Hands down my favorite bourbon. That said, I do have others..lol...Stagg is amazing. But Eagle Rare is so easy to drink. It's got everything a bourbon is supposed to have. I also love EH taylor and blantons. One of my non Buffalo Trace products is Wild Turkey Rear breed. Henry McKenna 10 yr.
Good Review! I picked up a bottle in MA back in the fall for 30 bucks. The last one on the shelf, the gas station/liquor store attendant had no idea what it was. I was grinning ear to ear!
Love me some Eagle Rare, overhyped...maybe, but worth every single penny of the MRSP pricing, even up to $50-$60, for me anyways. I do not often hunt for whiskey, pure luck of the draw most times, but throughout 2022 I was lucky to find it on 3 different visits to stores, just sitting right on the shelf. But it does have some competition because for price and availability nothing beats Russell's 10, but I like ER better. A higher price tag could easily be justified when there are other age stated bottles at much higher prices like: Tin Cup 10 (84 proof @ $50-$55); Widow Jane 10 (91 proof @ $75); Widow Jane 10 anniversary (100 proof @ $100); Heaven Door 10 (100 proof @ $75); Bib & Tucker 10 (92 proof @ $90), New Calumet 10 (100 proof @ $70), so anyways..... my point is Eagle Rare is worth it. Cheers!! Glad you got it!
I agree! I put that $60 price out there because I think it's worth up to that at this point. 10 year bourbon is hard to come by these day for sure. It's a great point about where this is priced compared to so many other bottled coming out. I'm super happy to have it and probably going to do a comparison to Henry Mckenna and RR10 soon. Cheers!
Yes it is! I love EH Taylor Single Barrel, but this surpasses EHT in my book! I got 2 bottles of ER for $50 each in GA where EHT IF you can find it is min $200 per bottle. I'm not paying that. ER is just as good if not better!
Great review and spot on with the tasting notes - lots of rich oaky and cherry notes for me too. Here in the UK, I've just managed to pick up a bottle for £32 ($40) making it one of very few bourbons that seems much better value here than in the States.
One of my favorite summertime pours. 10 years ago, this was one of my go to daily sippers. I just scored a couple bottles this week. Should hold me over all summer. A great pour at MSRP. Very accessible for beginners but enough complexity to satisfy seasoned vets. Not worthy of all the hype though. Totally agree on the finish, but that's to be expected from a 90 proofer.
Great summer sipper for sure! Glad you got some to stock up with. And I really can't complain about the finish, but man would I like to taste this at a higher proof just to satisfy my curiosity. Cheers!
I still enjoy Eagle Rare. It was one of the first bottles I had that got me hooked on bourbon. I introduced it to a non-bourbon drinker at a business meeting this week and he really liked it. may have turned him into a bourbon drinker. I think it is great for price when you can find. Thanks for sharing. cheers. 🥃
I somehow manage to find a bottle (at regular retail price) just often enough to serve it to friends that are fans of Eagle Rare. It’s certainly not on my list of top ten, or even my top 5 of ten-year age-stated bourbons. But definitely a high value for $30, of you find it for thst.
This was the first bourbon I tried in my journey. Have not seen a bottle at a decent price since trying it years ago. Still looking for one at retail….
Dang, heck of a first bourbon to try. Makes sense though since it's a great profile for beginners. Sorry you haven't been able to track one down at retail in years. Guess that's the state of things now. Plenty of other great options to explore though. Cheers!
I can get it for 34.99 in my area, and there’s a store that has it for 149. MSRP you can’t really beat it. Not worth spending too much extra for but I always grab a few bottles when I can find it for a good price.
Nice! Glad you can get it for MSRP. It's awesome for that price. And man...149 is crazy. What a time to be into bourbon. Thanks for watching and cheers!
Great video! Thanks for sharing. I enjoy Eagle Rare, as well, and I agree on the up to $60. Curious…you referenced barrel characteristics…how would you suggest learning those notes? How did you learn to pick up on those? Thanks!
