Eagle Rare 10 Years

Michel Texier

▶CLASSIFICATION: Straight Bourbon

▶COMPANY: Sazerac Company Inc.

▶DISTILLERY: Buffalo Trace

▶ABV: 45% (90 proof)

▶AGE: 10 years

▶MASHBILL: Unknown (developed from Buffalo Trace’s mashbill #1)

▶COLOR: Deep Gold, with slight red undertones when held to the light

Eagle Rare uses Buffalo Trace’s Mashbill #1, known to be a “low rye” consisting of 10% or less rye. Eagle Rare recently underwent a label redesign, moving the 10-year age statement from the bottle neck to the back. They also completely removed the single barrel statement from the bottle. Buffalo Trace stated that due to the change from a manual bottling line to a high-speed automated line, they can no longer use the single barrel statement. This is because a bottle could technically contain bourbon from two different barrels when the line switches from one barrel to another.

NOSE: Eagle Rare 10 Year Single Barrel has a subtle but very pleasing nose. Initially, clear aromas of orange peel and citrus mixed with aged oak are perceived. With more time on the nose, toasted sugar and honey aromas are appreciated. It’s not the most complex nose, but instead, it’s very easy to describe. It’s an excellent choice for someone looking for a product with a consistent nose profile where they’ll recognize elements that have been with them all along.

PALATE: On the palate, it is delicately sweet without being cloying. Initial notes of honey, toasted brown sugar, new oak, and light traces of white pepper are present. While it’s not deep, it’s very tasty and is the perfect choice for someone who isn’t accustomed to drinking bourbon to start in this vast world. It’s an easyto-drink product, with a wide range of pairings, making it very easy to return to, the difficult part is trying to conserve some liquid in the bottle.

FINISH: The finish continues the trend of sweetness found on the nose and palate. Medium in length, the predominant notes are bubblegum, caramel, and honey. Light traces of vanilla and dry leather complete the finish. Hard to forget, it’s a bourbon that I would easily place among the top 10 must-try whiskies in any bar.

COMMENTS: The market for Single Barrel Aged is slowly shrinking and Eagle Rare presents a great opportunity to dive into this world at a fair price. With a sweet and subtle profile, it’s very much in line with other Single Barrels like Four Roses and Colonel E.H.Taylor. What makes Eagle Rare 10 more appealing is the fact that it is one of the single barrels with declared age produced in higher volume in the market. It’s worth noting that at any time, Buffalo Trace could decide to move this designation to a small-batch brand, as the single barrel language has been removed from the new bottles being produced.