It’s that time of year again. The magical time where Football and Hockey are back, the weather starts to change, and Buffalo Trace Distillery releases their Antique Collection. This is a big event for whiskey enthusiasts across the world, so let’s see what they are putting out this year!
- The William Larue Weller is the lone wheated bourbon recipe on the Antique Collection. Distilled in 2006, and aged for 12 years and 6 months in 53 gallon American oak with a #4 char barrels. The whiskey was aged in rackhouses C, I, K, L, M, and Q. The Weller is unfiltered and selected from 149 hand picked barrels, then bottled at 125.7 proof. Buffalo Traces tasting notes are “Dried fruit, fig, and caramelized vanilla.” In the barrels, buffalo trace showed that 56.9% of the original whiskey was lost to evaporation, also known as Angel’s Share.
- Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye was distilled in 2012, and aged for 6 years and 4 months in Rackhouse I and L using a #4 char again. Only 73 barrels were selected for the Handy this year, and 25.5% of the original whiskey was lost to Angel’s Share. The Handy comes in at 128.8 Proof, and is also unfiltered. Buffalo Trace’s tasting notes are “Allspice, teaberry, and clove.”
- The George T. Stagg is Buffalo Trace’s Unfiltered and Uncut Bourbon, coming in at 124.9 proof this year. It was distilled in 2003, and aged for 15 years and 4 months in #4 charred barrels. The Stagg spent its time aging in warehouses C, H, I, K, P, and Q. 51.15% of the original whisky was lost to Angel’s Share. This year, the Stagg is comprised of 284 hand selected barrels, and has tasting notes of “dark chocolate, espresso, and tobacco.”
- The Eagle Rare 17 has gone back up in proof to 101, from the 90 proof it was bottled at last year. This year’s Eagle Rare was distilled in 2000, and aged for 18 years and 4 months in rack house C. The Eagle Rare’s barrels are also new white American oak with a #4 char. Only 45 Barrels were selected, by taste, for the Eagle Rare release this year, and 89.5% of the original whiskey was lost to the Angel’s Share for this release. Notes of “Toasted Oak, coffee, spearmint, and butterscotch” are how Buffalo Trace describes the flavors on this release.
- Last but of course not least, the Sazerac 18 comes in this year at 90 proof, and is even more limited of a release with only 24 handpicked barrels comprising this years release. Distilled in 1998, the Sazerac 18 was 18 years old when it was bottled. It was aged in #4 Char American oak barrels in warehouse K, and the Sazerac is also Chill Filtered. Buffalo Trace has notes of “Dark Chocolate, Tobacco, and Cinnamon” for this years release.
The Antique Collection continues to win accolades, such as 2018’s Best Rye over 11 years old (Sazerac 18) and 2018’s best Rye without an Age Statement (Thomas H. Handy) from Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible. They also took home multiple awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, with Double Golds for the Stagg and William Larue Weller, and Bronze for the Eagle Rare 17.
These whiskeys are always difficult to come by, so if you do manage to snag a bottle, let us know what your thoughts were!
