The Bonus Round Bottle: A Landlord-Approved Buffalo Trace Draw for Quiz Night
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The UK pub quiz is a delicate ecosystem. Someone is always convinced the music round was rigged, someone else has brought a lucky pen, and the landlord is quietly hoping the whole thing finishes before the glasswasher gives up. Bolting a Buffalo Trace prize draw onto that beautiful chaos takes a light touch, a clear clipboard and a firm grip on the microphone.
Done properly, it feels like a bonus round: a bit of Kentucky glamour in a room that smells faintly of chips and lemonade. Done badly, it becomes a second quiz, a legal headache and a reason for the landlord to hide the good bottle behind the till. So here is the cheeky, landlord-approved route.
First, Make Friends With the Landlord
Before anyone writes a bourbon question or starts practising their reveal face, have a quiet word with the person who owns the pumps. Ask where the prize can sit, when the draw should happen and whether they want the bottle kept behind the bar until the winner is confirmed. A pub quiz already asks a lot of a landlord: extra chairs, extra noise and at least one team arguing about the spelling of 'cemetery'. Do not add surprise admin.
Keep the draw simple and free to enter for quiz teams. If you start charging extra for prize-draw entries, you drift into raffle and lottery territory, and that is a conversation for the landlord and proper advice, not a scrap of paper behind the fruit machine. The cleanest format is a free bonus draw for teams already playing the quiz, with one slip per team and no pressure to buy anything. Check ages, use ID if needed, and make it clear that the prize is for an adult and must be collected responsibly.
The Format: Quiz First, Bottle Second
A pub quiz does not need a second ceremony. Announce the draw at the start, mention the prize once, and then let the quiz breathe. Teams write their name on a slip when they hand in a round, or the quizmaster collects one slip per team at the interval. One clipboard, one box, one bottle. That is the whole operation.
The landlord-friendly bit is timing. Draw the winner after the final scores are read, not halfway through a tense music round. Keep the reveal to a couple of minutes. If the pub has a regular quiz night rhythm, fit around it rather than turning the evening into a variety show. The prize should feel like a garnish, not the main course.
Six Bourbon Questions for the Clipboard
These are designed to be answerable by normal humans with a passing interest in bourbon, plus one or two that will make the know-it-alls sit up. Read them clearly, repeat once, and do not add a bonus question about mash bills unless you want a mutiny.
- Which US state is home to the Buffalo Trace Distillery? Answer: Kentucky.
- Bourbon mash must be at least 51% of which grain? Answer: Corn.
- What kind of barrel gives bourbon its colour and much of its flavour? Answer: A new charred oak barrel.
- The buffalo on the Buffalo Trace name is more accurately which animal? Answer: The American bison.
- What does 'straight bourbon' generally tell you about ageing? Answer: It has been aged for at least two years, among other rules.
- Which classic cocktail combines bourbon, sugar, bitters and a twist of orange? Answer: An Old Fashioned.
If a team gets all six, resist the urge to bow. Just nod approvingly and move on. There are scores to count and a bottle to reveal.
The Tie-Breaker That Keeps Things Moving
Tie-breakers are where quiz nights go to die. Someone suggests a tasting round, someone else suggests a sudoku, and the landlord starts stacking chairs. Keep it visual, quick and completely unrelated to drinking. Before the quiz, count a small jar of cocktail sticks or dried corn kernels and write the number on a card. If teams tie, each captain writes down a guess. Closest to the actual number wins. No tasting, no shouting, no 'just one more question'.
If you want a bourbon-flavoured tie-breaker without the faff, ask teams to guess how many letters are in the full name 'Buffalo Trace Distillery'. It is quick, it is factual, and it does not require anyone to prove their palate under pressure. Announce the answer, hand over the slip, and let the quizmaster get back to the serious business of reading out the final table.
The Bottle Reveal as a Bonus Round
A prize reveal does not need dry ice. It needs a little theatre and a lot of timing. Keep the bottle in a plain bag or box behind the bar. When the winner is drawn, thank the teams, hold up the prize, and read the winner's name clearly. If the pub has a screen or a microphone, use them. If not, a cheerful 'right, who is Team Six?' works wonders.
Do not open the bottle in the pub unless the landlord has said yes and the winner wants to share a small toast. Even then, keep it modest. The prize is a bottle to take home, not a challenge to finish it before last orders. If the winner is driving, pregnant, under 18 or simply not drinking, thank them, hand over the prize and move on without a lecture. A good bonus round is generous, not pushy.
Responsible-Drinking Notes for Quizmasters
A pub quiz is a social night, not a drinking game. Keep the draw free to enter, restrict it to adults, and make sure the winner can take the bottle away safely. Have soft drinks available, know the local taxi numbers, and never build the quiz around how much anyone can drink. If the prize is a bourbon bottle, the responsible thing is to treat it as a prize to enjoy sensibly at home, not as a cue for a lock-in.
If the landlord wants a condition, such as the winner being over 18 and a quiz participant, put it on the slips and announce it. If the winner cannot accept the prize, redraw politely. Keep the tone light, but keep the rules clear. That is how you avoid the dreaded post-quiz group chat.
A Clipboard Checklist
- Ask the landlord first, including where the bottle lives during the quiz.
- Announce the free bonus draw once at the start.
- Collect one slip per team, clearly named.
- Keep the six questions short and repeat them once.
- Use a simple guess-the-number tie-breaker.
- Reveal the bottle after the final scores, not during a round.
- Check age, thank everyone, and let the pub get back to normal.
A pub quiz already has enough moving parts: the missing answer sheet, the team that insists 'gaol' is spelt with a G, and the person who claims they were only nipping out for a chip. A Buffalo Trace bonus draw should be the easy bit. Bring a clipboard, bring six questions, bring a bit of cheek, and let the bottle do the rest. Cheers, responsibly, and may your tie-breaker be shorter than the argument about the music round.
