McAfee's Benchmark is a brand of

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Bourbon Whiskey Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbon ...

produced by the

Sazerac Company Sazerac Company, Inc is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,Buffalo Trace Distillery Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, owned by the Sazerac Company. It has historically been known by several names, including the George T. Stagg Distillery and the Old Fashioned Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. Its namesak ...

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the pri ...

. The full name of the brand that appears on the bottle is "McAfee's Benchmark Old No. 8 Brand" (with "Benchmark" rendered in much larger letters than the rest). The primary brand expression is an 80 U.S. proof (40%

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

) bourbon aged "at least 36 months" according to its label. Three whiskey-based

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s of 70 U.S. proof (35% alcohol by volume) also carry the brand name – one with apple flavoring, one with peach flavoring and the third with brown sugar flavoring.

History

The Benchmark brand was created by Seagram's in the late 1960s to be a luxury or premium-level bourbon. At that time, the whiskey was not called McAfee's, but simply Benchmark Bourbon; and the name McAfee came much later. Originally Benchmark was sold in a

decanter A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters, which have a varied shape and design, have been traditionally made from glass or crystal. Their volume is usually equ ...

-style bottle with a black label. Jim Murray reviews two McAfee's Benchmark expressions in his ''Whiskey Bible'' 2006 edition. The Benchmark brand name was purchased by the Sazerac Company in 1989 from Seagram's. It is still owned by Sazerac Brands of New Orleans which also now owns the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, where Benchmark is now made. The origin of the McAfee name is that Hancock McAfee was, in 1775, one of the first European settlers at the site where Buffalo Trace stands today. The original Benchmark was made at

Lawrenceburg, Kentucky Lawrenceburg is a home rule-class city in Anderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,505 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of its county. Lawrenceburg is part of the Frankfort, Kentucky, micropolitan statistical area. H ...

at the Four Roses Distillery when Seagram owned it.

References

{{Alcoholic drinks Bourbon whiskey Sazerac Company brands