It must be early autumn: The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is about to hit shelves—metaphorically, anyway. As fans of the whiskeys can attest, it's rare to spot one of these bottles on an actual shelf, and if you do, the price is almost always well above suggested retail. Getting your hands on a bottle usually requires some combination of luck, cunning, and/or being a very loyal customer of a store that receives an allocation. Some stores offer a lottery, while others allow eager fans to line up hours or days in advance of releasing the bottles. Start calling around to retailers in your area to get the lay of the land now—and cross your fingers.Unlike last year—when the proof of Eagle Rare 17 year old went up, along with Buffalo Trace's suggested retail prices—there are no big changes to the 2019 lineup. George T. Stagg will be at its lowest proof ever, but still plenty punchy at over 58% ABV. This year, however, Buffalo Trace isn't providing barrel counts for the whiskeys. While the distillery never discloses how many bottles are available, in the past, the number of barrels has given some indication of availability. Alas, no more.Read on for full details.George T. StaggStyle: Straight bourbonAge: 15 years oldProof: 58.45% ABVPrice: $99Distilled in the spring of 2004, this bourbon aged in warehouses C, H, I, K, and Q. Master distiller Harlen Wheatley selected mainly barrels taken from the first floor, where alcohol evaporates more quickly than water, resulting in the lowest proof ever for George T. Stagg.William Larue WellerStyle: Straight bourbonAge: 12 years oldProof: 64% ABVPrice: $99Distilled in the winter of 2007, this bourbon aged in warehouse I.Eagle Rare 17 year oldStyle: Straight bourbonAge: 17 years oldProof: 50.5% ABVPrice: $99Distilled in the spring of 2002, this bourbon matured on the first floor of warehouse P. Like last year, it's bottled at 101 proof, where it will remain going forward.Thomas H. Handy SazeracStyle: Straight ryeAge: 6 years oldProof: 62.85% ABVPrice: $99This whiskey was distilled in the spring of 2013 and aged in warehouses K, M, and N.Sazerac 18 year oldStyle: Straight ryeAge: 18 years oldProof: 45% ABVPrice: $99This whiskey was distilled in the spring of 2001 and aged on the second floors of warehouses K and L.
