cascode
Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
March 8, 2021 (edited May 17, 2021)
Nose: Sharp barrel spice. Tannin, cinnamon and hard treacle toffee with a leathery quality. There is a hint of dark cherry but together with a slight liquorice note it seems more akin to cough mixture than fresh fruit or jam. The nose is dominated by charred wood but over time this gains sweetness and vanilla peeks through.
Palate: Firm, almost hard spicy arrival that moves towards a woody development. A bitter oak note appears quickly after the entry and resolves into a leathery tobacco character with layers of spice derived from rye and tannin. Hot ginger, unsweetened cocoa and an almost-burnt, overcooked caramel taste. There is a vegetal, cabbage-water flavour in the later palate and the texture is neutral-thin.
Finish: Medium. Woody caramel, oak and grassy spice turning dry in the aftertaste.
There is little I can say about this that has not been stated already somewhere in the over 9,000 existing reviews.
This is basically an older, more tannic and spicier Buffalo Trace, which does not endear it to me. It is well-made and if you prefer a firm, spicy bourbon this will fit the bill, but it is not the sort of profile I particularly enjoy. Bear in mind also that this costs the equivalent US$80 in Australia, and for that money there are many other whiskies I’d rather buy.
“Above Average” : 80/100 (3 stars)
105.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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@cascode grape seed/stem tannins are my bugaboo, probably why I'm not much of a wine drinker, outside of ports-Madeiras etc, the kind of rich heavy wine that tends to cover up the flaws. What I like about Eagle Rare is that to me, it shows you what Buffalo Trace SHOULD HAVE BEEN, the extra 6-7ish years do amazing work opening up the sugar notes and smoothing off the bitter tail ends. It's almost a night and day experience for me.
@BeppeCovfefe I dislike the taste of cask-originated tannins that accumulate in whisky during maturation. The congeners in distillate that derive from peat-smoking are pleasant in comparison.
I have trouble rationalizing why a heavy peated drinker/aficionado would find what I consider trifling amounts of "bitter tannins" to be all that off putting. For me Eagle Rare, the precursor to George T Stagg, was a fantastic bourbon and a no brainer at the old price of around 30$ Otoh at the newer heavily jacked up allocation prices, I completely understand some enjoyers giving it the stink eye.
Wow yeah $80 is a non starter. Its a good bourbon but again the stupid pricing on BT products. I have a good mind to boycott
Not for me either
I’ve seen this for up to $90 USD, which is ridiculous. This is highly allocated in the US, but I managed to grab a bottle for $30 the other day, which is a fair asking price for what you e described.