As a rule, I don’t normally drink bourbon until the official start of football season. Why? Well, bourbon is what I consider to be a “cold weather” spirit. You can’t really get into the mood for a really earthy and smooth drink like bourbon when the average low temperature is 78 degrees. Bourbon is for keeping you warm. It’s not for cooling you off by the pool like a nice tumbler of Tanqueray Rangpur and pineapple does. However, every now and then it’s ok to deviate from the norm and drink bourbon out of season. Especially when it’s as good as Eagle Rare’s 10-year-old bourbon.
Like most great bourbons I’ve sampled, Eagle Rare comes in a very simple bottle with a cork. The smooth aroma when I first opened the bottle made me want to wear the stuff as cologne. Or drink it straight. Which I did.
Eagle Rare is the bourbon equivalent of Pyrat Rum or Zaya Gran Reserva Rum. Not too expensive, but willing to take the Pepsi challenge with any of the “ultra premium” brands on the market. Even after I emptied the bottle I looked like a glue-sniffing addict taking long, slow smells out of the bottle. Seriously, they should bottle this and market it as aftershave you could drink.
I also tried Eagle Rare with several different mixers with whom it did great with. Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke, etc. However, this is definitely a bourbon you could drink on the rocks, thus making you look like a total bourbon connoisseur to your friends or coworkers.
This is definitely one of my top bourbons now and am counting the days until football season gets here so I can tell these dog days of summer to go to hell and leave me and my bourbon be to watch football till we pass out.
A bottle of Eagle Rare 10-year-old will set you back about $29-$39 depending on where you buy it. The company also has a 17-year-old version that I can’t wait to try.
This year my birthday nicely falls on Saturday (April 14th), and I thought I’d share with my close friends a bottle of something nice, not too expensive, but not available on the shelves of local liquor shops. Vodka is ubiquitous and hardly anyone can be surprised with this traditional drink of Russians. Tequila? It’s posh. Rum? Probably a good idea. But there are two reasons I’m looking forward to try some bourbon. First, I still remember how smooth and flavorsome was Four Roses Small Batch. Second, due to some unknown reason my friends started to relate to me as a whisk(e)y enthusiast. This hardly has any solid grounds, I just read lots of reviews (that’s how I came here eventually) and share my findings. Now those tricky terms like ‘single malt’, ‘vatted malt’, ‘straight bourbon’, ‘charred oak’, ‘bonded whiskey’ etc. don’t confuse me like they used to.
Well, to cut a long story short, I created a short list of bourbons I’m eager to taste, and then went for reviews. My list includes Corner Creek, Four Roses Single Barrel, Jefferson’s, Old Grand Dad 100 or 114, Eagle Rare 10, Wild Turkey 8, Rittenhouse Straight Rye. I think I’ve made my choice, and will order a bottle of Eagle Rare 10 YO.
One of my favorite bourbons. On the rocks, mixed with a splash of ginger ale or straight up — smooth, flavorful, oily bourbon goodness. Buffalo Trace distillery makes some fine stuff at a great price.