Buffalo Trace's Oldest Bourbon Yet

From the freezing cold confines of Buffalo Trace’s climate-managed Warehouse P comes its oldest bourbon yet: Eagle Rare 30. The new whiskey marks the distillery’s ongoing commitment to exploring whether extended aging can have the same effects on American whiskey as it does on whiskies from cooler climates like Scotland, Japan, and Ireland.

We were among a lucky handful who got an early taste, and boy, does this deliver. Eagle Rare 30 is awash with refined flavors of vanilla, dried apricot, brown sugar, baking spice, raisin, and caramel. It's a round and robust whiskey, with a lengthy finish that will have you wishing for more—if only there were more! (There is just one barrel of the 30 year old to go around.)

Master distiller Harlen Wheatley doesn't remember filling this exact barrel of whiskey, but he recalls the harvest from that year—"it was kind of thin, and hard to get corn"—and notes that the bourbon industry was certainly not what it is today; even Buffalo Trace ran just six months out of the year in 1996, a fact that's hard to believe now, given that the distillery runs 24/7, 365 days a year. He also couldn't have predicted there would ever be a 30 year old bourbon from Buffalo Trace, but now...the sky's the limit. "If you can have a 50 year old scotch, you've got to be able to have a 50 year old bourbon somehow," he says. "This 30 year old is going to be competitive with any aged whisky on the planet—taste it against a 50 year old scotch, and it'll [stand up]." He touts Eagle Rare as Buffalo Trace's primary brand to showcase aging, an idea that's become clear by virtue of the releases thus far, which include the flagship 10, 12, 17, 20, and 25 year old whiskeys. Down the road, Wheatley isn't counting out older releases, as long as the barrel doesn't overtake the flavor.

In celebration of the release, Buffalo Trace has teamed up with Bonhams auction house for the “Eagle Rare 30 year old Bourbon Takes Flight: The Ultimate Eagle Rare Release” auction. The two-week sale, which will open for bidding at 7 a.m. EST on Friday, April 24th, will feature 15 lots. The premiere lot, Lot #1, will pair the complete Eagle Rare lineup (10, 12, 17, 25, 30, and Double Eagle Very Rare 20) with a stay at the Stagg Lodge, Buffalo Trace’s private, invite-only accommodation. Aside from that lot, the auction will include the first and second bottlings of Eagle Rare 30, and collections of Eagle Rare 10, 12, and 17 year old. Bidding will be open until 11:30 a.m. EST on Friday, May 8^th.

The auction isn’t the only place to obtain a bottle of Eagle Rare 30—the bourbon will be released to retailers, bars, and restaurants in scarce quantities starting next month. Its retail price is $12,500.

We last got a look at ultra-aged Eagle Rare back in 2023, when the distillery released its 25 year old, a bourbon also drawn from Warehouse P. We described its soft fruit, dark chocolate, and baking spice, all in harmony with oak. Just 200 bottles of that whiskey were released (and they went for $10,000 each), making it hard to obtain. For fans who wanted a taste back then, but weren’t able to get one the first go ‘round, you may get a second chance: Eagle Rare 25 is returning alongside the 30 year old, in about the same quantities.