Eagle Rare 10 Year Single Barrel (Wine Rack Private Selection)

Review by: TOModera

Oh, this isn’t any ordinary Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10 … No, this is a private selection from the Wine Rack in San Mateo, CA. From CalZeta.

Yeah, this is special. So if you’re checking this to see if Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10 is for you, then… well, this is different. Slightly. Maybe. Really, I don’t know. I should have picked up a bottle of it to compare, really.

Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10 is made by the Buffalo Trace distillery, using the Mash Bill #1, the low rye mash bill used in Buffalo Trace, Stagg Jr. and George T. Stagg. Aged for at least 10 years, put in another part of the warehouses (warehomes?).

Unfortunately I don’t know which part of whichever warehouse in what year this came out. As I don’t know, let’s say it’s Warehouse Q, Aisle 424, in the Quasar year old Imhotep.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Bottler: Distillery Bottling.

Region: Kentucky.

ABV: 45%.

Age: 10 years.

Cask type: Virgin Oak Cask.

Price: N/A

Color: Dark red

Nose: Cherry, vanilla, gingerbread, oregano, wood varnish, bundt cake, lime juice, butterscotch

Big, sweet nose on this. Like Coca-cola Brownies. Almost exactly like them, except there’s some wood in there.

Lots more complexity than Buffalo Trace on the nose here.

Taste: Cherry coke, cocoa, lime, nutmeg, oak, walnut

And… it’s gone.

Don’t get me wrong: There’s a big cherry coke/cocoa flavour here, but that eventually ends and peters out like me on a 3 hour hike.

Cause I’m fat.

That said, the walnut is nice.

Finish: Caramel, oak, lime, ginger ale, basil, sesame

So it starts to go back to the nose, yet it doesn’t really make it. Again, like me when I’ve eaten too much pie.

Seriously though, it’s a medium, almost balanced finish, but the oak and caramel take over a little bit too much.

Conclusion: So this has a great, sweet as heck nose, a lackluster taste, and almost an okay finish. I could sip this regularly, however I’d probably go for Buffalo Trace over this one.

That all said, I’d love to try the Standard Offering in the future to see how these differ, as the location of where the cask is from always causes a difference.

Final Score: 77.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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