Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon

My Price: $31.95

Country/Area: USA/Kentucky

Distillery: Buffalo Trace

Proof/ABV: 90 Proof/ 45% ABV

Mash Bill: Undisclosed Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 (low rye mash)

Barrel: New American Oak

Age: 10 Years

Nose: Sweet Corn, Burn Orange and Grain

Taste: Brown sugar, Vanilla and light oak

Review:

I have to come clean here. I am biased. The whole idea of Top Shelf Backpacking where I take whiskies into the wild to drink and review is all because of Eagle Rare. It all started along the banks of the White River in Oregon just a half mile down stream from White River Falls State Park. Me and a good buddy were sitting riverside enjoying a glass of Eagle Rare and a cigar when a Bald Eagle landed in a tree just a few hundred feet away. That was when I realized I could “theme” my whiskies with my adventures. Now to the whiskey…

As many of you may know already Buffalo Trace Distillery makes many popular bourbons. At one point a few years ago it was almost always available on the shelves at my liquor stores in the Pacific Northwest. The most recent bottle I picked up took 5 attempts over the course of a month to finally track one down. For the $32 price tag in my area, I can see why. Eagle Rare is a nearly single barrel (it was once labeled single barrel but a change to the manufacturing process made it so some barrels had overlap) 10 year old low rye whiskey is a steal of a deal at that price. It is a bottle that I try not to finish before I have a back up on the shelf ready to pour for myself or guests. I’m afraid the days of infusing Eagle Rare with cherries and vanilla are over but a bottle will (hopefully) forever be on my shelf.

My Rating: Stock It!

It may take some searching but if you can find it, especially near retail prices, it is worth picking up a bottle or two.

May the miles you hike be filled with wonder and the glasses you raise be filled

Rating scale:

-Spit: Don’t bother with this one. If a friend gives you a dram of it, are they even your friend?

-Shoot: Good enough to get you drunk.

-Sip: Tasty enough to enjoy neat or on the rocks.

-Stock: I’d recommend keeping a bottle on hand.

Eagle Rare Infront of White River Falls in North Central Oregon