Editor’s Note: This week, we’re reviewing the 2017 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection whiskeys. Check out our previous reviews as well: Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old, Sazerac 18-Year-Old, George T. Stagg
Frontier life was tough. Medical care was rudimentary. Fresh food was scarce. Modern comforts like indoor plumbing, electricity, and central heating were seldom found. Men were gruff, women were guarded, and sometimes, horror of horrors, people even ran out of Cognac.
One of the brave souls of early American life, Thomas H. Handy, is credited with making frontier life a little less difficult. During the middle of the 1800s, phylloxera devastated France’s vineyards, making Cognac—the main ingredient in the popular Sazerac cocktail—hard to come by. Thomas H. Handy, the owner and proprietor of Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans, had to come up with an alternative. So he tried rye whiskey, and presto! The modern Sazerac cocktail was born.
To commemorate Thomas H. Handy’s ingenuity, Buffalo Trace (owned by the Sazerac company) names its annual six-year cask-strength rye release after his memory. It’s part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection—BTAC for short—and its release is a hotly anticipated event in the bourbon world. While the manufacturer’s suggested retail price is a modest $90, most people end up paying a lot more, either because they buy their bottles on the secondary market, or because their retailers mark up the bottles in response to enormous demand.
Each year’s release always has the same five whiskeys: Eagle Rare 17-year-old, Sazerac Rye 18-year-old, William Larue Weller, Thomas H. Hardy Rye, and George T. Stagg. However, each year’s blend is usually slightly different, with barrels coming from different locations in different warehouses. This year’s version of Thomas H. Hardy Rye was distilled in 2011, which makes it six years old. It was matured on the third, fourth, and fifth floors of Warehouses K, L, and Q.
Tasting Notes: Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye 2017
Vital Stats: 127.2 proof, six years old.
Appearance: Amber
Nose: It’s a little muted at first. I get mellow, dusky notes of sandalwood, curry spices, and dates, but it’s not very expressive. Water releases some vegetal notes as well as a bit more oak.
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Palate: The palate, like the nose, starts out earthy and mild, without much amplitude. At first, I’m disappointed. Then, a haunting line of sweetness starts to wind through, conjuring up melon, honey, cucumber, cinnamon, and black pepper. Soon after a bazaar-like spice quality emerges, with cumin, garam masala, ginger, and unsweetened baking chocolate.
Water reveals some brighter flashes of cherry and builds out the body, but it remains nuanced. A nice long, lingering finish leaves you with the warming sensation of chili, cumin, and clove.
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