BourbonEnthusiast.com

Greetings,

I am a land surveyor and am trying to trace the history of Benchmark Bourbon. The name supposedly comes from the McAfee Brothers who were early surveyors in the Frankfort area.

What I would like to know is if the McAfee name associated with this bourbon traces itself back to the surveyors, or was the McAfee name just affixed to the it without any true family connection.

Approximately what year did Benchmark Bourbon originate, and where have the distilleries been located. Which companies have been associated with the Benchmark name and where is it distilled today?

Thanks,
Surveyor1

Benchmark was introduced in 1967 by Segrams. I do not know which Segrams location was used to distill and age the bourbon. It was sold to Sazerac in 1989. After the purchase it was produced at the Ancient Age Distillery in Frankfort, which is now Buffalo Trace.

I don't know about the connection to Mcafee brothers.

Hope this helps.

JD

jdknaebel wrote:Benchmark was introduced in 1967 by Segrams. I do not know which Segrams location was used to distill and age the bourbon.
I Hope this helps.

JD

It was the big Seagrams plant in Louisville per Chuck Cowdery.
Joe

Welcome to BourbonEnthusiast.com, Surveyor1! Good first post. You can find the answer on the Buffalo Trace website in their timeline and also in the book "The Great Crossing". The McAfee Brothers did indeed survey what would come to be known as Leestown and site of today's Buffalo Trace distillery in 1773. Quite a long and interesting history with many now famous names along with many twists and turns of fate.

The old Segram's Benchmark label was redesigned to become "McAfee's Benchmark" about the same time Buffalo Trace refurbished and reinvented itself.

To my palate the flavor profile has been changed for the better, and what is today's "McAfee's Benchmark" is a far better tasting bourbon than was the original Segram's "Benchmark".

ima