Why Every Arkansas Whiskey Lover Should Join the Sazerac Single Barrel Select Program

Last Updated on December 22, 2025 by Justin Jones

If you’re a whiskey enthusiast in Arkansas, the Sazerac Single Barrel Select (SBS) program is arguably one of the most important things you can join. Not only does it give you the rare opportunity to select a full barrel from some of Sazerac’s most beloved distilleries, but participation also strengthens Arkansas’ ability to receive premium whiskey in the future.

If you are a bourbon enthusiast living in The Natural State, you know the struggle. Walking into a liquor store in Little Rock, Fayetteville, or Hot Springs often ends in the same disappointment: empty shelves where the Blanton’s, Eagle Rare, or E.H. Taylor should be.

While the secondary market is an option for some, there is a better way to secure these bottles at retail price—one that every Arkansan needs to take advantage of. It is called the Sazerac Barrel Select (SBS) Program, and for residents of our unique regulatory environment, it is more than just a club; it is a strategic necessity.

What Is the Sazerac Single Barrel Select Program?

This is where the Sazerac Barrel Select (SBS) program changes the game. It effectively offers a “backdoor” to bypass the traditional allocation struggles we face in Arkansas.

SBS is a consumer membership program run by Sazerac, the parent company of the world’s most award-winning distillery, Buffalo Trace. It allows individuals to enter drawings to purchase an entire single barrel of their favorite spirits.

How the Program Works

The program recently shifted from a “fastest fingers” system to a fairer, points-based lottery. Here is the process:

1. Sign Up: Create a free account on the Sazerac Barrel Select website.
2. Earn Points: You accumulate points by completing your profile and maintaining your membership (1 point = 1 entry).
3. The Lottery: Sazerac holds quarterly drawings. If your name is drawn, you win the “right to purchase” a barrel.
4. The Experience: Winners are invited to the distillery (usually in Frankfort, KY) for a VIP tour and private tasting to pick their specific barrel.
5. The Fulfillment: This is the most important part for Arkansans. You pick a local Arkansas retailer to receive the barrel. Sazerac bottles your whiskey and ships it to that store for you to buy.

Why This Program Matters MORE for Arkansas Than Almost Any Other State

Winning an SBS drawing doesn’t just get you whiskey; it forces inventory into the state.

When you win a barrel of, say, Weller Full Proof or Blanton’s Gold, Sazerac ships roughly 180 to 220 bottles to the Arkansas retailer of your choice. You are essentially creating your own private allocation that does not depend on the distributor’s usual volume metrics.

By joining this program, you aren’t just trying to win whiskey for yourself; you are increasing the flow of premium bourbon into Arkansas. If enough Arkansans join, we collectively increase the number of single barrels entering our state, bypassing the limitations of our dry county statistics.

The Bottom Line: We have the dry counties. We have the difficult allocation numbers. But we don’t have to settle for empty shelves. Join the Sazerac Barrel Select program today, and let’s bring more Buffalo Trace to Arkansas, one barrel at a time.

Arkansas Has the Most Dry Counties in the U.S.

The Arkansas Problem: Why Our Shelves Are Empty

To understand why this program is vital, we first have to address the elephant in the room: Arkansas’s liquor laws.

Arkansas has one of the highest concentrations of dry counties in the United States. As of 2025, roughly half of our 75 counties prohibit the sale of alcohol entirely or restrict it heavily. While this is a matter of local ordinance, it has a massive ripple effect on the whiskey drinker.

The “Allocation Math” Works Against Us: In the three-tier system of alcohol distribution, “allocation” (who gets the rare bottles) is almost always based on volume. Large distributors allocate rare whiskey to states and stores that move the most volume of standard spirits (like Wheatley Vodka or Fireball).

This leaves us with a “bourbon drought,” making it nearly impossible to find top-tier products on the shelf.

Because so much of Arkansas is dry, our total statewide sales volume is lower than fully “wet” states of similar population.

Lower volume means fewer cases of high-demand allocated whiskey are sent to Arkansas distributors.

Dry Counties = Lower Sales = Lower Allocations

Fewer wet counties means:

• fewer stores
• fewer legal outlets
• lower reported sales volume
• fewer rare bottles shipped to Arkansas

Meanwhile, neighboring states like Tennessee, Missouri, Texas, and Louisiana receive dramatically larger allocations because their markets show higher consumption and performance data.

This is why shelves in those states regularly display bottles that never make it here.

Joining Sazerac Single Barrel Select Helps Bring More Bottles to Arkansas

Every time an Arkansas resident wins a drawing:

• Sazerac allocates that bottle to Arkansas
• Our statewide activity increases
• Our market shows higher engagement
• Sazerac sees demand from Arkansas consumers

More participation = more data = more future allocations.

It’s one of the few ways consumers directly influence what ends up in stores.