Sips & Sites & Bites

Buffalo Trace just announced the release of Eagle Rare 25, their oldest expression released from the Eagle Rare portfolio. 

The rare juice is a result of Buffalo Trace’s multi-decade and $20-million-dollar-plus experimental program.

A statement from Buffalo Trace noted that the distillery has conducted thousands of experiments over the years to test a variety of factors affecting the aging and maturation of whiskey, including barrel char levels, temperature, airflow, light, barrel placement, and more. 

Eagle Rare 25 is the first release from Warehouse P, one of Buffalo Trace Distillery’s two experimental warehouses. A purpose-built, state-of-the-art warehouse, they use Warehouse P to test if it’s possible to extend favorably both the aging and maturation processes typical for American whiskey and bourbon.  

“Eagle Rare 25 defies the conventional limits of typical bourbon aging,” said Buffalo Trace Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley. “When crafting whiskey in conditions like those we experience in Kentucky, two reactions happen over time: more liquid is lost due to evaporation, also known as angel’s share, and extraction of flavors from the barrel becomes more intense, often leading older whiskeys to taste over-oaked, astringent, and dry. The unique set of aging conditions in Warehouse P has allowed us to create a 25-year-old bourbon that smooths out the extractions and highlights the desirable flavors found in ultra-aged American whiskey products.”

He said they closely monitored Eagle Rare 25 throughout the aging process and discovered that the impact over time due to controlled, extended aging was optimally-mature whiskey. “By that, I mean whiskey that is uniquely smooth and complex with deep, mature flavors around every corner. Eagle Rare 25 is unlike any other extra-aged bourbon on the market today. We are quite proud of this bourbon.”

Eagle Rare 25’s distiller’s notes show that it has intense aromas of cherry, oak, dark chocolate, and an icing drizzle on the nose. The palate is a balance of vanilla, dark fruit, and butterscotch, followed by an extremely long finish with lingering notes of rickhouse floor, baking spice, and black pepper.

Eagle Rare 25’s presentation features the custom sterling silver wing hand-hammered to encase each hand-blown crystal decanter. The custom display box shows an eagle’s outstretched wings framing the 101-proof bourbon, which also contains a glass eagle inside the bottle. 

Buffalo Trace made about 200, 750ml bottles of Eagle Rare 25 which will be released to select retailers, bars, and restaurants globally starting in November. It has a suggested retail price of $10,000 a bottle. The expression joins the Eagle Rare lineup of Eagle Rare, Double Eagle Very Rare, and Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old, released each fall as part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.

For more information, check out https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/our-brands/eagle-rare/eagle-rare-25.html.