2015 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

Below is the Blundon Bourbon review for each 2015 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection Whiskey, as well as some detailed information provided in Buffalo Trace's Press Release sent out earlier this week. As always, these whiskeys will be gone before you know it, so good luck to all my whiskey lovers out there this year! Happy Hunting!


2015 Sazerac Rye 18
90 proof
18 years and 2 months old
4,011 total bottles 

Nose: Sugar cookies and raspberries. Mint floats out of the glass along with rye spice, leather, and a very healthy dose of aged oak.
Taste: Thick, chewy mouthfeel with vanilla cream, molasses, allspice and oak.
Finish: Long and dry... it seems to last forever..simply delicious. 

Rating: A

This is the last release of Sazerac Rye 18 that was vatted in stainless steel tanks to prevent further aging. Next year’s batch will be comprised of whiskey that is currently aging in the warehouse. If I was only able to get my hands on one BTAC bottle this year, I would choose Sazerac for this reason alone.

2015 Thomas H. Handy Rye
126.9 proof
6 years and 2 months old
10,825 total bottles 

Nose: Fresh baked macadamia nut cookies, red apples, cherries and baking spices.  
Taste: An initial wave of sweetness, reminiscent of a fruit roll up!  Figs, clove, and allspice.
Finish: Warming, the sweetness prevails after the burst of spice settles for a long, sweet finish.  

Rating: A

2015 George T Stagg Bourbon
138.2 proof
15 years and 1 month old
5,321 total bottles 

Nose: Chocolate covered cherries, molasses, rolled tobacco, maple syrup. 
Taste: Fudge, tobacco, vanilla, espresso, and charred oak.
Finish: Long and warming with an elegant, floral finish. 

Rating: A+

2015 Eagle Rare Bourbon
90 proof
17 year old
3,406 total bottles 

Nose: Tobacco, charred oak, caramel, vanilla, and toasted marshmallow.

Taste: An initial sweetness reminiscent of a Boston cream doughnut. This is short lived and overthrown by oak and tobacco.
Finish: Medium in length, piled high with charred wood chips. 

Rating: B+

2015 William Larue Weller Bourbon
134.6 proof
12 years and 3 months old
7,780 total bottles
 
Nose: Fresh honey-wheat bread. Burnt sugars, sweet vanilla, dark fruits, and thick layers of baking spices.
Taste: Extremely chewy, with red hots from start to finish. Vanilla, dark fruits, molasses, sweet spices, and toasted oak.
Finish: Long with a slight heat. Red hots. 

Rating: A+

In conclusion, these 2015 BTAC bottles are all delicious whiskeys; I would be excited to get my hands on any one of them. As with the nature of these whiskeys being so difficult to find, and at a suggested retail of $80 (though we all know many stores may charge in excess of $100), I hope the information I've provided will help guide your choice on which whiskeys to buy if you are so lucky enough to be given a choice! Here are the Blundon Bouron Review 2015 ranking:

1st: William Larue Weller
2nd: George T Stagg
3rd: Sazerac Rye 18
4th: Thomas H Handy
5th: Eagle Rare

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