Bourbon Treasure in Spain: Finding Blanton’s Bourbon Abroad

A few weeks into my trip across Spain, after visiting incredible cities like Madrid, San Sebastián, and Bilbao, I found myself making my way through the southern coast of Spain, working my way up to Barcelona. I started off in Seville, then Cordoba, Granada, Valencia and finally Barcelona! I would spend 2-3 nights in each city soaking it all in.

At this point, I had my trusted wheeled suitcase and backpack — both already packed to the brim with clothes, souvenirs, and, of course, a few dusty bourbon finds from earlier in the trip.

I had spent 3 nights in Seville and was on my way to the bus station to catch a ride to my next destination, Cordoba, when, almost on instinct, I decided to make one last stop: a small liquor store tucked away along my walking route. At this point on my trip I was not actively searching for bourbon. I would stop into stores if I walked past them, but I was not on an all out bourbon hunting mission by any means.

What I found inside absolutely floored me.

There, proudly displayed on the shelves, were several boxes of old Blanton’s Gold, Blanton’s Silver, and Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel — all in beautiful decorative display boxes. At the time, I was still relatively new to the world of Blanton’s, but I did know that certain rare Blanton’s editions, like Blanton’ Gold, Blanton’s Silver, Blanton’s Green and Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel, were exclusive to overseas markets and not available in the United States.

Blanton’s Gold Edition and Blanton’s Silver Edition

Finding them all together, in perfect condition and beautiful display boxes, felt like discovering buried treasure.

I asked the store clerk if I could look inside the display box to check out the bottle, and they eagirly grabbed one of each and began opening them up! Not only were they rare Blanton’s but they were old! Not ancient old, but they all had bottling dates from the late 1990’s and early 2000’s (relatively young in the dusty hunting world, but older releases of Blanton’s typically have limited edition display boxes and features that are not found on current releases).

I began doing mental gymnastics in my mind, trying to figure out how I could buy all of these bottles and transport them to my next city, complete with bus ride. I thought to myself:

“Should I stay in Seville one more day so I can ship all of these back to Chicago?” Was that crazy? Many people would think so, but that is one of the struggles as a bourbon hunter.

I had almost no space left in my luggage.

Blanton’s Gold Edition Limited Release Horse Racing Display Box

Still, this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I grabbed as many bottles as I could, carefully cramming them into every available inch of space, some boxes got crushed, but who cares, this was a bourbon emergency. I had to buy as many as I could and I had a bus to catch!

By the time I finished packing, the zippers on my suitcase and backpack were straining under the weight. I ended up buying 11 bottles — stuffing six into my backpack and cramming the rest into my suitcase. I did the best that I could to utilize every square inch of space in my luggage. Should I toss my hoody? Maybe leave a pair of jeans? Do I really need 2 pairs of shoes? These were my thoughts going through my head in order to cram just 1 more bottle into my bag. I decided to keep the hoody, but I did toss a pair of old tennis shoes that I had yet to wear during the first 2 weeks of my trip. Sacrifices had to be made.

Extremely Rare 2002 Blanton’s Silver Bourbon

I then began my journey to the bus station, nearly 2 miles through rough cobblestone streets. For some reason, I refused to take cabs on this trip. I was trying to save as much money as I could, and I knew that several expensive cab rides would eat into my daily budget. I began to lug my heavy backpack and roll my now grossly overweight suitcase, wheels loudly clacking over the brick streets, making the 2 mile-long walk to the bus station, sweating, straining, and smiling the entire way. That is until I heard a snap. My rolling suitcase decided that it was not up for the journey, and snapped a wheel off as I was going down a curb. The 3 inch drop was just too much for the cheap JC Penny roller wheels. Now what? No big deal, just carry it by hand. Easier said than done. I got about 2 blocks carrying the nearly 70lb bag and threw in the towel, no way I was going to carry this the next mile to the bus station. I didn’t have much choice, I had to hail a cab to take me the rest of the way.

2001 Blanton’s Special Reserve Green Label

A short cab and bus ride later, I arrived in Cordoba, where again I had to take a cab to my hotel with my heavy bag of treasures.

It was then that I could finally unpack. When you are in the heat of the moment, in a liquor store, things can become a blur. I usually end up walking out of most shops not remembering what I bought, what the bottle dates were, or how many bottles I had even bought.

That evening, I spread everything out on the nightstand of my hotel room and admired the haul.

Blanton’s Bourbon Haul From Seville Spain

The bottles looked incredible — their wax tops and horse stoppers gleaming under the soft hotel lighting. Unfortunately, I noticed that one of the bottles had a broken wax seal — a common problem when traveling with Blanton’s, as their wax necks are notoriously fragile. A broken wax seal might lower a bottle’s collectible value, but it made the decision easy: I opened it right then and there, savoring the rich, bold flavor throughout the remainder of my trip. That was my Spain drinker bottle for the remainder my time in Spain, a 2002 Blanton’s Green Label!

Of course, there was no realistic way I could continue traveling across Spain with 11 heavy bottles weighing me down. The next day, the mission became clear:

Find a post office. Find a box. Find packing materials. A routine that would become all too familiar for me. I also had the added task of upgrading my suitcase to something a bit more sturdy. Luckily, I was able to find a beefy well built rolling bag at a nearby sports store.

It took some scrambling, but eventually, I found everything I needed. I carefully boxed up the precious cargo, and shipped the bottles back home to Chicago, not know for sure if they would every show up. Sure enough, a few weeks later I got a text from my folks informing me that a smelly box had arrived. Shipping Blanton’s is tough, the wax seal can be very fragile, and the corks are prone to leaking if left on their side. I asked my parents to go ahead and open up to box. To my delight, there was only 1 casualty during the transatlantic voyage! A 2002 Blanton’s Gold bottle decided to let go of its cork, leaking bourbon throughout the box. No big deal, at least the rest made it through!

Today, whenever I look at those Blanton’s bottles lined up on my shelves, I’m instantly transported back to that blazing hot afternoon in Seville — a reminder that sometimes the best treasures are found when you least expect them.

-Adam