I used to see Eagle Rare in the store all the time. Unfortunately, Pappy Mania has bled over to other Buffalo Trace products near me, such that I don’t think I’ve seen Eagle Rare since at least last fall. I foolishly never purchased a bottle, but a friend came to the rescue with a sample. Age: 10 years Mashbill: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 (low rye) Abv: 45% Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound half on me. Nose: Cherries, oak, powdered sugar, dried fruit, apples, and bananas. Very sweet, but I love it. I could huff this all day. (24/25 points) Taste: Cherries, oak, corn sweetness, apples, coca cola, vanilla . The mouthfeel is rather syrupy, like cough syrup. I wish my actual cough syrup tasted like this (although then it would probably need to be a controlled substance). (44/50 points) Finish: Fairly long duration. A pleasant warming sensation with vanilla, oak, and sourdough bread. Really quite nice. I don’t get any of the metallic taste that I’ve heard often plagues Eagle Rare. (23/25) points) Conclusion: I’ve heard that Eagle Rare has rather sizeable variation in quality between barrels, and I must have gotten lucky on the barrel, as this far exceeded my expectations and my resulting score is considerably higher than I normally give out. All three components are fantastic, and after polishing off my sample, I’m left wanting more. I’m quite curious to try a different bottle and see whether this is what Eagle Rare is truly like, or I just hit a unicorn bottle. I fully understand why this is so difficult to find these days, as for $25.99 (the theoretical price for it locally when it is in stock) it crushes most competitors in that price range. Next time I see this on the shelves, I’ll have to stock up on a few bottles. 91/100 After my original tasting of this, I was able to track down a bottle of my own. I like the whiskey a lot, although the sample was considerably better. I'd rate my own bottle an 86, versus the 91 I gave the sample. I'm getting a lot more banana in my bottle.