Thanks to Buffalo Trace’s new distribution scheme, I’ve been able to get Eagle Rare fairly regularly again. It is still allocated, demand still after out strips supply, and it has not returned to being regularly available on liquor store shelves. However, I am generally able to get a bottle every couple of months now, which is a massive improvement in availability. I picked up bottle yesterday and realized since I started writing this blog, I have not done a full write up on Eagle Rare. I have reviewed single barrel picks and some releases of Eagle Rare 17 year old, but I guess I assumed everyone knew about Eagle Rare so there was little point in writing about it. But, given its limited availability and that fact that a lot of people didn’t get into bourbon until after Eagle Rare became severely allocated, I decided Eagle Rare needed a write up in these pages.
Eagle Rare: What It Was – Eagle Rare 101
Most bourbon brands are either pre-prohibition, post-prohibition, or post the 1985 premiumization of bourbon revolution. Not so with Eagle Rare. Seagram’s, who at the time owned the Prentiss distillery which is now Four Roses, introduced Eagle Rare in 1975. Charles Beam was master distiller at Prentiss at the time, and introduced this 10 year old bourbon proofed at 101 to compete with another bird themed bourbon at 101 proof, Wild Turkey. It was one of the few bourbons at the time to have an age statement. Unfortunately for everyone, Seagram’s, the distilling powerhouse, went bankrupt and its brands were scattered to the winds, and Prentiss Distillery was purchased by Kirin to produce Four Roses for the Japanese market. Sazerac out of New Orleans purchased the brand in 1989, continued to market it at 101 proof, but began sourcing production from Heaven Hill. Then, in 1992, Sazerac purchased the Stagg distillery and would rename it Buffalo Trace.
Eagle Rare – What It Was – 10 Year Old Single Barrel
After operating Buffalo Trace Distillery for a while, Sazerac decided to change the Eagle Rare brand. The single barrel whiskies produced there, such as Blanton’s and Elmer T. Lee, were still owned by the previous owner, Age International and produced under license with Age getting a cut of the profits. Sazerac introduced Buffalo Trace in 1999, a brand created and owned by them, and in 2005 decided they need to produce their own single barrel product which was all theirs. So, they changed Eagle Rare 10 year old from its old 101 proof, and released it as a single barrel bourbon at 90 proof, the same proof as Elmer T. Lee, but retaining its ten year old age statement, and using the same mashbill (well, most of the time) as Buffalo Trace bourbon. At a sub $30 price point for a ten year old single barrel bourbon, demand continued to grow and grow; it was approachable, affordable, really good, and was often one of the first bourbons people started drinking neat. Additionally given that this bourbon was older than Blanton’s and only three proof points difference, I often recommended Eagle Rare over Blanton’s to people getting into bourbon. I often recommended Elmer T. Lee for the same reason.
Eagle Rare – What It Is – 10 Year Old “Select Barrel”
Buffalo Trace hand bottles its single barrel bourbons in the Blanton’s Bottling House. It isn’t very big (its the size of a house) and has only two bottling lines. In this hallowed place Blanton’s is still bottled, as well the the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, the Van Winkle line, E.H. Taylor Single Barrel, and other specialty releases. A human being has to hand fill each bottle. Eagle Rare, with its aforementioned price point, was becoming extremely popular. Sazerac was then faced with either raising the prices to justify the hand bottling cost and keeping supply static (as there is only so much bourbon that can come out of the Blanton’s bottling house) or drop the single barrel designation and move Eagle Rare to a mechanical bottling line where there is some risk of one barrel bleeding over into another as select barrels for Eagle Rare are bottled. Sazerac opted to do the latter, and around 2017 or so Eagle Rare dropped the single barrel designation but retained its 10 year old designation. Sazerac still picks quality barrels for Eagle Rare, and but for the potential for the previous barrel to bleed over into the next barrel because of the mechanical bottling system, the bourbon is the same. So I would refer to this bourbon as a “select barrel” barrel bourbon. Eagle Rare barrels are not batched and then bottled like small batch or non-small bourbons are. It is bottled barrel by barrel using only select barrels that aren’t mixed EXCEPT for the bit of bourbon left in the mechanical bottling system from the previous barrel that can make its way into the first bottle or so from the next barrel.
I think they made the right call, and, indeed, the ethical call. The mechanical bottling system meant that Sazerac couldn’t claim each bottle was from a single barrel, so they dropped the single barrel designation. Demand did not shrink for Eagle Rare 10 Year Old despite the fact that it lost its Single Barrel designation, and the bottle I bought yesterday was $33. $33 for a 10 year old age stated bourbon made from select barrels is a bargain. While I generally prefer higher proof bourbons, I still enjoy Eagle Rare as this 90 proof ten year old has a lot of great flavor.
The color on Eagle Rare is a really nice solid amber; despite being proofed down this retains I nice deep color. Really nice thick film and legs on the swirl as well. The nose if very traditional bourbon; nice vanilla, caramel, and oak, and the nose is remarkable not only for what it is, but what it isn’t – there are absolutely no negatives. On the palate, the vanilla tends to edge out the caramel notes, there are some dark chocolate notes, and after chewing the whiskey lovely oak tannin and baking spice asserts itself. Extremely smooth with a decent mouthfeel even at 90 proof. On the finish the oak and baking spices linger for quite a long time, especially for the low proof on this bourbon. Like the nose the palate is as remarkable for what it is as what it isn’t. There is no year funk, no super bitter notes,
Eagle Rare 10 year old is a great bourbon at a great price point. Really nice flavor profile, as Buffalo Trace uses top drawer non-GMO select grains, and Red Star Yeast, which unlike wild yeasts or designer yeasts used by certain producers to create different flavor profiles, Red Star ferments the mash and then gets out of the way to let the grains and barrels do the talking on the flavor. After 10 years, these barrels are talking.
What is also important to note is that Sazerac is continuing to increase distilling and aging capacity at Buffalo Trace, while continuing to maintain reasonable MSRP price points on their whiskies. Which means, in short, that Eagle Rare’s availability will continue to increase without sacrificing quality or price. Which has been Sazerac’s philosophy about this brand since they acquired it.