A Rare Buffalo Trace Bourbon Was Spotted At Costco — Wait Until You See The Price

Shoppers can buy a lot of surprising goods at Costco. From gold bars to rare sports collectibles, the benefits of being a Costco member extend beyond economical bulk groceries and limitless free samples. And, if you have the funds for it, one location is currently featuring an ultra-rare type of bourbon, according to a recent post on Instagram. A shopper spotted a bottle of The Last Drop No. 37, a 27-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey courtesy of the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Most shocking was the price of the tipple, listed at a staggering $7,999.99, which could potentially make for the world's priciest hangover. 

While the cost of this bourbon is enough to give you heart palpitations, consider that Costco members are getting it for a bargain. Instagram commenters said they'd observed even higher price tags elsewhere. One person even claimed, "I saw a few of them in NYC for sale for like 24k." Sure enough, some spirit shops are asking well over $23,000 per bottle, whereas other online retailers list the bourbon for $14,999, and $9,999.99, respectively. 

This isn't the warehouse retailer's first dalliance with crazy expensive liquor. Costco once featured a $30,000 bottle of Balvenie 50-year Single Malt Scotch in a Washington D.C. location. As for The Last Drop No. 37 from Buffalo Trace, the specific Costco location harboring this rare find has not been specified. However, it's worth mentioning that the account that posted this rare liquor find is based in California and usually focuses on warehouses in Southern California and the Bay Area. 

So, why should anyone be expected to buy an $8,000 bottle of whiskey? Is this some kind of rich person trick to fool us proles? It turns out that there are some very good reasons why the price of Buffalo Trace's most coveted bourbon is comparable to that of a reliable used vehicle. In addition to the nearly 30-year aging process, the bourbon is actually a blend of three whiskeys (which is not exactly the same as a blended whiskey, by the way) from the Buffalo Trace Distillery's oldest barrels. Another notable factoid about No. 37 is where the barrels were aged. Buffalo Trace invested heavily in whiskey aging, which entailed lots of testing to find the perfect environment for the barrels and the liquor. This experimentation led to the development of Warehouse P, where the barrels that yielded The Last Drop No. 37 were aged (though not for the entire aging process).