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Third up in my reviews of the 2017 BTAC collection is the Eagle Rare 17. The 10 year version is one of my favorite affordable bourbons ever though there was a bad batch of them recently and I did pick up a terrible bottle but that aside I love it and always have a bottle in.
I was therefore extremely excited about trying this. I have to say though it seems to be the least talked about of all the BTAC collection and I think that it has underwhelmed quite a few people. I guess because any of the collection are so hard to get hold of and often come with a heavy price tag a lot is expected of them.
About the Distillery
Back in the days of the Wild West, when pioneers and explorers opened new frontiers, some followed an old buffalo trail that led them to the Kentucky River’s banks. The town of Frankfort was born, the home of the Buffalo Trace Distillery, and destined to become Kentucky’s capital city.
Claiming to be the oldest operating distillery in the U.S., a fact attested to by the Guinness Book of Records, Buffalo Trace is still a family-owned business. The original distillery was built in 1812. In 1886, they installed America’s first climate-controlled warehouse dedicated to the aging of whisky.
The original distillery building was burnt to the ground in 1882. During recent renovations, its foundations were discovered and can now be seen by visitors touring the site.
Apart from its celebrated range of exceptional bourbons, Buffalo Trace is also famous for being allowed to remain operational during the era of Prohibition for medicinal purposes.
Anyway, without any further ado lets get down to it!
Whiskey Info
Distiller: Buffalo Trace
ABV: 45%
Proof: 90
Age: 17 Years
Release: 2017
Tasting Notes
Nose:
Cream crackers, shortbread, baking spices, ginger, burnt caramel, corn, icing sugar, nougat. Very interesting indeed.
Taste:
Burnt sugar, vanilla fudge, cherry, blueberries, some dark fruits but not as much as I usually get from the Eagle Rare 10, it’s understandably woodier. It has a nice crème brulee quality to it as well.
Finish:
Cream corn, syrup and oak with more warming crème brulee.
Summary
One of the things I love most about the eagle rare 10 is it is always very fruity with heavy dark fruits which you don’t get to anywhere near the same extent with this which is a shame, but it has a sweeter and woodier profile.
It’s a very enjoyable drop but for the price, you would have to pay to get hold of a bottle (even if you were lucky enough o get one at retail pricing) I think I would rather just get an Eagle Rare 10 and buy another bottle or 2 with the rest of the money. It just isn’t special enough for me and I would go for any of the other 2017 BTAC over this too.
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