A little background

Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon is a highly anticipated release from the Buffalo trace Antique Collection. The 2020 release of Eagle Rare 17 Year Old was distilled in the spring of 2002 and released Fall 2020. Distillers Grade (#1 & #2) Kentucky Corn, Minnesota Rye, and North Dakota Distillers Malted Barley meld together for a unique mash bill.

This bourbon was aged for 18 years and 3 months at the time of bottling and spent it’s time on the 1st floor of Warehouse P aging in a new white oak barrels that had a #4 char. 2020 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old was bottled at 101 proof in tribute of the original Eagle Rare brand that was launched in 1974 and carries an MSRP of $99 USD.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn Glass)

Color

Copper

Nose

Candied oranges, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg. A classic bourbon nose.

Palate

Maple syrup, lemon citrus, cherries, pancake batter, Grand Marnier, chocolate graham cracker, and aged oak. Lots of oak!

Finish

Fresh pencil shavings, pine, dark fruits, spice, and continued oak from the palate.

In closing

The 2020 release of Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon is an overall complex whiskey that’s delicious and very easy to sip. There’s an abundant amount of aged oak, but that’s to be expected for a bourbon that’s spent the better half of two decades in a barrel. Eagle Rare 17 Year Old is a very unique whiskey that’s worth a try at the right price if the opportunity presents itself.