Reviews

Sazerac 18-Year-Old Rye Whiskey (2015) Review

One of my favorites of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, Sazerac 18-year-old rye whiskey is also the oldest in the collection.  Yes, technically, Eagle Rare 17-year-old was actually 19-years-old a few times.  This year’s release is also the last of the original batch distilled way back in 1985.  Once that batch reached maturity at 18 years, the whiskey was transferred to stainless steel vats to stop the aging process.  Next year’s 2016 release of Sazerac 18 will be whiskey distilled back in 1998.

Being a member of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection means there is not a lot of this to go around.  There are 25 barrels worth of whiskey, minus a 58.48% evaporation.  The whiskey is chill-filtered and proofed down to 45% abv. How I’d love to see (more specifically taste) a non-chill filtered, barrel-strength version of Sazerac 18.  A guy can dream, can’t he?

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Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye Whiskey (2015) Review

One of two rye whiskies in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, Thomas H. Handy (THH) Sazerac Rye comes to us uncut and unfiltered.  This year’s edition arrives at a strong 126.9 proof.  The 2015 edition is comprised of 58 barrels of whiskey aged six years.  30.23%of the original whiskey evaporated.  THH is a barrel proof version of the standard Sazerac rye whiskey.

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William Larue Weller Bourbon (2015) Review

William Larue Weller is the only wheated bourbon in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.  That means it uses wheat instead of rye as the secondary grain.  This year’s release is aged 12 years and 3 months, and is bottled at 134.6 proof.  105 barrels were picked for this release – that’s more than last year.  Unfortunately, 72.3% of the original whiskey was lost to evaporation.  Notice it’s not as much as the 84% evaporation of this year’s George Stagg release, which is substantial.

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