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The bourbon community has spent the last year debating whether the addition of EH Taylor into the Antique Collection was because Buffalo Trace believed it actually belonged there or if it was meant to mask a thinning inventory. That’s the thing about being an enthusiast in this era – there’s always a certain skepticism that comes whenever you hear of heritage distilleries changing things up with no real explanation. I always ask myself if they truly are selling us the next masterpiece or if we’re being asked to chase something new just for their clout. Maybe both can be right?
EH Taylor joins the BTAC lineup. But why?
The first question everyone asked when the TTB filing for this bottle hit was “Why?” Why tinker with the five best bottles of American whiskey? I had heard rumors (some of which have been substantiated recently) about a “dip” in the maturation cycle for Eagle Rare 17. They centered around Buffalo Trace finding themselves facing a temporary shortage of 17-year-old barrels that met the profile required for the Antique Collection. Whether those upcoming barrels were axed because they were bad or if they were just off profile, I don’t know.
The story sounds like Buffalo Trace’s tasters identified a group of 15-year-old barrels (all Mash Bill #1) which didn’t meet the profile criteria for GTS or ER17, but they did have the characteristics of EH Taylor bourbon. The only issue is they were too old to blend in with standard EH Taylor products (much to the chagrin of EHT lovers everywhere). The decision was made to make it its own special release. So while this didn’t totally solve the upcoming Eagle Rare 17 “crisis,” adding a sixth label to the lineup would give the illusion that there were more bottles available to enthusiasts everywhere… even if that wasn’t exactly true for Eagle Rare 17.
A few EHT BTAC facts
Why is this bottle being treated like the second coming of the “Tornado Surviving” release? Probably because of a whole bunch of factors coming together at the same time rather than any single reason. First, 2025 marked the 135th anniversary of Warehouse C becoming fully operational and that’s where the majority of EH Taylor barrels are pulled from. The time was ripe to cash in on an anniversary like that.
What is Warehouse C? It’s the one building that is most associated with EH Taylor… kind of like how Warehouse H is most associated with Blanton’s. If you’ve ever taken a tour at Buffalo Trace, chances are you’ve walked through the bottom floor of it because it’s so close to the gift shop/tour building. It’s such a cool experience to walk through the catacombs of barrels.
Anyway, Warehouse C utilizes a steam heating system like all Buffalo Trace Warehouses (except H, I think). This means that during Kentucky winters, the inside temperature never dips below 54 degrees. It also means that the liquid never goes dormant in the barrel. Every moment of a Buffalo Trace barrel’s life has some sort of in-and-out movement of whiskey through the oak staves. So while it’s not as intense of a process as Brown-Forman does with their products, it does make the whiskey present older than its actual age.
All barrels used for this release were distilled in the Spring 2010 season. They were identified early on as being some of the best Mash Bill #1 barrels in inventory. The reasons why are numerous, but I’d bet it has to come with the “Angel’s Share” for this release being around 62%. When you lose nearly two-thirds of your barrel to the atmosphere, what remains is an ultra-concentrated essence. No word has officially came out about the total outturn of bottles or the number of barrels that went into making this batch, but one rumor I heard was that this release was comprised of roughly 50 barrels with the total yield estimated at a measly 4,200 to 4,800 bottles. To put that in perspective, modern George T. Stagg releases often sees bottle counts exceeding 40,000 bottles. That’s makes it about as rare as Pappy Van Winkle 20 or 23. I’ll update this section if I learn more.
Other factoids we learned about this release tells us that Buffalo Trace has a distillation proof for their bourbon of 140 proof (off the still). That’s higher than I originally thought – Weller wheated bourbon typically comes off the still at 130 proof. Mash Bill #1 also goes into the barrel (a Level 4 Char barrel from ISC) at 125 proof – the max allowable by law. These barrels were yanked from 7 different warehouses across 6 different floors. Once blended, it was proofed down to 100 and chill filtered. That’s a wild selection of barrels and if my previous rumor of this batch being comprised of only 50 barrels, then that means specific barrels were pulled from many lots of barrels that were pulled. Weird.
