Background

Two years ago, Buffalo Trace started silently rolling out NFC tags to potentially curb counterfeiting. They provided no information, but if you had an app like NFC tools and scanned the tag on your 2021 Thomas H Handy (and only THH) it would tell you if the bottle had been opened or unopened.

Last year, the situation remained largely unchanged, but NFC tags appeared, seemingly sporadically, on other bottles within the BTAC line. Personally, I tested a 2022 THH and 2022 George T Stagg. The 2022 THH had an NFC tag, while the GTS did not. It's worth noting that I purchased the GTS from Costco, an unlikely place for counterfeit products. Although I could have mis-scanned the tag, the bottle has been open for a long time, so I can't verify it now. However, others reported mixed results. This redditor noted no tags, yet a friend kindly scanned their 2022 GTS, revealing an NFC tag. What would help is if Sazerac put out the slightest bit of helpful literature on what they are doing so we can all actually utilize this better. While we wait to see if the polar ice caps will melt before Saz does this, I am here to personally report that it appears this tech took one step closer to being official this year! Here’s what I’ve found out so far, through a combination of limited home testing, home testing via friends, and Google.

NFC Tag Expansion- Works on GTS 2023!

I do not have some mystical BTAC connection, which means I have not been able to try this app on every member of the 2023 nor this year’s Van Winkle line. However, I managed to obtain a 2023 George T Stagg and one of the first things I thought to do is check for an NFC tag again.

I opened up my trusty NFC tools app (same one Charles used in the OG post), and scanned my GTS. Voila! There’s one here! Continuing to pull the thread, it hit the link in the bottom of the NFC tools app. In previous years this brought you to kind of a bootleg “NFC Sazerac” page that told you if your bottle was opened or not. This time it links you to a Sazerac page to download an app to authenticate your bottle.

Buffalo Trace Gets a (Very Spartan) Bottle Authentication App

Once in the Buffalo Trace app, they give you a very simple prompt: “Please scan a tag.” Doing so opens up a page that continues info about the product. It seems pretty evident Buffalo Trace/Sazerac is continuing to roll this out at a glacial, and somewhat haphazard pace. The product page says “PHOTO COMING SOON.” This is George T Stagg! You don’t already have a million marketing pictures?! Just upload one! Ironically, a friend scanned a 2022 GTS and a picture showed up.

Intriguingly, the scan reveals, "This product is authenticated by Selinko and has never been opened," indicating a partnership with Selinko, a company providing NFC tag authentication software..

Other options on the app allow you to create and log into a profile. I wish I could tell you there are a wealth of other options once you create a profile, like registering your bottle to your account, but there’s not. The main benefit seems to be that it saves your scan history.

Sazerac Stays Quiet

Ok this is when Google comes into play. I have not been able to find a word from Buffalo Trace or Sazerac on this. I can’t find any mention on Buffalo Trace’s news site, nor is it covered in the press release for the 2023 Antique Collection. If anyone sees any official literature from Sazerac on this certainly do let me know. I could have missed it, but these seem like the most logical places to check.

Curious to see what you all are seeing, particularly if anyone has any 2023 Van Winkle products and wants to try this, please do and report back!