remainder of the core lineup offered at Buffalo Trace (in Kentucky),” says Duncan.

The only question we’ve got is why hasn’t Buffalo Trace done something like this in America? We hate picking up strange phone calls, too. Where’s our chance to sip some OFC?