Nov. 4, 2019

This paid piece is sponsored by JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars.

When Buffalo Trace Distillery reached its seven millionth barrel of bourbon whiskey, something special happened.

The Kentucky-based distillery decided to see how much good it could do with the six millionth barrel.

It rolled that barrel, which had been residing in a single-barrel aging warehouse since 2008, into another warehouse for a year so it could age to a full 10 years, 11 months. It then filled 400 bottles at 375 milliliters each and made those bottles available exclusively to nonprofit organizations for fundraising opportunities.

That led the distillery to The Compass Center – the only nonprofit in South Dakota selected to receive a bottle.

“I’m a little bit of a bourbon lover myself,” The Compass Center development director Jason Lemke said.

“So I don’t know if Google did its magic, but I saw this program and thought it looked like a really cool opportunity for us. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to build a fundraising event around it if we were selected.”

When he found out a couple of months ago that his organization had been selected, “I was thrilled,” he said. “There were only 400 bottles available, so I didn’t know what our chances were. And then I got excited because it was an opportunity to do something fun that would help us interact with new folks in the community.”

One of those new relationships was formed with JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars, where owner Tom Slattery was happy to help.

“There’s so much demand for these bottles from nonprofits, we were thrilled that an organization in Sioux Falls was chosen, and we’re happy to help bring awareness to The Compass Center while celebrating something we know our customers are going to love in this collectible bourbon,” Slattery said.

With help from JJ’s, The Compass Center will hold the Buffalo Trace Six Millionth Barrel Collector’s Bottle Raffle & Tasting Event from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 22 at the new Sanford Event Barn on the corporate campus of Sanford Health at 2510 E. 54th St. N.

It will include whiskey tasting, wine tasting, door prizes, food from Jekyll & Hyde Barbeque and desserts from The Boozy Bakery.

Raffle tickets are $20 or three for $50. The $50 donation includes admission to the event. You can buy tickets and win without being present by purchasing online here.

The commemorative bottle is packaged in a numbered hardwood showcase box that includes a piece of charred oak stave from the historic barrel and a small brochure explaining the significance of the collector’s edition.

“Rather than auctioning the bottle, we decided to raffle it so it would become an event that a lot of people in the community could get involved with and have the chance to win something that’s really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own,” Lemke said. “I think this will expose The Compass Center to a new crowd in town, and we’re really looking forward to it.”

The Compass Center serves up to 1,000 people annually in the Sioux Falls metro area with counseling and advocacy services for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, including human trafficking, stalking and harassment victims. Its services are free regardless of ability to pay.

“It’s an incredibly valuable organization for our community, and we’re happy to help raise awareness for what they do,” Slattery said. “We’re looking forward to not just a memorable event with a historic prize but the chance to make a significant difference for this organization and the people it serves.”