Buffalo Trace announced on Wednesday that the storied bourbon brand was bringing back the hottest release of the year, the widely talked-about 2025 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. This release includes the first new whiskey in almost two decades: Colonel E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon.
The whiskeys included in this lineup are the new expression, plus the five standard releases: Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Bourbon, George T. Stagg Bourbon, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey, Sazerac 18 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, and William Larue Weller Bourbon. Interestingly enough, this year’s expression of George T. Stagg Kentucky Bourbon clocks in at a hefty 142.8 proof, taking it into hazmat territory.
Though undoubtedly these expressions will fetch significantly higher prices on the secondary market, each whiskey hosts a suggested price of $149.99. Buffalo Trace shares that each bottle includes a letter regaling the buyer with the whiskey’s journey from grain to bottle. Some whiskeys will be available via Legacy de Forge, a global platform from Blockbar.
About Buffalo Trace’s New Bourbon: E.H. Taylor Bottled In Bond
Colonel E.H. Taylor Bottled In Bond is meant to celebrate the “Father of Modern Bourbon,” and news of the release initially made headlines in May. Taylor was a force to be reckoned with in the bourbon world, and he purchased the O.F.C. Distillery — the ancestral brand behind Buffalo Trace — and modernized it back in the late 1800s. Taylor championed the Bottled-In-Bond Act, one of the first consumer protection laws in the United States.
“Colonel Taylor’s signature graced every bottle produced under his watch as a testament to its quality, a tradition we uphold today as a promise of integrity,” Buffalo Trace Distillery’s Global Brand Director Andrew Duncan said in a statement. “Created in his honor, every sip of E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon offers more than exceptional flavor — it’s a taste of history and a reminder of his strict tenets that have safeguarded America’s world-leading whiskey quality standards for nearly 150 years.”
As far as the juice goes, Buffalo Trace’s newest expression clocks in at 100 proof per bottled-in-bond regulations. Buffalo Trace shares that the whiskey spent 15 years aging at the distillery’s warehouses, and the nose possesses a vanilla-driven bouquet. The palate is full of wood and cherries, which carry through all the way to the finish.
Other Releases Within the 2025 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection
Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
This year’s Eagle Rare spent 18 years and 4 months aging, taking it beyond its 17-year age statement. The whiskey clocks in at 101 proof as an homage to the original proof Eagle Rare released at when it launched in 1975. The whiskey features a bouquet full of tobacco and leather, coupled with pepper. On the palate, there’s sweetness integrated with leather and cherry, which goes through to the finish.
Geoge T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Considered the “boldest expression” in Buffalo Trace’s Antique Collection, George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon celebrates the legacy of the man behind the liquid. Stagg purchased the O.F.C. Distillery from Taylor in 1878 and built a reputation as a powerhouse of a whiskey salesman. This offering is the highest-proof George T. Stagg to date, clocking in at a whopping 142.8 proof, making it above Hazmat proof. The whiskey spent 15 years and 4 months aging to perfection, and Buffalo Trace shared that the whiskey features an oak-driven nose, with vanilla. The palate is full of dark tobacco and cherries, coupled with an earthy finish.
Sazerac 18 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
This whiskey takes its name from the legendary Sazerac House in New Orleans, the establishment Buffalo Trace credits as the birthplace of the Sazerac cocktail. The whiskey features a robust age statement of 18 years and 5 months and clocks in at 90 proof. Sazerac 18 Year Old’s hefty age statement yields a rye whiskey with balanced spice, oak and a rich leathery palate. Some herbaceous qualities add a little lift to the palate, which offers up caraway seeds and rye spice on the finish.
Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
This whiskey clocks in at 129.8 proof, which is a slight bump up from last year’s release. Thomas H. Handy is named after the owner of the Sazerac Coffee House, where he used rye whiskey in the Sazerac cocktail. This year’s release is a bright and energetic blend of fruit, spice and oak. Bold, yet gentle, with apple and orchard fruit throughout.
William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon
William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon is named after the first distiller at Buffalo Trace to use wheat in the mashbill of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The whiskey is inspired by William Larue Weller, which takes a softer, rounder character that deviates from bourbons with higher percentages of rye in the mashbill. This whiskey boasts a relatively robust proof of 129, and spent 14 years aging until release. This year’s William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon posesses aromas of vanilla and maple, with a darker undercurrent of tobacco. The palate offers up vanilla interlaced with toasted oak and it features a long finish full of ripe fruit.
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