Eagle Rare Binny's Private Selection 10 Year Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon - Barrel #011

VITALS:

- $40

- 90 Proof

- 10 Years

- Barrel #011

- Kentucky

Not to sound too reminiscent, but there once was a time when Eagle Rare private picks were not too difficult to find. I can recall wondering into random liquor store as I was traveling about my workday and finding store picks at probably close to an 80% clip. In fact, I pretty much grabbed one everywhere I found one.

But, of course, the demand for Buffalo Trace surged, and the availability of these private picks almost completely fell off. I guess it’s not entirely without cause, as I was certainly buying them up whenever I found them, and it has consistently been really good whiskey. But, I really would like to see the day when these aren’t so “allocated” and kept in the back. In any event, this Binnys selection came out, and soon thereafter found its way onto my shelf. What can I say, I will always have a soft spot for Eagle Rare, as it was in many ways my introduction into Bourbon.

The nose on this particular barrel gave me many of the traditional notes that I love about bourbon--that rich toffee with notes of vanilla and, in this case, a slight bit of oak tempering the sweetness. I got a light real cherry note on the nose as well, along with just a bit of dark chocolate. It wasn’t very complex, and the aromas were subtle, but what was there smelled really good!

On the palate it hit many of the same notes. Right up front was the dark caramel or toffee note that I got from the nose. At times it tended to lean more towards a brown sugar note, but for the most part stayed in its lane. There was also an undercurrent of unsweetened vanilla, along with a slight bitterness from the oak barrel.

I also got a light spicy note that I didn’t get on the nose. It was somewhere along the lines of cinnamon, but with a little bit more kick. I’m not exactly sure what I would equate it to, perhaps cinnamon with just a sprinkling of cayenne pepper to bump it up a notch.

On the finish, the spice didn’t linger very long, but the rich toffee note certainly did, along with the dark chocolate that I had gotten on the nose. Those two together combined to provide a great, long-lasting, sweet finish, but not overly sweet thanks to the slight bitterness from the dark chocolate. Quite frankly, I think the finish was my favorite part, and that’s what had me going straight back to my glass for the next step.

It goes without saying that as long as the prices remain constant, I’m going to pick these up everywhere I find them. Granted, these aren’t exactly out in the open, so I don’t exactly see myself having a backlog of Eagle Rare private selections. However, when I do find them, buying them will always be a no-brainer for me. 

Grade: A-