Eagle Rare is Buffalo Trace's age-stated bourbon, created in 1975 to reintroduce bourbon as a refined spirit. Made from the distillery's low-rye Mash Bill #1 and aged from ten years to as long as thirty, it spans the single-barrel 10 Year, the older 12 and 17 Year, and the 20-year Double Eagle Very Rare in its crystal decanter. This page gathers the Eagle Rare bottles in the vault, each linked to its own page.
- Created in 1975 by master distiller Charles L. Beam — a grand-nephew of Jim Beam — for Seagram, at the Old Prentice (later Four Roses) distillery in Lawrenceburg.
- Launched as a 101-proof, ten-year-old bourbon, conceived to reintroduce bourbon as a luxury spirit.
- Acquired by the Sazerac Company in March 1989, and produced at the Buffalo Trace Distillery since 1992.
- Made from Buffalo Trace's low-rye Mash Bill #1 — shared with Buffalo Trace and E.H. Taylor Small Batch — and matured in heavily charred "alligator char" oak.
- In 2005 the proof was lowered to 90 and Eagle Rare became a single-barrel bourbon.
- The range has since grown to include 12-, 17-, 20- (Double Eagle Very Rare), 25- and 30-year bottlings.
Eagle Rare is younger than it tastes. Master distiller Charles L. Beam — from the same family as Jim Beam — created it in 1975 for Seagram, building it around a ten-year age statement at a time when few bourbons carried one. When Seagram sold off its whiskey labels in 1989, Sazerac bought Eagle Rare; after a few years contracted to Heaven Hill, production settled at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in 1992, where it has stayed. The bourbon's early rivalry with another bird-named whiskey is part of its lore.
Every Eagle Rare comes from Buffalo Trace's low-rye Mash Bill #1 — the same recipe as Buffalo Trace bourbon and E.H. Taylor Small Batch — but it's defined by age. The 10 Year is a single barrel, each bottle drawn from one cask and bottled at 90 proof; the older expressions push the same whiskey far further, to seventeen, twenty, twenty-five and now thirty years. Long maturation in heavily charred oak is what gives Eagle Rare its deep amber color and notes of toffee, oak and dark fruit.
The Releases
The Eagle Rare bottles in the vault. We link each as it's added:
| Single Barrel & Permanent | |
| Eagle Rare 10 Year | Single barrel · 90 proof · aged 10 years |
| Eagle Rare 12 Year | Permanent release · aged 12 years |
| Ultra-Aged & Limited | |
| Eagle Rare 17 Year | Antique Collection · annual · ultra-aged |
| Double Eagle Very Rare | 20-year · crystal decanter with a sculpted eagle |
Older bottlings — the 25 Year (a 2023 Silver Anniversary release) and the 30 Year — appear here when in stock. Browse the wider Buffalo Trace collection and the Antique Collection.
Collector Note
Eagle Rare punches well above its everyday price. The 10 Year is a benchmark single barrel that's frequently allocated at retail, while the ultra-aged releases — 17 Year, Double Eagle Very Rare, and the 25 and 30 Year — are among the most sought-after bourbons Buffalo Trace makes, trading far above release. Because the 10 Year is single-barrel and the older bottles are vintage-dated, the specific release, proof and condition all matter.
Production Methodology
Eagle Rare is distilled at Buffalo Trace from the low-rye Mash Bill #1 and matured in new, heavily charred oak — the deeply ridged "alligator char" that gives the bourbon much of its color and flavor. The 10 Year is bottled one barrel at a time, so each bottle varies slightly; the older expressions are aged far longer in the distillery's warehouses and released in small quantities. Exact age, proof and any vintage are confirmed on each bottle's page.
Authentication & Vault Preservation
Every Eagle Rare bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authorized, authentic retailer, vault-stored and insured, shipped with protective handling and age-verified 21-and-over signature on delivery, and authenticated by our concierge before it ships. For the details, see how each bottle is verified, the vault and concierge desk, and our sourcing standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Eagle Rare, and who makes it?
Eagle Rare is a Kentucky straight bourbon made at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. It was created in 1975 by master distiller Charles L. Beam — a grand-nephew of Jim Beam — for Seagram, and acquired by the Sazerac Company in 1989; it has been produced at Buffalo Trace since 1992. Eagle Rare is made from the distillery's low-rye Mash Bill #1, the same recipe behind Buffalo Trace and E.H. Taylor Small Batch.
What's the difference between the Eagle Rare expressions?
Eagle Rare 10 Year is the flagship — a single-barrel bourbon aged at least ten years and bottled at 90 proof. The 12 Year is an older, permanent release; the 17 Year is an ultra-aged release in the annual Buffalo Trace Antique Collection; and Double Eagle Very Rare is a 20-year bourbon presented in a crystal decanter topped with a sculpted eagle. Buffalo Trace has also released 25- and 30-year Eagle Rare bottlings in very small quantities.