Bottled for the Japanese market and rarely seen on American shelves, Blanton’s Single Barrel Black is an export-only Kentucky bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery. Every bottle is dumped from a single barrel aged in the storied Warehouse H, then brought to an easygoing 80 proof for Japan, where Takara Shuzo distributes the brand. The high-rye character reads familiar honey, soft vanilla, light caramel but in a lighter, gentler frame than the Original, which is exactly the point. Stateside bottles arrive only as imports, so the Black label stays a genuine collector’s find. Pour it over one big cube, or take the Tokyo route and stretch it into a tall, ice-cold highball.