Thanks! Tasting notes are always subjective of course, but I've found it helpful to basically compare a lot of bourbons. I also got a "Nose Your Bourbon" kit as a present that's helped me identify common scents. You can basically just do that by smelling different spices and sugars in your kitchen too. Picking up on barrel notes for me usually means recognizing some wood/oak and narrowing in on if it is more in the dry category or the sugary category. Most of my ability to pick this up comes from comparing a bunch of bourbons and ryes on a spectrum. It probably helps that I enjoy most kinds of food so I've always been willing to try new flavors.
Totally agree it matches the summer vibes. Super easy sipper. I get that grape on it too. I'll be sipping on it this summer for sure (if it lasts that long lol). Cheers!
Hopefully the recent changes at Buffalo Trace will lead to more bottles of Eagle Rare (and others) on the shelves. This is a great whiskey at or near MSRP, but not at $100 or more.
Agreed. I'd even pay $50-60 at this point since it's an older age statement. But here's hoping the expansion at BT means more bottles for all of us. Cheers!
BTW, the "almost-single-barrel" rumor was put to rest yesterday by the Bourbon Junkies who asked someone at Buffalo Trace while there for a barrel selection how they bottle Eagle Rare, and they said they stop at about 100 barrels when batching. The "essentially-single-barrel" rumor has long been a wiggle-room explanation that I think the more skeptical of us knew was less than truthful.
I always feel a bit sad (and even slightly guilty) when I hear about how difficult it is for people in some States to get a whiskey I could pick up off the shelf in two (or sometimes three) local supermarkets or order from Amazon for £35 with free delivery... (I actually got my bottle from a specialist bricks & mortar whisky shop for £34.98.) I did once get the chance to taste the 101 proof version in the old stumpy bottle, but it was at the end of a tasting, so my recollection is not what it might be. Would I be right in thinking that was from the Old Prentice Distillery? Very nice, but pricey at auction.
Dang, yeah it's aways interesting how different it is internationally for whiskey. The fact that we can't get things online (except in a few cases) is frustrating. But the laws here are slowly changing over time, so maybe it will change in the near future. I think you are right about that Old Prentice Distillery callout. I just looked it up and it is indeed quite pricey. Glad you got to taste it, even at the end of the lineup. Cheers man!
I've only see ER in a store once and they wanted $150 for it. Pass! Tried it in a bar last November and honestly, I don't understand the hype. I find Russell's Reserve 10 year to be better and it's availability is a big plus.
Dang, $150 is nuts. I mean for $35 it's a great bottle, but we need to be realistic about what it is. I just got a second bottle of RR 10 so I can compare to this and Henry McKenna 10 to see what's the best of those 10 year products. Should be fun. Cheers!
Haha yeah, I knew it had shifted to the back. I'm sure people were going crazy about that when it happened. It's good stuff and I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for a backup bottle. Thanks for watching and cheers!
Nice! I live near Ohio and I've tired to find it there but haven't had luck. Traded for this bottle and am very happy I did. Glad to add it to the hutch for sure. Cheers!
Agreed. I'd put this and Blanton's on about the same level. Wish both were more available, but until then, I'm happy to have one bottle and plenty of other stuff to explore. Cheers!
Eagle Rare is a solid bourbon, but no where good enough to be allocated. Or affected by the secondary market. Bear in mind that’s the opinion of you’re typical online idiot. You’re never going to say “This is crap! Or “This is awesome!”, but it’s reliable. I have heard really good thing about Eagle Rare store picks, but have no personally tried one.
Agreed. Very solid. Good age. Good sweetness. Wish it was more available. I have also heard the store picks can be really great. Never had the chance to taste or buy one though. Any bottles you think are better than Eagle Rare but people don't really talk about?
All good! The digital watch is great for tracking steps and health stats so I basically just never take it off. But I get that a nice timepiece fits the bourbon vibe much better.
Just killed off my only bottle. Traded away another. It’s a nice dram but I just don’t wanna mess with BT products and all the bull that comes with it. Way too many findable better bourbons for me.
Always sad to see a bottle go down lol. But yeah, it's tough to deal with all the hype and craziness around BT. I enjoy almost everything I've had from them, I just feel like it's always a hassle. Still, I'll probably keep chasing it just to try it. But there is literally a TON of other great stuff to get in the meantime. Cheers!
