This is the 2016 edition of Eagle Rare 17 Year, released that autumn in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Unlike the barrel-strength bottles in the set, it was reduced to 90 proof, which lets seventeen years of oak come through in a gentler way.
About This Bourbon
The 2016 batch was distilled in spring 1999 from Mash Bill #1, using Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye and North Dakota malted barley. It went into new #4 char oak from Independent Stave at 125 proof and aged on the first to third floors of Warehouses H and K, where the temperature swings less. After seventeen years, 66.1% of the original whiskey had evaporated. Thirty-two barrels were chosen, chill filtered and brought down to 90 proof. From 2018 the release moved up to 101 proof, so this bottle belongs to the older, lower-strength style.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Almost wine-like, with almond, cedar cigar box and cinnamon.
- Palate: Dry and delicate, with vanilla, leather and dried tobacco.
- Finish: Long, returning to toffee and soft leather.
Serving & Food
Keep it for a quiet evening: pour a modest measure into a crystal tulip, leave it ten minutes, then sip. No ice. Match it with rosemary roast lamb, Ibérico ham or a date and walnut cake.
How to Enjoy
Collectors building a run of Antique Collection years, and seasoned drinkers who like mature bourbon at a softer strength.
Product Details
Producer / Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery
Expression: Eagle Rare 17 Year
Style: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
Age: 17 years old
Distilled: Spring 1999
Mash Bill: Mash Bill #1
Warehouses: H and K, floors 1 to 3
Barrels: 32
Filtration: Chill filtered
ABV: 90 proof / 45% ABV
Volume: 750mL
Release detail: Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, 2016
Origin: USA
Region: Kentucky
About the Distillery
The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection has been released every autumn for more than two decades and gathers the distillery's older and stronger whiskeys: George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac, Sazerac 18 and Eagle Rare 17, joined in 2025 by an E.H. Taylor bottled-in-bond. The collection began in 2000, and it marked its 25th year by adding a sixth whiskey. Eagle Rare 17 has been part of the set from the first release; by 2025 it was being bottled at 101 proof after more than 18 years in wood.