Reclaiming the Bonded Category
There is also a corporate war at play here. For the last five years, Heaven Hill has dominated the ultra-premium Bottled-in-Bond category with their Old Fitzgerald Decanter series and the 17-Year Heritage Collection. Sazerac, owning the name of the man who literally championed the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, couldn’t let that stand. By placing an age-stated, 15-year EH Taylor into their Antique Collection, they have officially put the other distilleries on notice. The only question is, can it compete? It’s time to find out. A special thanks to my neighbor Benji for his perseverance in obtaining a ticket for me and some of his friends to sample this with him during Bottled-in-Bond Day.
Tasting Notes
Nose: This certain smells 15 years old… and possibly much more. If the barrels they claim were pulled from the 6th and 7th floor of some of their warehouses truly spent 15 years of their life that high up, then it certainly shows in the nose. There is a power and precision to the oak and tobacco notes I can smell that are only restrained by the fact it was proofed down. I bet this smelled like the inside of a barrel in its barrel proof form. Anyway, other subtle notes take form such as sweet caramel candies and vanilla custard, dark red and black fruits (cherries, dates, plums and berries). The baking spices are neatly folded into the experience with soft cinnamon and a less-intense allspice note. Everything works together exceptionally well and old age permeates through everything. The nose isn’t as powerful as it is elegantly refined.
Palate: In the words of Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction: “Damn, Jimmy, this some serious gourmet shit.” The mouthfeel is extremely rich for being 100 proof and chill filtered. The intensity of the flavors is also top notch. I am immediately drawn to the classic butterscotch note that EH Taylor (at least the Barrel Proof batches) are known for – except it’s richer and more mature. Or that could just be the oak talking. There’s a lot of that in each sip, too.
Each sip has a quality to the tannins (oak and tobacco) that mimics some of the dusties I’ve had the pleasure of drinking in the past. I find this in a lot of Eagle Rare 17 versions as well. Chocolate, cherries and a nice blanket of vanilla are present and do a wonderful job in their delivery. Small flavor nuances – something that I often can’t find in big bruisers like GTS because of the proof – are interesting and memorable. A hint of ground ginger, a little bit of dusty fig, some clove and best of all – blackberries hiding in the background. This is a fantastic pour.
Finish: The finish is remarkably long, leaving a persistent coating of tannins, dark fruits and butterscotch. The sweetness follows into the finale to keep things balanced. It lingers for several minutes and slowly fades into the taste of tobacco, leather and dried tea leaves. It begs to be savored, yet your brain is going to tell you it wants another hit as soon as possible.
Score: 9.1/10
After the first sip, I was immediately sure that this bottle is, in fact, special. I have always considered myself a fan of anything in the EH Taylor lineup (except for the regular “Straight Rye,” but this one takes the cake. It’s decadent, refined, powerful and mature beyond its years. It also has the perfect blend of tasting like bourbon did a few generations ago and still being somewhat modern. This is what bourbon is supposed to taste like.
Final Thoughts
Going back to something I said in my introduction about not knowing why Buffalo Trace decided to add this label to the Antique Collection – I think I have a clearer idea. The barrels used to make this EHT release were probably nixed to go into other products because they might not have been exactly the flavor profile they were looking for… but seeing how special the final product was leads me to believe the tasters and blenders knew they had something that could stand by itself and needed to be tasted to be believed.
This could be one of my favorite modern-day bottled-in-bond releases ever. It’s got so much going for it that I hope it continues to be a regular release – and that we get more of it. Or at the very least, I hope Buffalo Trace decides to add a sixth bottle to the BTAC lineup and just fill it up with whatever barrels didn’t make the cut to be one of the other 5 labels but were too good to simply blend away into something else. Fingers crossed!