Ladies and gentlemen, the long wait has ended. The 2017 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is here. Here are the bottle details with official reviews coming soon! Happy hunting!
Eagle Rare 17 Year 2017
This bourbon contains a mashbill of Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye, and North Dakota malted barley. Distilled to 135 proof in the spring of 2000, this bourbon entered the barrel at 125 proof. It spent over 17 years in the barrel on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors of Warehouses C, K, and P. Only 36 barrels make up this batch. Eagle Rare 17 Year is 90 proof at bottling.
George T. Stagg 2017
Perhaps the most sought after bourbons in the Antique Collection, George T. Stagg is a beast of a bourbon…in the best possible way. Using a mashbill recipe of Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye, and North Dakota malted barley, this bourbon was distilled to 135 proof in the spring of 2002. It entered the barrel at 125 proof.
This bourbon spent over 15 years and 3 months in barrels from Warehouses C, K, M, and Q. This batch consists of only 309 barrels. As always, it is uncut and unfiltered. This year’s bottling comes in at 129.2 proof.
Sazerac Rye 18 Year
This rye whiskey contains a mashbill of Minnesota rye, Kentucky corn, and North Dakota malted barley. Distilled to 135 proof in the spring of 1998, the rye whiskey entered the barrel at 125 proof. It matured for 18 years in new, charred American oak barrels on the second floor of Warehouse K. Only 25 barrels make up this batch. This rye was placed in stainless-steel tanks in 2016 to prevent further aging. It is 90 proof at bottling.
Left to Right: William Larue Weller, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac, George T. Stagg, Eagle Rare 17, Sazerac 18 / Image Courtesy of Buffalo Trace
Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye 2017
Thomas H. Handy was the first barman to use rye in place of cognac in the Sazerac cocktail. This rye uses a mashbill of Minnesota rye, Kentucky corn, and North Dakota malted barley.
Distilled in the spring of 2011 to 135 proof, the rye whiskey entered the barrel at 125 proof. It matured for at least six years and five months on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floor of Warehouses K, L, and Q. Only 72 barrels were selected for this bottling. It sells at 127.2 proof.
William Larue Weller 2017
Buffalo Trace honors 19th century distiller William Larue Weller with this annual release. Weller is credited with being the first to use wheat instead of rye in the mash bill, thus pioneering the “wheated bourbon” phenomenon. This wheated bourbon contains a mashbill recipe of Kentucky corn, North Dakota wheat, and North Dakota malted barley.
Distilled in the winter of 2005 to 130 proof, the bourbon entered the barrel at 114 proof. It matured for over 12 years and 6 months. Only 155 barrels make up this batch from Warehouses D, I, and P, just ten more than last year’s release. At 128.2 proof, it comes to you uncut and unfiltered from the barrel.
Limited quantities of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection whiskeys exists. Retailers and bars receive their allocations beginning October 2017. Each whiskey has a suggested retail price of $90. What you see priced on the shelf, however, will vary greatly.
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