Eagle Rare is a brand of
bourbon whiskey
Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbo ...
distilled and distributed by the
Buffalo Trace Distillery
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, owned by the Sazerac Company. It has historically been known by several names, including the George T. Stagg Distillery and the Old Fashioned Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. Its namesak ...
. Eagle Rare is 90 proof bourbon, aged for either 10 or 17 years, depending on the variety. It was introduced in 1975 and is distilled in
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...
.
History
Eagle Rare was originally a 101-proof ten-year-old (not
single-barrel
Single barrel whiskey (or single cask whiskey) is a premium class of whiskey in which each bottle comes from an individual aging barrel, instead of coming from blending together the contents of various barrels to provide uniformity of color and t ...
) Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey from
Seagram
The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the lar ...
created by master distiller Charles L. Beam. Introduced in 1975,
[Veach, Mike "Seagram's Timeline" BourbonEnthusiast.com, undated](_blank)
retrieved on February 4, 2009. Eagle Rare was among the last new bourbon brands introduced prior to the current era of '
small-batch bourbon
Small batch whiskey is whiskey produced by mixing the contents of a relatively small number of selected barrels. Small batch whiskeys are commercially positioned for the upper-premium market. The term is most commonly used for American whiskey bu ...
s'. Eagle Rare has been distilled, bottled and/or marketed by a number of companies, including the
Old Prentice Distillery
Four Roses is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Its Spanish Mission-style distillery was built in 1910 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Old Prentice Distillery. The ...
of
Frankfort, KY
Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...
.
The Sazerac Company, an American family-owned producer and importer based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the parent company of five distilleries, acquired Eagle Rare from Seagram in March 1989.
[Company News; "Seagram to Sell Rights to 17 Brands" ''New York Times'' March 29, 1989](_blank)
retrieved on February 4, 2009. Sazerac's Kentucky distillery was then known as the George T. Stagg Distillery. Today the distillery is known as the
Buffalo Trace Distillery
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, owned by the Sazerac Company. It has historically been known by several names, including the George T. Stagg Distillery and the Old Fashioned Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. Its namesak ...
.
The original 101-proof ten-year-old non-single-barrel bourbon has been discontinued as of March 2005.
[Eagle Rare 101 – Forum on Straightbourbon.com](_blank)
retrieved on February 4, 2009.
Current brand expressions
Currently, two basic varieties of Eagle Rare are produced. The first is aged for ten years (in charred new
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
barrels, as with all bourbons), and bottled at 90
U.S. proof
Alcohol proof (usually termed simply "proof" in relation to a beverage) is a measure of the content of ethanol (alcohol) in an alcoholic beverage. The term was originally used in England and was equal to about 1.8 times the percentage of alcohol ...
.
The second variety, first offered in 2000, is aged seventeen years and is called part of an "Antique Collection". From 2000 to 2017 it was originally bottled at 90 proof, like the ten year offering. Starting with the 2018 release, it has been released at 101 proof.
In 2021, a 20-year-old limited edition expression of Eagle Rare Bourbon Whiskey at 101 proof was released for $2,000 a bottle.
Awards and reviews
Eagle Rare's 10-year variation has performed well at international
spirit ratings competitions. It received a string of gold and double gold medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition between 2005 and 2010 and was given an above-average score of 92 by the Beverage Testing Institute. In 2013, Eagle Rare Single Barrel Bourbon was awarded the inaugural Bourbon Trophy at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in the United Kingdom. The 17-year expression has performed similarly well. More recently, Eagle Rare Single Barrel Bourbon won a gold medal at the 2014 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition and a Gold Outstanding medal at the International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC – United Kingdom). Eagle Rare 17 Year Old was awarded a gold medal in the same UK-based competition. In 2015, Eagle Rare 10 Year was awarded a Gold Outstanding medal by the IWSC, and the 2014 release of the 17-Year-Old expression won a Silver Outstanding medal in the same competition.
Eagle Rare 10 Year won the following awards in 2016:
* Gold Medal; Best Age Statement Bourbon – World Whiskies Awards (Whisky Magazine)
* Gold Medal – San Francisco World Spirits Competition
* Extraordinary/Ultimate Recommendation (95 points); "Great Value" – Ultimate Spirits Challenge
* Gold Medal (92 points) – Los Angeles International Spirits Competition
* Gold Medal – North American Bourbon and Whiskey Competition
* Silver Outstanding Medal – International Wine & Spirits Competition (UK)
Food critic
Morgan Murphy rated the brand highly, saying "Without question, the award-winner tastes as rich as it looks."
References
External links
Eagle Rare Single Barrel official homepage
{{Alcoholic drinks
Bourbon whiskey
Sazerac Company brands