Fred Minnick took a break from his book tour for Bottom Shelf to review both the Eagle Rare 25- and 30-year expressions, as well as to share some history about older whiskeys.

“I’m a very critical person when it comes to old bourbons,” he said. “In fact, I consider myself old school.”

This is to say that the distillers of yesteryear almost never aged bourbon as old as these Eagle Rare expressions. Fred’s reasoning is that many find them to be astringent and over-oaked. He said some of the ultra-aged bourbons he’s had were “like licking a tree.”

At Buffalo Trace, however, Fred says, there is a process of cooling that helps slow down the aging process. Perhaps that will make these long-aged Eagle Rare expressions more palatable.

Starting with the 101-proof 25-year-old, Fred said the nose opens with a strong note of chocolate milk. The good news is there are no prominent hints of oak – no sawdust, no fence posts, he says. He then detects cardamom as well.

As for the palate, he said it is a “wave” of flavor on his tongue. He said the flavor is concentrated from the middle to the back, and the profile is complicated, with sweet notes of marmalade, caramel and others, but the biggest note is cinnamon.

Moving to the 30-year, which also is bottled at 101 proof, the nose is different: “I am absolutely smelling sawdust in this,” Fred said.

He says there is a lot of oak, which brings pungency to the aroma. On his tongue, he said he gets plenty of “action” toward the front. Luckily for Fred, at first taste, there is no sense of over-oaking. Instead, there is more sweetness. Molasses, honey, marzipan, brown sugar – “so much sweetness,” he said.

Best of all, he said, it’s a complex bourbon. By the third taste, he was sold. “This is a thinking bourbon,” he said. “It’s pretty special.”

Click below to see the full tasting and find out which of the two Eagle Rare expressions he likes best.

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