Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (2016 Antique Collection)

Name: Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (2016 Antique Collection)
Brand: Buffalo Trace
SKU: 088004021443-16
Price: 2199.95 USD
Availability: InStock

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$2,199.95

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Age: 17 Years Old (2021 Release) | Region: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA | Proof: 101 Proof

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Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old from the 2016 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is a seventeen-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon at 90 proof — the gentlest bottle in a collection built on barrel strength, two years before Buffalo Trace ended that era and raised the label to 101. Distilled spring 1999, drawn from thirty-two barrels on the low floors of two warehouses.

The Elemental Distinction

Ninety proof, seventeen years — the quiet bottle in a set otherwise built on barrel strength. The label held that shape from 2000 until the 2018 raised it to 101.
Distilled spring 1999 and matured on the first, second and third floors of warehouses H and K. Low floors are the point: the temperature swing is gentlest there, and it is how a barrel reaches seventeen years without turning to oak.
Chill filtered — the one Antique Collection bourbon that is. The barrel-proof bottlings in the set are not, and at 90 proof the treatment is what keeps the whiskey clear.
Thirty-two hand-picked barrels, with 66.1% of the original fill lost to evaporation over seventeen years.
Buffalo Trace's own note: leather, vanilla, tobacco, toffee — the standing character of this bottling, restated for the vintage.
Released at a $90 suggested retail across the whole 2016 collection.

Sensory Profile

The distillery's note on this release: leather, vanilla, tobacco and toffee.

Reviewers that autumn split on it. One found real weight and an unexpected run of fruit — apple, pear, tart berries, banana and lemon — held in check by dry walnut and sweet spice, and thought the vintage had shed the bottling's usual shyness. Breaking Bourbon judged it a disappointment against recent years. Both are readings, presented as such.

Strategic Position

On our seventeen-year bourbon shelf the 2016 belongs to the old order — the era when this label made its case on age at the lowest strength in the set, before the 2018 ended it. Its companion that autumn is the smoke-and-clove Sazerac that year, the collection's other 90-proof bottle and the year it came off the tank. Forward, The 2017 Eagle Rare 17 is the last release at this strength.

Technical Specifications

Distillery	Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Class	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Collection	Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, 2016 release
Proof / ABV	90 proof (45% ABV)
Age statement	17 years at bottling
Distilled	Spring 1999
Maturation	First, second and third floors of warehouses H and K
Filtration	Chill filtered
Format	750 mL (US release)
Region	Kentucky, USA

Collector Note

Everything in this vertical divides at 2018, and the 2016 sits squarely in the older half: 90 proof, the strength the label carried from its debut in the first Antique Collection until Buffalo Trace raised it to 101. Anyone who prefers the original style is buying 2017 or earlier, and the 2016 is a good place to be — thirty-two barrels, 66.1% evaporation, and a vintage reviewers found unusually fruit-forward for a bottling better known for leather and oak. The printed proof dates any bottle of this label at a glance: 90 is 2017 or earlier, 101 is 2018 or later.

Recommended Serving

Neat, tulip, no water — at 90 proof there is nothing to open and a good deal to lose, and seventeen years already did the work. Ten minutes of air does more than dilution will. Beside the 2018, the first at 101, it is the cleanest way to taste what that decision changed: same age statement, same mash, eleven proof points and one policy between them.

Production Methodology

Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old is distilled at Buffalo Trace from Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye and North Dakota malted barley — Mash Bill No. 1, the distillery's low-rye bourbon recipe — sour mashed, double distilled off the still at 135 proof, entered into new #4-char white oak at 125. The 2016 filled in spring 1999 and matured seventeen years on the first, second and third floors of warehouses H and K. Floor is the whole story at this age: low floors hold a narrower temperature range, the whiskey moves in and out of the wood more gently, and the barrel survives long enough to be worth dumping. Even so, 66.1% of the fill was gone, and thirty-two barrels were all that made the selection. Unlike the barrel-proof bottlings in the collection, it is chill filtered before bottling at 90 proof.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What proof is the 2016 Eagle Rare 17?

Ninety proof, or 45% ABV — the gentlest strength in a collection otherwise built on barrel-proof bottlings. The label carried 90 from its debut in the first Antique Collection in 2000 through the 2017 release; the 2018 raised it to 101, where it has stayed. The printed proof therefore dates any bottle of this label at a glance.

Where was the 2016 Eagle Rare 17 aged?

On the first, second and third floors of warehouses H and K at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, from a spring 1999 fill. Low floors matter for a bourbon held this long: the temperature swing is narrowest near the ground, so the whiskey moves in and out of the oak more gently and can reach seventeen years without turning woody. Even so, 66.1% of the original fill was lost to evaporation.

Is the 2016 Eagle Rare 17 chill filtered?

Yes — and it is the only bourbon in the Antique Collection that is. George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller are dumped uncut and unfiltered at barrel strength; Eagle Rare 17 is proofed down to 90 and chill filtered, which removes the fatty acids that would otherwise cloud the whiskey at that strength and temperature. It is a different bottling philosophy inside the same set, not an oversight.

Shipping information

Adult Signature Required: Federal law requires an adult (21+) with a valid government ID to sign for all deliveries. Carriers cannot leave alcohol unattended.

Processing Time: Most orders process within 1–8 business days. You will receive a tracking number via email as soon as your bottle ships.

Insured Shipping: We strongly recommend electing Shipping Protection at checkout. Midnight Whiskey is not liable for loss or damage once in the carrier's possession unless insurance is purchased.

Restrictions: We ship only within the permitted U.S. states and cannot deliver to P.O. Boxes or U.S. Territories.

All Sales Final: Due to alcohol regulations, we cannot accept returns for change of mind.

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