Pairing Buffalo Trace with Rebirth

The Whiskey: Buffalo Trace

It’s probably about time that I got around to this one. The basic offering of its namesake distillery, Buffalo Trace is an industry staple and has been for many years. In recent time this bottle has gotten a little heat as not being nearly as good as it’s traditionally thought to be, but I think much of that comes from frustration around Buffalo Trace product scarcity in general. I’ll try to remove the hype/hate glasses in my thoughts here.

On the nose, a strong caramel note makes itself known right off the bat. This is the dominant note, for sure. Exploring a little bit more brings forth marshmallows and chocolate, creating an image of smores in my head. I also can find that candy grape note that BT products have been known to have. For me personally, this isn’t bad – it’s unique and pleasant in a way, but I know that feeling may not be shared universally. Your mileage may vary on whether that note adds or subtracts from your experience, but it’s definitely there. Overall, this is a soft and gentle nose, not offering a wide spectrum to explore but giving some really nice notes nonetheless.

On the palate, I find a tad bit more complexity. The caramel turns into something a bit more specific – the taste makes me think of those Werther caramels that have a hard shell with a gooey interior. The chocolate and marshmallow are also there, offering that delicious smores note, though this is light. After a little more time with it, I find some cinnamon and oak offering a nice counterbalance to the sweeter notes. Again, that candy grape note is there. The low ABV ensures that there’s minimal burn, allowing the profile to be enjoyed with little struggle, but like other low ABV offerings it doesn’t carry a ton of punch.

The finish is fairly short but well-rounded, with the caramel, cinnamon, and candy grape note all lingering for several seconds before fading.

Overall, this is a decent pour, and a good one for those new to whiskey. It offers some good notes, a little bit of a unique profile to explore, but won’t overwhelm with the ABV or be hard to appreciate – and it should be easy to find, depending on your area.

The Game: Rebirth

The newest game in my collection is Rebirth, designed by Reiner Knizia. Released in 2025, Rebirth is most recent in a long line of tile-laying games by Knizia. I’ve enjoyed his previous designs, and personally think this game is a most visually attractive of his yet, so I was happy when it joined my collection.

Over the course of the game, players will be laying down tiles on a board of either Scotland or Ireland, with the thematic goal of building these countries back up after a worldwide calamity. Mechanically, each player’s turn has three phases: playing a tile, scoring from the tile, and drawing a tile for the next round. There are three tile types: farms, energy, and settlements. Farms and energy tiles score by being placed next to each other – the longer the chain of unbroken tiles, the more a player scores. Settlements score by having the highest value in a predetermined group of spaces on the board. There are particular spaces on the board that players are competing to control as well. Cathedrals (or towers, depending on which side you’re on), give players bonus goals for end-game points when a player lays a tile next to them. Castles are worth five points at the end of the game and are controlled by having the most tiles laid around them.

That’s pretty much the game, actually. Lay the tile, score it, draw the next one. There’s a beautiful simplicity to this that I find enjoyable – there’s no pretense about being more complex than it is, it’s just a simple, fun, Knizia tile game. Don’t get me wrong, there’s enough strategy involved in it – especially on the Ireland side – to keep people engaged, but it’s just so incredibly accessible. I’ve played Rebirth with several non-gaming family members who can be overwhelmed by board games and they’ve all enjoyed it.

So, will Rebirth win game of the year? No, it won’t – but will it get played a lot, and be a game I can pull out with non-gaming friends? Yes, it absolutely will.