Overview
Eagle Rare 17 is part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, a fall release featuring limited-production offerings of their famous mashes. The Eagle Rare 17 is mash bill #1, a low rye bourbon aged 17 years bottled at the famous 101 proof.
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Sweet
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Spice
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Heat
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Balance
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Texture
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Complexity
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DETAILS
REVIEW
RARITY
DISTILLERY
Buffalo Trace
MASTER DISTILLER
Harlen Wheatly
AGE
17 Years
PROOF
101 | 50.5% ABV
FIRST RELEASE
2000
RELEASE FREQ
Annual (LE)
MASH
REVIEW70%
CORN
15%
BARLEY
9%
RYE
PALATE: The fragrant aroma has almost a wine-like character with hints of almond, cigar boxes and cinnamon. The delicate and dry mid-palate tastes of leather, vanilla and tobacco. This bourbon lingers, finishing with hint of leather and toffee.
HISTORY LESSON
REVIEW
Eagle Rare is a brand that is now part of the Buffalo Trace portfolio, but has roots throughout Kentucky bourbon. It was originally produced by master distiller Charles L. Beam in 1975, grandnephew of Jim Beam himself, at what is today Four Roses Distillery. The young master distiller wanted to create a luxury bourbon aged 10 years, and as it happens, rumor has it that Seagrams wanted to create a 101 proof “bird themed” bourbon to compete directly with Wild Turkey. In fact, early advertisements for Eagle Rare featured the tagline “Carve the Turkey, Pour the Eagle.” And so, Eagle Rare was born.
In 1992, when the George T. Stagg distillery was sold, Eagle Rare was one of the brands bought and produced at the new Sazerac distillery. While Eagle Rare has been produced by Buffalo Trace since the 90s, it wasn’t until 2000 that the Eagle Rare 17 was released as part of the Antique Collection. It is interesting to note that while the original release of Eagle Rare carried the 101 proof, the Eagle Rare 17 was 90 proof. However, as of 2018, the Eagle Rare 17 release is now back to the original 101 proof bourbon.
REVIEW
Each Eagle Rare 17 yearly release varies slightly in age and since 2019, have changed to the now 101 proof, so no two bottles are identical, but the bourbon should exemplify:
NOSE: Well-aged oak leads into rich vanilla, brown sugar, some slight earthiness and that classic cherry and subtle citrus the Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 is known for.
SIP: The sip opens right where you would expect, sweet caramel over rich oak with hints of cherry. After the initial sweet notes, it waves in hints of darker fruits and closes in on some nice rye spice, pepper and even some of that earthiness. Overall the pour is perfectly harmonious with sweet and spice over light oak and dark fruit. It is truly well-aged, classic bourbon in every sense.
For an in-depth review of each Eagle Rare 17 release, see Reviews.
WHAT IS IT?
Eagle Rare 17 Year is the premium stock of Buffalo Trace mash #1, a traditional low-rye bourbon. It is bottled at the original 101 proof and aged a minimum of 17 years.
Eagle 17 is a part of the 5 bottle Fall release of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, better known as BTAC. While this is technically not a “brand” but a collection of different brands, the release is still widely regarded as a single compilation. In fact, the bottles within the release are so closely tied together even Buffalo Trace considers the collection a brand on their website.
More about Buffalo Trace Antique.
The initial release of the Antique Collection was in 2000 and Eagle Rare 17 was part of the original lineup. At that time, the idea was to offer up the best version of each of Buffalo Trace’s different mash bills in a special release. Eagle Rare 17 became the premium, well aged version of the famous mash #1. Originally it was bottled at 90 proof, but switched back to the original 101 proof in 2019.
With such a unique offering, it’s not surprising that among fans, there is a bitter debate as to which BTAC bottle is the best. Though you would not be crazy to say any one bottle is your favorite, among fans Eagle Rare 17 predominately comes out on top. Not surprising when you consider that it is not only the oldest bourbon in the lineup, but is one of the oldest traditional mash bourbons available on the market. This premium selection of well-aged bourbon creates a truly exceptional pour year after year.
IS IT HARD TO FIND?
Like panning for gold in a swimming pool… The distillery releases somewhere around 10-15,000 bottles, and with the hype around it, this is by far one of the hardest annually produced bourbons to land. If you are willing to pay crazy secondary prices, they are a little more assessable though not at all palatable on the wallet. Landing one at MSRP might be like winning a small lottery, and finding one at a reasonable markup isn’t much easier. This is a true unicorn that you will probably only get with a lot of money, patience, and/or a lot of luck at your local liquor store raffle. Remember it is a fall release, so often you will see them around Novemeber-January.
IS IT WORTH IT?
Worth the hype? Absolutely. Worth the MSRP? And more. Worth the ridiculous secondary prices? Maybe…
Like most of the BTAC releases, this is honestly one of my favorite pours, though that won’t be true for everyone. I’d still put this in the must try for any bourbon enthusiast, but a bottle might not be for everyone outside of MSRP. Seriously, at MSRP it’s a no brainer unless there’s a chance it’s a fake. Always remember if the price is too good to be true, it is.
For me when you start throwing out numbers over $1,000, it starts to sound crazy, but I might find myself succumbing to the temptation and paying some crazy number for Eagle 17, it’s that good to me. No not $1,700, but I could see myself negotiating from that price down to something more palatable with a multi-bottle deal. That said, I don’t think anything above $1,000 is truly “fair” for this bourbon, or any probably, but I understand why people pay it. A pour might be more realistic, for which anything around $100-$125 is definitely fair given the above market value of the bottle. If you balk at that number just remember, unless you live in Kentucky you probably aren’t walking into a bar in your area and seeing this on the shelf right? Supply & demand. If that’s not your budget or you don’t think that’s fair that is totally understandable and I respect that, everyone is different, but I’m not going to sugar coat it, you’re missing out.
More about worth here: Worth it?
IS IT FOR YOU?
Honestly, it’s hard to imagine who this is not for. This high corn, low rye, 101 proof well-aged bourbon just might be the exact definition of true “bourbon”. Subtle sweet notes in well balanced spice along with aged oak and a smooth finish. This bourbon is pretty much an all around crowd pleaser. It is important to note that going from the 90 proof to the 101 proof did increase the heat a little, but the only true differences are in the sweet notes become slightly more subtle and the overall flavor led by spice and aged oak became more robust.
While I can’t say that this bourbon would be anyone’s favorite pour, it’s safe to assume you should try it. Those who prefer more bold, in your face flavor found in higher proof might find this lacking, and those who like the more pronounced sweet and smoothness that a wheat bourbon can provide, might not love the aged oak and spice notes, but in either case this will still be very enjoyable. Honestly if you like bourbon, this one is for you.
RELEASES
| Release | Age | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 19y 3m | 2 |
| 2022 | 17y 5m | 6 |
| 2021 | 18y 6m | 5 |
| 2020 | 18y 3m | 5 |
| 2019 | 17y 3m | 7 |
| 2018 | 18y 4m | 3 |
| 2017 | 17y 3m | 4 |
| 2016 | 17y | NA |
| 2015 | 17y | NA |
| 2014 | 19y | NA |
| 2013 | 19y | 1 |
| 2012 | 19y 1m | NA |
| 2011 | 18y 7m | NA |
| 2010 | 17y 7m | NA |
| 2009 | 17y 4m | NA |
| 2008 | 17y | NA |
| 2007 | 19y | NA |
| 2006 | 18y | NA |
| 2005 | 17y | NA |
| 2004 | 17y | NA |
| 2003 | 17y | NA |
| 2002 | 17y | NA |
| 2001 | 17y | NA |
| 2000 | 17y | NA |