There are few whiskey releases annually extra expected than the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection — or “BTAC” in case you’re all cool about it. The last 12 months’ assortment stirred some critical controversy and about 1,000,000 hours of subject material for whiskey podcasts, due to the loss of some of the greats being absent, George T. Stagg Bourbon. Well, Stagg is again within the combine this 12 months and it has the next ABV than ever.
Buffalo Trace Antique Collection
Yes, buddies, it’s time to check the 2022 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.
A phrase of very critical caution first. Each of those bottles is marked for retail at the low-low value of $99. Cards at the desk, it’ll be a miracle if you’ll to find them for that value outdoor of an area state ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) lottery. Generally talking, those bottles hit retail cabinets at costs at least about ten occasions the prompt retail value and as much as $5k and perhaps past. It’s dire in the market.
That’s roughly a tragedy as neatly, as those whiskeys reside as much as the hype. Moreover, there’s one thing for everybody in this 12 months’ Collection. There’s a near-Hazmat bourbon that’ll fulfill the barrel-proof snobs. There’s additionally a cool and contemporary rye whiskey with large evidence, a smaller however older rye with overly obtainable evidence, and two bourbons which can be simply freakin’ quintessential.
I used to be fortunate sufficient to get those bottles early, so I’ll come up with my skilled opinion on the nostril and style. I’ll additionally rank those consistent with which of them I believe you will have to run out and check out presently. Hopefully, your favorite native whiskey bar gets a few of those bottles so you’ll do exactly that. Otherwise, in case you’re taking a look to shop for those elite whiskeys, I want you the most productive of good fortune for your odyssey.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
5. Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye Whiskey
ABV: 65.45%
MSRP:$99
The Whiskey:
This 12 months Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye was once distilled again within the spring of 2016 with a mixture of Minnesota rye, Kentucky corn, and North Dakota malted barley with probably the most iconic Kentucky limestone water. The scorching juice went into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char degree (55 seconds). Those barrels had been racked in warehouses I, L, and M on flooring 2, 4, 5, and six. After six years and 4 months, 31% of the whiskey was once misplaced to the angel’s percentage before those barrels having been batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
That top evidence comes via at the nostril with a touch of orange marmalade after buttery southern biscuits, a touch of outdated saddle leather-based, superstar anise-heavy mulled wine with a whisper of cranberry, lemon meringue pie (or perhaps Key Lime), and a flourish of dried plant life that edges on potpourri. The palate leans into the orange with a candied orange peel word layered right into a spiced wintry weather cake layered with darkish chocolate ganache, Saigon cinnamon powder, and peanut brittle. The finish has a woody floral highly spiced vibe roughly like a host of dried pine, roses, dried orange wheels, and cinnamon sticks wrapped up with outdated wire and dipped in a chocolate sauce with extra dried rose to linger in the back of it.
Bottom Line:
This is a hell of a whiskey that merely doesn’t rock my international. I will be able to get in the back of the floral notes on this one. That stated I will be able to see why other people line up for this as that taste profile is so distinct and distinctive. To every their very own.
4. George T. Stagg Bourbon
ABV: 69.35%
MSRP:$99
The Whiskey:
This 12 months go back of the Stagg is hewn from whiskey distilled the entire long ago in 2007 with Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye, and North Dakota barley. The juice was once crammed into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char degree (55 seconds). Those barrels had been then saved within the famed Warehouse Ok at the first and 5th flooring over 15 years, through which 75% of the liquid was once misplaced to the angels. Finally, the barrels had been batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
This whiskey is scorching. Your nostril is met with buttery pecan waffles loaded with darkish salted chocolate chips and dripping with maple syrup that feels dear after darkly roasted coffee beans, singed vanilla husks, and dried bitter cherries after a medley of vacation spices. The palate leans into the one’s spices with a transparent sense of sharp cinnamon, outdated clove buds, allspice berries, and full nutmeg bulbs after a touch of superstar anise and perhaps some cardamom before that darkly roasted espresso jumps again in with a deeply stewed cherry in a depressing treacle syrup before the ABVs buzz exhausting at the mid-palate. The finish amps up the woodiness with the spices and provides in a way of outdated cedar bark, darkish chocolate nibs, and a cherry-tobacco buzziness.
Bottom Line:
This wanted a rock. There’s so much to plumb from the depths of this one, however, you’re simply now not going to do this neat. On this checklist, I’m on the lookout for perfection as-is and this wishes a bit of massaging to search out that highest second.
All of that stated this can be a large, smack-you-in-the-face, water-bucket-to-the-head-while-sleeping, take-no-prisoners whiskey. You simply need to get previous the ones ABVs to search out the hidden gem hiding in the back of that evidence.
