Buffalo Trace Distillery today announced the release of Eagle Rare 25.
At 25 years old, this marks the oldest expression released from the Eagle Rare portfolio.
Buffalo Trace Distillery has conducted thousands of experiments over the years to test a variety of factors impacting 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. Warehouse P was constructed to test if it was possible to extend favorably both the aging and maturation processes typical for American whiskey and bourbon, according to the distillery.
“Eagle Rare 25 defies the conventional limits of typical bourbon aging,” says Buffalo Trace Distillery 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.”
“We 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,” Wheatley adds.
Eagle Rare 25 has notes of cherry, oak, dark chocolate and an icing drizzle beginning on the nose, the company reports. The palate brings vanilla, dark fruit and butterscotch, followed by a finish with notes of rickhouse floor, baking spice and black pepper.
Eagle Rare 25 was bottled upon reaching its silver anniversary in the barrel, symbolized by the custom sterling silver wing hand-hammered to encase each hand-blown crystal decanter. Opening the custom display box reveals an eagle’s outstretched wings framing the 101-proof bourbon, which also contains an elegant glass eagle inside the bottle.
Approximately 200 750-ml. bottles of Eagle Rare 25 will roll out to select retailers, bars, and restaurants globally beginning November 2023 at a suggested retail price of $10,000 per 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.
Following Bourbon Hunting Season 2023? Other limited releases this fall include:
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