Since I started with the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection’s Thomas Handy release (ol’ Tom being the founder of Buffalo Trace’s parent company Sazerac), it seems only fitting (if not a little confusing) to end with the Sazerac 18 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, seeing as it was the Sazerac brand of cognac that got Thomas Handy into this mess in the first place. It’s also fitting that I end with my favorite of the series, though it’s certainly hard to pick a favorite from a group of such incredible whiskies. Since I’ve rattled on about Sazerac in previous posts, I might as well rattle on here a little about the Antique Collection in general. I hope I’ve made it fairly clear in the previous posts that I think it’s a pretty damn high quality group of whiskies…and pretty much has been since the Antique Collection was first rolled out in 2002. It’s arguably one of the most anticipated and sought-after whisk(e)y releases of the year and increasingly harder and harder to lay hands on any of the bottles. Like I said, not an easy task to pick a favorite from this bunch, they’re all excellent examples of the style they represent and, as a nice bonus, they all look incredible in the bottle and the glass.

The Sazerac 18 Year Old was my favorite for its complexity, its structure, and its refinement. I enjoyed the Stagg and Weller immensely, their straight-from-the-cask intensity it not to be missed, but in the end, this one won me over. Created from a mashbill of Minnesota rye, Kentucky corn, and North Dakota malted barley, this was aged for, you guessed it, 18 years and bottled from a selection of 28 barrels.

The Nose:  Oh man…a rich, sweet, engrossingly complex nose with orange blossom honey, deep cinnamon, butterscotch, and warm soft rye bread. There’s a bit of that pickling spice earthiness I seem to get with rye whiskies, but it’s mellowed here by the wood, washed with spice and honey. There are nice secondary notes of vanilla crème brûlée  (especially the burnt sugar top) and old worn leather.

The Palate:  Much less sweet than the nose implies, the burnt toffee notes from the nose carry over with more toasted rye bread and a bit of orange pith. A terrific, powerful swell of woody spice quickly rolls in, bringing out more herbaceous, almost mint-like notes from the rye along with cinnamon stick, white peppercorns, rough clove, and strong, balanced, near perfect notes of tannic, leathery, charred oak.

The Finish:  A wonderfully warm finish of charred oak, rye spice and white pepper. That powerful swell from the palate recedes here with almost perfect balance.

Thoughts:  A truly fantastic whiskey, I found the 2011 Sazerac 18 Year Old to be just stunning. That rich, really aromatic nose filled up the room almost like a peaty Scotch and the palate is challenging and luxurious all at the same time. This is a heady combination of intense, bold flavors and mature complexity that deserves contemplation. Pretty much a masterpiece of American whisky making. Highly, highly recommended.

Sazerac 18 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, 2011 Buffalo trace Antique Collection

45% ABV

Score:  92

The name Weller is as intertwined and as important a name as you will find in the history of American whiskey. Daniel Weller was operating a still near Bardstown, KY as early as 1800. His son Samuel followed in his father’s footsteps, and his son, William LaRue Weller started making and selling whiskey in 1849. W.L.Weller is generally credited for being the father of wheated whisky, that is, substituting wheat for rye in the mashbill, and was a strong proponent of aging whisky for longer periods of time. He was both a salesman and an educator, and whiskey with his name on it was always of reliably high quality. Weller’s company was eventually purchased by Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle under whose guidance the relationship with the Stitzel Brothers and their distillery began. After weathering the doldrums of Prohibition, the Stitzel-Weller Distillery officially opened in 1935. Today, the Weller name lives on with the brand being owned by Buffalo Trace. Their range includes the 90 proof W.L. Weller Special Reserve, the 107 proof “Antique”, the 12 Year Old, and this eponymous release which is part of Buffalo Trace’s Antique Collection.

The 2011 William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon was distilled from a mashbill of Kentucky corn, North Dakota wheat, and North Dakota malted barley and matured in new American oak (of course) for 12 years and 11 months. It was bottled un-cut and un-filtered from a selection of 45 barrels.

