Every year, Buffalo Trace’s highly anticipated Antique Collection, nicknamed the BTAC, gathers significant attention in the bourbon world. For each annual unveiling, the Kentucky-based distillery debuts four to five rare bottlings, showcasing the finest whiskeys from their brands. This year, enthusiasts, collectors, and fanatics look forward to new editions of Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye Whiskey, Sazerac Rye 18-Year-Old Whiskey, William Larue Weller Bourbon, and Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Bourbon, and the return of the George T. Stagg Bourbon after it was omitted in 2021 for not meeting taste standards.
The 2023 BTAC collection features an especially thrilling bottling—the oldest-ever stock of Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Bourbon. You might wonder, doesn’t its name imply that all Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old bottles are 17 years old? A fair question, but it turns out that 17 refers to the minimum age to bottle the barrels. The whiskey’s actual barrel age varies each year to achieve the ideal flavor profile—and this year’s edition is the oldest yet.
Over the next couple of weeks, the bottles will roll out to a variety of retailers, where they’re priced around $125. After that, they’ll make their way on to the secondary market where it could cost around five to 20 times as much to get a bottle. So if you’re looking to pick one up for the right price, you’d better hurry to your local liquor store—it might already be too late.
Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Bourbon
Buffalo Trace aged the 2023 Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Bourbon for 19 years and three months, making this year’s bottling the longest-aged since its introduction in 2000. In tribute to the original Eagle Rare that launched in 1975, Buffalo Trace bottled the 2023 edition at 101 proof. The nose offers dark chocolate and cherry pie notes, which complement the well-balanced caramel-drizzled chocolate spongecake flavor. Then, the bourbon finishes with the dry, spicy notes of an earthy cigar box. The Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old was distilled in the spring of 2004, and its barrels were aged in Warehouses C, I, K, M, and Q.
For more information please visit https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/