Special release season continues this week. We recently reported some other fall limited releases, like the Diageo Special Releases and Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition, and we have an upcoming look at the new edition of Octomore. Now comes the announcement of this year’s Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC)—and the notable detail that there is no George T. Stagg in the lineup, because the barrels for the 15 year old barrel proof bourbon did not meet the distillery’s standards this year.
See the full details below on this year’s four BTAC whiskeys, along with some other goodies such as a no-age statement Macallan that celebrates the new year, a Writers’ Tears Irish whiskey with an ice wine finish, and a cognac-finished bourbon from Firestone & Robertson’s TX label.
William Larue Weller (Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2021 Release)
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 62.65%
Price: $99
Release: October 2021
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
Distilled in winter 2009 and aged in Warehouses C, D, K, L, and Q, this is Buffalo Trace’s wheated bourbon recipe bottled at barrel proof. The 2020 release scored 95 points.
Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye (Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2021 Release)
Style: Straight rye
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 64.75%
Price: $99
Release: October 2021
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
Distilled in the spring of 2015 and aged in warehouses I, L, O, and K, this straight rye is uncut and unfiltered. The 2020 release scored 93 points.
Eagle Rare 17 year old (Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2021 Release)
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 17 year old
ABV: 50.5%
Price: $99
Release: October 2021
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
This whiskey was distilled in spring of 2002 and aged on the first floor of Warehouse P. The 2020 release scored 92 points.
Sazerac Rye 18 year old (Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2021 Release)
Style: Straight rye
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 18 year old
ABV: 45%
Price: $99
Release October 2021
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
The barrels for this whiskey were filled in the spring of 2003 and rested on the second and fourth floors of Warehouses K and P. The 2020 release scored 94 points.
Whisky Advocate says:
All four of this year’s Antique Collection releases will hit shelves in late October, and unless you have a generous liquor store that enters them into a lottery, it’s unlikely they’ll remain at that suggested price. If you’re able to snag one, the quality and collectability will be hard to match, as they are some of the most sought-after bottles in bourbon. Our Fall 2021 issue takes a long hard look at the state of bourbon, including its rise on the secondary market.
Macallan A Night on Earth in Scotland
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 40%
Price: $90
Release: October 2021
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
This limited-edition whisky celebrates Scotland’s Hogmanay festivities, which take place on the last day of the year. Special attention was paid to the packaging, designed in collaboration with illustrator Erica Dorn and inspired by the historic fire rituals used to ring in the new year around the world. The whisky comes from sherry seasoned American and European oak casks as well as refill bourbon barrels. This is the first release in what Macallan says is a new limited edition gifting series.
Whisky Advocate says:
If you like to ring in the year with a whisky, this specialty Macallan is just the dram. The multi-layered packaging has nods to a number of Hogmanay customs and is among the many artful bottles we’ve seen in recent years.
Writers’ Tears Icewine Cask Finish
Style: Blended whiskey
Origin: Ireland
Age: Not stated
ABV: 46%
Price: $85
Release: November 2021 in the U.S.
Availability: 3,500 bottles for the U.S., Canada, and Ireland
Need to know:
This whiskey is a vatting of single pot still and single malt, the same used for Writers’ Tears Copper Pot, that is then finished for 12 months in ice wine hogsheads from Inniskillin Winery in Niagara, Ontario. Walsh Whiskey, which makes Writers’ Tears, acquired 12 ice wine hogsheads which were emptied in March 2020, shipped to Ireland, and filled with high-strength whiskey in May of that year. Now the brand is releasing what claims to be the first-ever Irish whiskey finished in ice wine casks.
Whisky Advocate says:
While this is a first for Irish whiskey, we’ve seen ice wine finishes elsewhere. Glenfiddich released Winter Storm 21 year old (91 points) as part of its Experimental Series with a 6 month finish in ice wine casks, while Wayne Gretzky’s whisky label released a Canadian whisky (89 points) that was finished in ice wine barrels from Gretzky’s own winery. Look for a review in our Winter issue Buying Guide.
TX Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Cognac Casks
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Texas
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50.8%
Price: $65
Release: October 2021
Availability: Limited, TX-exclusive
Need to know:
At the core of this whiskey is the distillery’s 2 year old straight bourbon, which spent 17 months finishing in cognac casks selected by master distiller Rob Arnold. This marks the first TX Whiskey bottling distilled entirely at the brand’s new Whiskey Ranch, a 112-acre distillery experience in Fort Worth, Texas.
Whisky Advocate says:
This is the third and final release in TX Whiskey’s Barrel Finish Series, which previously included Tawny Port Finish and PX Sherry Finish bourbons. This is also the last whiskey under Arnold’s purview, as he is stepping down after a decade at the distillery.
Milam & Greene Distillery Edition Batch 2
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Texas
Age: Not stated
ABV: 57.5%
Price: $120
Release: October 2021
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
This is a certified Texas whiskey, meaning it is mashed, fermented, distilled, and aged in Texas. Made with a high-corn mashbill of 70% corn, 22% malted rye, and 8% malted barley, the whiskey matured for 3 to 3.5 years before being bottled at barrel proof.
Whisky Advocate says:
Only nine barrels of Milam & Green’s Distillery Edition Batch 2 were produced, making it extremely limited. This is especially unique for the distillery given that it’s one of only two whiskeys in the lineup made solely in Texas; other bottlings contain whiskeys from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. Over the summer, distillery co-founder Heather Greene joined our Instagram Live series #TasteWithSpace to discuss the opportunities and challenges that arise from making whiskey in Texas.
Grand Teton Private Stock
Style: Straight corn whiskey
Origin: Idaho
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $80
Release: October 2021
Availability: Distillery and online, with west coast distribution forthcoming
Need to know:
This is the first release in Grand Teton Distillery’s Private Stock series. Distilled entirely from local Idaho corn, this whiskey has been aged in nine barrels that previously held Grand Teton’s Colter’s Run bourbon.
Whisky Advocate says:
Driggs, Idaho-based Grand Teton Distillery is family-owned, and sits at an elevation of 6,500 feet. That’s not quite as high up as Breckenridge Distillery in Colorado, but it no doubt has an impact on the whiskey as it ages. This specific whiskey is being released in celebration of Grand Teton’s 10th anniversary, and the private stock series has future releases planned.
