Eagle Rare 10 Year Review

Eagle Rare is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey that comes to us from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Among their selections are Eagle Rare 10 Year, 17 Year, and Double Eagle Very Rare which is aged 20 years. For this review, we’ll be focused on the 10 Year.

While we can’t tell you the exact mashbill for sure, we are going to cover everything else there is to know. If you’re interested in the price, tasting notes, history and value of Eagle Rare 10 Year, then just keep on reading.

Eagle Rare 10 Year History

Eagle Rare was originally created in 1975 by Charles Beam while he was with Seagram’s. However, in 1989 Sazerac bought the brand from Seagram’s and began producing Eagle Rare from the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfurt, Kentucky. In fact, the most historical part of Eagle Rare is the distillery in which it’s produced.

Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is recognized as the oldest distillery in the US with it’s first operational distillery being built in 1812. Over the years, the buildings have changed along with the name. It was originally the Old Fire Copper Distillery and then George T. Stagg Distillery. However, one thing has never changed. Buffalo Trace never stopped making whiskey. Even during prohibition, they were allowed to stay operational to produce whiskey for medicinal purposes.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Basics

Before we get into our taste, price, and value sections, let’s just cover some of the basics about Eagle Rare. First, it’s a straight Kentucky Bourbon that has been aged a minimum of 10 years. They previously marketed themselves as ‘single-barrel’ but had to remove that due to newer machine bottling techniques.

Eagle Rare is bottled at 45% ABV (90 proof), and uses Buffalo Trace’s mashbill number 1. Since Sazerac does not release the ingredients of their mashbill, we can’t know mash for sure. However, it is speculated to be 75% corn, 15% barley, and 10% rye.

Lastly, Eagle Rare is an allocated spirit. This means that cases are shipped out once a year, and suppliers are unable to restock as needed. Instead, they must wait ’til the next year to buy more. This can cause the availability, and thus the price, to fluctuate.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Taste

Now that we’ve covered some of the basics, let’s get into the information you are here for. What are the tasting notes of Eagle Rare? How much does it cost? Is it worth buying? These are all questions we are going to cover next. To start, let’s go over the flavor profile of Eagle Rare 10 Year.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Flavor Profile

Nose: Citrus and leathery oak. Dark fruits and nuts with hints of caramel.

Taste: Vanilla, honey, and orange. Slightly nutty as well.

Finish: Has a dry and moderate finish. Light woody heat, with some cinnamon and fruit.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Taste Summary

Overall, Eagle Rare is a good whiskey, but it doesn’t quite cross the line to great. There is enough complexity with each sip along with good flavors. The oaky and nutty components are well aided by flavors of citrus and dark fruits. However, for wearing a 10 year age statement, it is a little light. Although, that is on par for being 90 proof (45% ABV), it prevents this whiskey of moving into the ‘great’ category.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Price

This is probably the most difficult whiskey I’ve had to assign a price point. Eagle Rare MSRP’s for ~$30, yet it’s nearly impossible to find a bottle for that price. In fact, it’s tough to buy a bottle at any price right now. A couple weeks ago, I had purchased this bottle for $70, and now it’s being sold for $130. So, the price operates in an extremely wide range that will change based on location, individual store, and availability.

• Eagle Rare 10 Year MSRP: $30-40
• Eagle Rare 10 Year Current Price: $60-120

Eagle Rare 10 Year Value

In this section, we compare taste and price to figure out if Eagle Rare is worth purchasing. For Eagle Rare, much of the value is going to come down to price point. At $30-40, you should definitely buy it – I know I would. Due to its rarity, though, it often sells much higher. I would pay $40-50 every now and then for a bottle, however this is unlikely at this time.

Currently, many bottles are being sold for ~$100, and I just don’t see the taste coming close to that price point. What makes it even worse is that it’s supposed to be worth just one-third of that. After spending over $70 for a bottle of Eagle Rare, I likely won’t purchase another unless it finds it’s way back to $40.

Eagle Rare 10 Year Summary

Overall, Eagle Rare 10 is a very good whiskey. The flavors combo extremely well with each other which offers a complex 10 year old bourbon with plenty of depth. However, the fluctuating price point due to its availability can make Eagle Rare difficult to get your hands on, or just flat out not worth it.

According the the Buffalo Trace Distillery website, Eagle Rare is released every fall. If you like Eagle Rare or are interesting in trying it, I would wait until fall comes around to see if you can get the best deal on a bottle.

If you’re interested in trying more bourbon’s, check out all our reviews of different bourbons HERE.

Eagle Rare 10 Year FAQ

Below are common questions regarding Eagle Rare, most of which are answered in the article above.

Why Is Eagle Rare Hard to Find?

Eagle Rare is an allocated spirit. Once a year, Buffalo Trace Distillery makes Eagle Rare and ships out a limited number of cases. Suppliers aren’t able to restock their shelves until the next year. The constantly decreasing supply along with high demand make bottles hard to find.

Is Eagle Rare Single Barrel Bourbon?

In the last decade, Eagle Rare switched to machine-bottling. Using this machine means that whiskey from multiple barrels may find it’s way into the bottle. Due to this, Eagle Rare had to remove the ‘single-barrel’ label from their bottles.

Who Makes Eagle Rare?

Eagle Rare is produced in Frankfurt, Kentucky at Buffalo Trace Distillery. Eagle Rare, along with the distillery, is owned by Sazerac.