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2014 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Set For Another Crazy Buying Cycle

Another year and another crop of the very rare, limited edition and likely priced high at your whiskey retailer Buffalo Trace Antique Collection heads to liquor stores local and online.
  • Nino Kilgore-Marchetti, founder of The Whiskey Wash, is an award-winning whiskey journalist, expert, and judge
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As I was mentioning the other day, the arrival of all of the fall limited edition American whiskies and bourbons is starting to happen at local liquor stores around the country. How you get hold of a bottle of one of these rare treasures is a matter of much debate, as you definitely need to be in the right place at the right time to snag one. Among the crop you can perhaps find is the just announced 2014 line up of the annual Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, which should be hitting in late September or early October.
Though each bottle is priced around $80 by the distillery, what you actually pay depends upon how much your local (or online) retailer expects demand to be. You may well arrive at an outlet only to find one or more of these jacked up hundreds of dollars, so definitely make sure to shop around if you have the patience and luck of the gods. As for what’s in this year’s crop, here are notes from Buffalo Trace on each bottling:

2014antique

George T. Stagg

The 2013 release of this perennial favorite received the prestigious Chairman’s Trophy during the 2014 Ultimate Spirits Challenge.  Barrels for this year’s George T. Stagg bottling were selected from Warehouses C, H, I, K, L, P, and Q.  This uncut and unfiltered bourbon was distilled back in the spring of 1998 and weighs in at 138.1 proof.  Although still highly allocated, happily there are a few more bottles available this year, since Buffalo Trace increased distillation for George T. Stagg back in 1997. This whiskey tastes of dark chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and dates.

William Larue Weller

The Antique Collection’s uncut, unfiltered, wheated recipe bourbon is William Larue Weller. The previous edition was given a “95” rating by Whisky Advocate Magazine.  The 2014 offering was distilled in the spring of 2002 and aged on the second, third, fourth, and sixth floors of Warehouses D, K, and L.  This bourbon registers in at 140.2 proof – the strongest Weller release ever.  The bold flavors include dark molasses, plums, and toffee.

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye
Thomas H. Handy is the uncut and unfiltered straight rye whiskey. The 2013 edition was named “World’s Best Rye Whiskey” at the 2014 World Whiskies Awards.  This year’s Handy was distilled in the spring of 2008, aged on the fifth floor of Warehouse M and weighs in at 129.2 proof.  The flavor has been described as Christmas cake, allspice, coconut, and clove.

Eagle Rare 17 Year Old

The previous edition of this bourbon was honored with a Silver Outstanding Medal at the 2013 International Wine and Spirits Competition. The 2014 edition has been aging on the second, third and sixth floors of Warehouses I and K.  This bourbon was aged nearly two decades and tastes of oak, leather, cinnamon, and tobacco.

Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old

Last year Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old was awarded a Gold Medal from Whisky Magazine’sWorld Whisky Awards.  This 2014 straight rye whiskey release was aged in Warehouse K and has notable flavor of all-spice, molasses and hints of mint, along with a long, dry finish.

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y globally. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert, and judge, he has written extensively about the subject, been interviewed in various media outlets, and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions.

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