3. William Larue Weller Bourbon
ABV: 62.35%
MSRP:$99
The Whiskey:
Distilled again within the spring of 2010, this whiskey was once made with a mixture of Kentucky corn and wheat, and barley from North Dakota with that Kentucky limestone water. The distillate was once crammed into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char degree (55 seconds) and saved in warehouses C, Ok, and N on flooring 2, 3, and four for 12 lengthy years. During that point, 64% of the whiskey was once misplaced to hungry angels. Those barrels had been then batched and this whiskey was once bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
The nostril in this one is unusually candy with a large slice of coconut cream pie (with a lard crust) subsequent on your grandma’s butterscotch chocolates directly from an outdated leather-based purse that’s held menthol cigarettes for many years and perhaps some outdated Mon Cheri bonbons. The palate opens with a lush eggnog stuffed with nutmeg, allspice, and vanilla that ends up in a white pound cake with a touch of poppy seed after outdated leather-based tobacco pouches with a scorching cinnamon spiciness at the mid-palate with a mild cedar woodiness. The finish layers that white cake into the tobacco whereas packing all of it into an outdated leather-based purse with whispers of mint chocolate chip, Halloween-sized Mounds bars, and outdated garden furnishings that’s been omitted too many seasons.
Bottom Line:
Look, those best 3 are principally tied for the first position. Going microscopic to check out and rank those, I subsidized away a tad from the mid-palate warmth in this one. It wasn’t overpowering but it surely didn’t supply as easy an enjoyment as the following two. But once more, that’s me achieving exhausting for one thing to pick out.
2. Sazerac Rye 18-Year-Old Whiskey
ABV: 45%
MSRP:$99
The Whiskey:
This whiskey began its adventure again in 2003 and 2004 when the unique juice was once distilled with Minnesota rye, Kentucky corn, and North Dakota barley. The scorching juice was once loaded into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char degree (55 seconds) and left to leisure in warehouses Ok, M, and P on the second one, 3rd, and fourth flooring. Overly just about 20 years, a mean of 74% of the juice was once misplaced to the angels before proofing and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
This one opens with a pile of candied and burnt orange peels after a wealthy lemon bread with quite a lot of wealthy vanilla and poppy after candy layers of molasses, outdated leather-based tobacco pouches, and an outdated set of garden furnishings that’s spent an excessive amount of time below and an outdated oak tree. The palate swells with a deep molasses sweetness after a splash of freshly cracked black pepper countered using musty cumin, dried purple chili pepper flakes, and a whisper of unpolluted bay leaf that ends up in singed wild sage, rye bread crusts lined in coriander seeds, and a marginally of maple syrup minimize butter with a touch of cinnamon. The finish slowly descends right into a creamy mint chocolate chip tobacco vibe after flaked cherry bark in a position for a smoker and outdated oak leaves resting in useless sweetgrass.
Bottom Line:
This is simply extraordinary. It’s so vintage rye that is going above and past at the taste profile to take you on a real sensory adventure. This may be probably the most obtainable sip that feels just about the highest poured neat. It beckons you again for extra to dig deeper into the flavor profile’s depths.
I will be able to’t wait to make a Manhattan with this.
1. Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Bourbon
ABV: 50.5%
MSRP:$99
The Whiskey:
Back in the spring of 2005, a humble bourbon was once made with Kentucky distiller’s corn, Minnesota rye, and North Dakota barley. That scorching juice was once then crammed into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char degree (55 seconds) and stacked in Buffalo Trace’s warehouses H, Ok, and L on flooring one and 4. It was once left on my own for 17 years, which allowed 70% of the juice to be misplaced to the angels. In 2022, the barrels had been batched and the whiskey was once proofed right down to 101 evidence, and this whiskey was once bottled in a different way as-is.
Tasting Notes:
The nostril subtly attracts you in with comfortable pipe tobacco that feels contemporary and colorful after dried bitter cherries dipped in salted darkish chocolate and rolled in vanilla seeds and vanilla-laced streusel with a just-right dose of woody maple syrup with this fleeting trace of purple brick, moldy cellar beams, and comfortable and sandy cellar dust flooring. Old maple timber dripping with sap results in a wealthy salted caramel sweet vibe after wealthy vanilla pound cake crowned with a creamy darkish chocolate frosting and bespeckled with orange zest, dried cranberry bits, and beaten coffee beans. The mid-palate takes on a woody spiciness with a whisper of apple bark that informs a spiced Christmas cake stuffed with comfortable cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, mace, and perhaps some anise and dried darkish culmination with creamy eggnog baseline after outdated Whether’s Originals wrapped up in dry tobacco leaves and stacked in a musty pine field for safekeeping.
Bottom Line:
This is an ideal bourbon.