The Nose:  A stunning nose with upfront notes of chocolate covered cherries and strawberries, stewed raisins or even prunes, and believe it or not, coffee beans. A dry, crisp, stone-ground wheat cracker note emerges more as it opens up along with well-toasted walnuts and almonds. Subtler hints of unsweetened cocoa, worn leather, and polished oak balance things out nicely. Water brings out more char notes in the form of burnt popcorn, thin coffee, and a more earthy quality, quieting the fruit a bit and providing an antecedent to the herbaceous notes I found in the palate.

The Palate:  This is mighty powerful stuff but surprisingly smooth at strength and almost mind-blowingly complex. Spirit-y fruit, cherry pie cherries, burnt sugar, burnt toast, a bit of coffee, dark unsweetened chocolate… and rich chocolate fudge all swirl around before a coarse vanilla bean-tinged swell of oak moves in with big, dusty tannins, clove and a faint green herb-y (no, not that kind, you dirty hippy) quality. Water makes this just terrific, coaxing out much more of that wheat cracker graininess and a bit of burnt popcorn while holding on to everything else except those big dusty tannins which are reigned in a bit.

The Finish:  Without water, the finish is a high-octane rush of rich unsweetened chocolate, burnt toast and fermented fruit. With water, the finish retains that slightly sweet but burnt quality and loses a bit of the spirity fruit.

Thoughts:  My god, this one nearly left me speechless, party because of the high alcohol (it accidentally set the curtains on fire which I didn’t notice for almost 2 minutes, so entranced was I by the stuff) and partly because of how damn good it is. At strength, barrel sediment and all, this will slap you around the room and you will like it. The nose is incredibly intriguing and well-balanced, segueing perfectly into a palate that despite it’s nearly overwhelming strength still manages to be hugely complex and impressive. To really sit and enjoy this, I do think it requires a good bit of water (though I think I almost prefer the nose neat). Water does nothing to lessen the complexity, adding deeper notes of the wheated mashbill and generally making it more safe for human consumption. The bottom of my Glencairn glass is layered with fine barrel char and I’m left shaking my head over this beauty. Highly, highly recommended.

William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 2011 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

66.75% ABV

Score:  92

*Thank you very much to AP and Buffalo Trace for the samples!

Let me just point out right away that, although it might be a good one, the name George T. Stagg is not that of porn star. No, George T. Stagg was successful whiskey salesman who, in 1870, helped E.H. Taylor purchase a distillery originally built in 1812 by one Harrison Blanton. They named the distillery “O.F.C.” after its original name, “Old Fire Copper” and proceed to make a number of significant improvements until 1878 when Stagg bought out his partners share. The distillery was re-named the George T. Stagg distillery in 1904 and ultimately was re-named the Buffalo Trace Distillery in 1999.

First appearing in 2002, the George T. Stagg releases have always been un-cut, unfiltered, straight-from-the-barrel releases, renowned for their exceptionally high quality, not to mention their exceptionally high alcohol content. Along with the strikingly high proof (142.6), another incredible stat about this whisky is the amount lost to evaporation over the years, nearly 58%. After maturing in new American Oak for 18 years and 5 months, the 2011 version was pulled from 124 barrels to make up arguably the most well-known and revered expression of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.

The Nose:  An unmistakably “Bourbon” nose, this could almost be the baseline standard for all of Bourbon-hood…though the rest of Bourbon-hood doesn’t have this much menacing strength lurking behind it. Butterscotch and vanilla, fried bananas and buttered popcorn, cola and bright cinnamon, roasted salted nuts and a light dusting of cocoa powder. The mashbill is nicely laid out with hints of corn oil and faintly pickled rye spice while smooth worn leather and polished oak show off the years in barrel. A nice bit of water brought out more cocoa and even a bit of coffee. It just softened and smoothed out everything, losing none of its complexity.

