Eagle Rare 10YO Kentucky Straight Bourbon
- Jun 30, 2015
- 4 min read
This week we’ve delved into the deep American south once again and pulled another Kentuckian out of our alcoholic bag for you guys, and one that is bold as bloody brass: Eagle Rare 10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon. And if you’re after a flavourful, boastful bourbon that delivers a good shot of toffee sweetness and a lingering quality that could rival that of your inner child, then we’re sure you’ll love this American. So, let’s get to it.
Another boozy inhabitant of America’s bluegrass state, this bottle is a single barrel bourbon from the Buffalo Trace distillery that has been aged for no less than ten years. Winner of an unwavering amount of awards, including Gold Medal at the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Excellent/Strong Recommendation at the 2013 Ultimate Spirits Challenge, Gold Medal at the 2012 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition and freaking load more, this is a bourbon that has a personality all of its own, definitely living up the characteristics embodied by the powerful eagle swooping ever-so gracefully on the bottle. But we’re not surprised; this stuff is bloody great!
And as soon as you stick your nose in the glass you’re immediately hit square in the face by an ambrosial flood of toffee aromas, the likes you’d get when unwrapping and devouring a handful of the Quality Street toffee pennies at Christmas. It’s a rich, creamy sweetness, almost like that of condensed milk and it enough to make you want to quaff the bottle immediately! Your nose will get a slight burn after a few inhales and but keep going, you’ll soon discover a whisper of orange peel immerge that entwines ever so gracefully with a whole lot of wood.
But once you get in down you, you’ll find that toffee is still the big player, the head honcho, the team captain in this flavour profile, delivering that great candied sweetness that makes this bourbon so damn delectable. But once that has defiantly marched its way in, this is the stage where this bourbon’s taste gets so much more interesting. An assertive and bold dryness envelops your mouth, almost mellowing the initial toothsome sweetness, developing it into a richer, more complex and darker sweetness. Think burnt vanilla and singed caramel. And hell is this dram smooth! These fellas have taken over the flavour wheel now and we’re bloody excited to see where it will lead!
And it leads straight back to the barrel. Woody, oaky flavours flourish on your tongue, adding a hefty element to this bourbon character and a flavour that will make you want to shout about this bottle to your mates. It’s a courageous and fearless little bleeder, for sure. But this bourbon is certainly a lot sweeter on your nose than it is in your mouth, but that is when this bottle unleashes its full glory. It definitely knows how to make an exit too. It decidedly launches itself on the back of your throat with a great punch of warmth and a spicy alcoholic pummel, and you’ll find the taste linger around in your mouth like a red wine stain on your favourite white shirt.
But surprising to us, what we really liked about Eagle Rare was its unexpected dryness. We didn’t expect it to be so dry but we really liked that element to its character. The way in which the sweetness of this bourbon develops and grows was enough to make us keel over and the dominance from the toffee was enough to make fill our bath full of toffee pennies and dive straight in! And checking in at around £38 for a bottle it’s bloody good value too and unquestionably deserves a space on your booze shelf. Get yourselves involved people, get yourselves involved!
Pick yourself up a bottle here.
Eagle Rare Cocktails
Head Bartender at Reunion Bar and penner of @TheSpiritCellar, David Coveney, has rustled us up a few Eagle Rare cocktails for you to try out.
EAGLE RARE, OH EAGLE RARE, HOW I LOVE YOU EAGLE RARE!!! – That’s my Eagle Rare song that I use to serenade the bottle before mixing anything with it. I usually have a cheeky shot too as this stuff is damn good on its own. It’s so cakey, rich and smooth. That richness though, helps it stand up very well in cocktails too.
Ship Shape & Eagle Fashioned
12.5ml Tawny Port
10ml Sugar Syrup
4 Drops Of Angostura Bitters
50ml Eagle Rare
1 large Twist of Orange
Method: Add all the ingredients accept the whisky to a whisky glass, muddle the orange slightly to release oils and fill the glass with ice. Stir one third of the Eagle Rare with the ice and stir well. Repeat this process until the glass is full and the drink is smooth with a small kick of alcohol.
Mandarin Sour
50ml Eagle Rare
35ml Lemon Juice
20ml Mandarin Napolean
10ml Mandarin Syrup
3 Drops Bobbs Mandarin Bitters
1 Egg White
Method: Dry shake all ingredients, then shake again with ice and then shake again without ice. Pour over a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with a few orange segments and bitters.
Rare Lemonade
50ml Eagle Rare
25ml Lemon Juice
20ml Triple Sec
Lemonade Top
Method: Shake all ingredients well, except the lemonade. Strain over large ice cubes and top up with lemonade. This is the most refreshing of the three.
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