Today I cracked into the new Traveller Full Proof and figured we’d answer the question everybody’s thinking: is this the worst offering from Buffalo Trace? Traveller had a ton of hype when the original dropped (Buffalo Trace collab with Chris Stapleton), then it sounded like it flopped once people actually tasted it. I never overpaid or even tried the original, but my buddy Chris gifted me the Full Proof for my 40th birthday, so we’re putting it on the table and I’m giving you the straight-up “no hype, just what I taste” version. This one comes in at 60.5% ABV (121 proof), and right away the color is super light and yellow—no age statement, and it screams younger whiskey to me. On the nose I got vanilla cream, a little butterscotch, some wood, and that “young” sharpness that can come off like a marker note. On the palate, it honestly got worse up front: really sharp, really “marker/mercury” and off-putting, even though the finish did settle into a nicer vanilla creaminess. Bottom line: I was hopeful Full Proof would fix what people complained about with the original, but to me it accentuated the wrong notes. I ranked Traveller Full Proof on my D tier—something you might only use in a mix if you can mask that rough first hit.