2020 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Review
It’s time, folks - time to taste through the big boys of the hunting season: the 2020 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC). This annual release of 5 whiskies is probably the top prize of the season, equal or greater to the Pappy craze. We have:
George T. Stagg (GTS)
William Larue Weller (WLW)
Eagle Rare 17 YO (ER17)
Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye (THH)
Sazerac 18 YO Rye (Saz18)
Before 2020, I had only ever tried one BTAC - the 2019 George T. Stagg (GTS) - and god was it delicious. Pure, raw bourbon power, brown sugar, heat, black pepper, oak, just beautiful.
This year, I got to try all five.
In the end, my favorites were clear, and I’ve got a bottle of each to prove it. A few caveats: I didn’t taste blind, as I was familiar enough with the styles that I could either pick out a type or an age, and frankly if you’re tasting all five of these I don’t think there’s really a point to blinding (that being said - if you’re trying different years of the same line, blinding is fantastic).
Let’s see how they ranked…
Final Rankings and thoughts:
George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller, tied at 10.0/10
Thomas H. Handy Rye, 6.8/10
Sazerac 18 YO Rye, 6.5/10
Eagle Rare 17 YO, 5.4/10
Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Analysis:
Look, I’m a proof hound and I know it, so the George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller might have an edge (the THH too, for that matter). But there’s no denying that this year Buffalo Trace put out a double whopper with those two - I tried them both multiple times and couldn’t score any time below a 9.8 for either, leading me to a perfect 10.0 score. I searched both for flaws - maybe there are some, but for me, these two were just perfect hits and everything I want a bourbon to be.
The THH similarly benefits from my proof preference, but make no mistake - it holds its own quite well. It’s a serious, punchy rye with complexity and character. When I drank it, it felt like a statement piece, that a relatively young rye could stand among these over-aged whiskies and fit right in. I might not hunt this as hard as the GTS or WLW, but I would happily have this on my bar any day.
The biggest disappointment? The Eagle Rare 17 YO. Just oaky, watery, and lacking anything more than “meh”. The Sazerac at least has some flavor to back it up, albeit a weakened one-note flavor. But if I wanted oak water, I’d make some myself. I’ll admit, I don’t particularly like the regular Eagle Rare 10 YO, so maybe there’s something about that line that doesn’t agree with my palate. Either way, I’m awarding the ER 17 my low score for this year.