The Palate:  ***Cough***…gasp…”Wow”. A juicy, cherry cola sweetness opens with a wave of candied nuts and cocoa powder heralding the fast moving wallop of the terrifyingly (not really, but kind of) high alcohol content. Deep, spicy wood notes move in, earthy vanilla, cinnamon and clove, with big, dusty, drying tannins that threaten to overwhelm the proceedings but stop just short, allowing the early sweetness to shine through. Water is definitely needed, the high ABV is a fun experience to be sure, but the palate really benefits from a little H20. Again, without losing any of its complexity, water takes some of the edges off, calms things down, and just broadens and deepens the whole experience.

The Finish:  Still juicy and yet still very tannic. Loads of cinnamon and orange spice linger with dusty, slightly charred traces of the oak dwindling away. Just a touch of mint towards the end.

Thoughts:  A tremendous whiskey. My expectations were sky-high for this one based on its reputation over the years and they were met, though not in a way I…expected. So many of the flavors were ones I usually associate with bourbon that it’s really not a distinctive flavor profile that makes it great. Instead it’s the assembly of these flavors, the progression, the way it showcases the ingredients, from the mashbill to the barrel, that sets it apart. Tasting it raw, un-filtered, and full strength is certainly impressive, but adding water really makes it shine, expertly revealing all the ingredients more slowly and with more depth. George T. Stagg is not an experience to be missed in the whiskey world. Highly, highly recommended.

George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 2011 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

71.3 % ABV…SEVENTY-ONE POINT THREE PERCENT ALCOHOL BY VOLUME for god’s sake. sheeeesh.

Score:  91

The Eagle Rare brand was originally owned by Seagram’s and made its first appearance in 1975. It was created by Charles L. Beam and was sold as a 10 year old, 101 proof  straight bourbon. Sazerac bought the brand in 1989 and in 2005, discontinued the 101 proof 10 year old, leaving the 90 proof, 10 year old single barrel and this one, the Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Bourbon, which is part of Buffalo Traces’ Antique Collection.

It may surprise you to learn that this edition of the Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Bourbon is actually 18 years and 7 months old. There are two possible explanations for this: 1) Buffalo Trace has figured out a way, perhaps via some kind of time portal in warehouse I or K, to shorten the length of a day by 8.5% thereby increasing the maturation time, or probably more likely, 2) it is up to the distiller to choose the best selection of barrels and though this expression will always be at least 17 years old, it will often be older due to the distillers discretion.  The 2011 version was distilled in Spring of 1993 and was bottled from a selection of 24 barrels. It will sadden you to learn that nearly 53% of the original spirit was lost to evaporation. Those damn angels are a greedy and thirsty bunch.

The Nose:  A warm, rich, fairly stirring nose full of sweet creamed corn, maraschino cherries, butterscotch, French vanilla ice cream and a bit of maple syrup over banana pancakes…yeah, I said it. There’s certainly a lot of wood present here as you might expect but it’s very well-integrated, it just lends a crisp slightly earthy, almost cedar-y edge to aforementioned sweeter notes. There’s also a nice, welcome, subtle copper penny tinge that hovers in the background over everything.

The Palate:  A thinner than expected entry has more rye bite than the nose would lead you to believe. That rye, along with corn oil and Bing cherry notes is steadily subsumed by a wallop of wood and spice that is neither bullying or overwhelming, but quite insistent and bold. Tannic and peppery, without much sweetness, there’s bitter citrus pith, clove and cinnamon, but they play second fiddle to the cut-wood earthiness that grows towards the finish.

The Finish:  A nice swell of that vanilla-tinged cut wood from the palate with subtle hints of leather, barrel char, and burnt popcorn.

Thoughts:  I was initially very taken with the nose which balances those rich, sweeter notes against the greener wood notes really well. The palate didn’t quite live up to the nose’s rich, sweet promise, choosing instead to act a little rougher and leaner. This is an excellent, delicious, extremely drinkable older bourbon, the long years in wood are well-balanced and well-integrated throughout but for me, there’s just something lacking in the palate that keeps it from being truly fantastic. Definitely worth a try, though.

Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Bourbon, 2011 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

45% ABV

Score: 86