Review #382 - Eagle Rare 10 Year Single Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Put Em On Ice'
Wiseguy Lounge Barrel Pick Series: Part 14 of 20
Eagle Rare's 10 year age statement should be a sign of maturity, complexity, and refinement that not all bourbons achieve. Paired with the fruity flavors that Buffalo Trace distillate often gives us, the standard version of this bourbon showcases a dark, mature, red-fruit profile which has made it a staple in the reasonably-priced bourbon market.
Here, though, instead of the standard Eagle Rare, we have a single barrel version. That's always a chance for an individual barrel to show more interesting, unusual characteristics, which we wouldn't normally find in the batched products. This pick is from the Wiseguy Lounge, and they've named it 'Put Em On Ice.' It's bottled at the standard 90 proof, as well - will that be enough strength to convey the individual character of this single barrel?
Eagle Rare 10 Year Single Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Put Em On Ice'
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 75 (2024)
Age Statement: 10 Years
Strength: 45% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 30% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: A decent amount of oak - sweet oak, though you can almost smell the prickle from tannins. Brown sugar adds a baking side, but the star of this nose is fruit: blackberries, sweet plums, lots of dark purple fruit. There is a little bit of smoky leather from the oak later on.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thin; flavors consist of strong grape lollipops or grape popsicles, balanced interestingly by some savory cooking spice. The oak has a decent influence - it's warming, adding some leathery notes and a bit of tannin spice.
Finish: Cinnamon arrives in the finish, and there's more of that warming oak. Fruits are a secondary note - sour orange, some prunes, too. It's a medium length finish.
Final Note: This is a nice single barrel which showcases that style that Buffalo Trace is known for: fruits and well-integrated oak. This individual barrel leaned more into the purple fruit flavors, like plum and blackberry, when compared to the standard Eagle Rare; unfortunately, while the flavors are nice, the lower strength still prevents this bourbon from scoring much higher up the scale.
Value is okay - Eagle Rare can be a bit expensive in some places due to its semi-allocated status, so there are other brands that offer more value and flavor for less money.
Our Average Rating: 6.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.17
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Buffalo Trace reviews:
Review #378 - Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Tailor Made'
Review #375 - Sazerac Single Barrel Rye - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Bugsy Siegel'
Review #370 - Stagg Single Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Extinct'
Review #369 - Blanton's Single Barrel Select - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Omerta'
Review #346 - Weller 12 Year Bourbon
Review #282 - Weller Antique 107
Review #156 - Eagle Rare 10 Year
