On Wednesday, Buffalo Trace Distillery announced the annual return of its highly anticipated Antique Collection, but this year, there’s a brand new bottling in the mix. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the collection, Buffalo Trace is debuting Colonel E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon, the first new addition to the lineup in 19 years.
Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2025 Release Details
The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is the distillery’s most coveted release, with each bottle paying homage to the historic whiskey brands under the Buffalo Trace umbrella and the craftsmen behind them. First launched in 2000, the collection includes Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Sazerac 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon, and Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye. Prior to the entry of Colonel E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond, Thomas H. Handy was the last bottle to join the collection in 2006.
This new release honors Colonel E.H. Taylor, a figure widely regarded as the “Father of Modern Bourbon.” In fact, he founded the distillery that later went on to become Buffalo Trace. In 1869, Colonel Taylor purchased the distillery site, upgraded the existing facility with first-of-its-kind innovations (many of which are still in use today), and started distilling under the label O.F.C. Beyond his revolutionary impact at Buffalo Trace, Colonel Taylor also contributed heavily to the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act, which continues to define quality standards to this day.
Made from Buffalo Trace’s sour mash recipe, Colonel E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond is aged for 15 years and 4 months before it’s bottled at 100 proof. According to the brand, the whiskey offers aromas of seasoned oak and warm vanilla with undertones of maple syrup and char. On the palate, the bourbon delivers a balanced sweetness, with gentle wood and baking spice flavors that give way to a long finish with lingering notes of oak, cherry, vanilla, and caramel.
“Colonel Taylor’s signature graced every bottle produced under his watch as a testament to its quality, a tradition we uphold today as a promise of integrity,” Buffalo Trace Distillery global brand director Andrew Duncan said in a press release. “Created in his honor, every sip of E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon offers more than exceptional flavor — it’s a taste of history and a reminder of his strict tenets that have safeguarded America’s world-leading whiskey quality standards for nearly 150 years.”
Also included in the collection is a new expression of Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old, which was matured beyond its 17-year age statement. While not quite as old as the 2023 release, this year’s expression aged for 18 years and 4 months before it was bottled at 101 proof in a salute to the original 1975 expression. The bourbon leads with aromas of dark tobacco, leather, and ripe cherry that give way to notes of caramel, leather, cherry, and vanilla oak on the palate.
This year’s George T. Stagg expression is one of the strongest yet, bottled at a whopping 142.8 proof. Matured for more than 15 years and 4 months, the bourbon is uncut and unfiltered, washing the palate with notes of ripe cherry, dark tobacco, vanilla, and oak. Also included in the collection is William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon, bottled at 14 years. Coming in at 129 proof, the bourbon is layered, with balanced notes of vanilla, maple, tobacco, and ripe fruit.
Up next is the Sazerac 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, which gets its name from New Orleans’ Sazerac House, where the classic Sazerac cocktail was first stirred up. Similar to last year’s bottling, the 2025 release was aged for 18 years and 5 months. Bottled at 45 percent ABV, the rye has aromas of seasoned oak and herbs with pops of spice, oak, and woody richness on the palate.
Rounding out the Antique Collection is Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye, named for the bartender who first used rye whiskey in the Sazerac. This year’s expression was aged for more than six years and bottled at 129.8 proof, a lift from last year’s 127.2. On the nose, expect aromas of rye spice, oak, and bright fruit followed by a palate with bold spice and a long, warming finish.
Each bottle in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is sold separately and available for a limited time nationwide for a suggested retail price of $149.99.
The 2025 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2025, Tasted and Ranked
Launched quietly, if almost outrageously (at a then soaring price of $49.99 a bottle), into retail starting in 2000, the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection was hardly an immediate sensation. In fact, bottles of the initial lineup — Eagle Rare 17, Sazerac 18, and William Larue Weller 19 — mostly sat on shelves for the first few years. (See the oft-shared image of boxes upon boxes of BTAC stacked and gathering dust.)
By 2014 or so, BTAC (or “bee-tack,” as taters came to call it) — which now included George T. Stagg and Thomas H. Handy — had become the most coveted, non-Pappy, yearly release in the game with bottles that MSRP for $149.99 often actually selling for five to ten times that. Everyone has their own thoughts on what the yearly best is, everyone’s thoughts differ, and, really, no one is “wrong.”
This year, the series’ 25th year, the Sazerac Company has blessed the humble masses with the first new addition to the collection since 2006, with the Colonel E. H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon. (Whoop-de-damn-doo, yet another E.H. Taylor bottling you can’t find or afford, the online bourbon world collectively groaned.)
Whatever the case, that gives us this year’s slate with the following stats:
- Sazerac 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (90 proof)
- Colonel E. H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon (100 proof)
- Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon (101 proof)
- William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon (129 proof)
- Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (129.8 proof)
- George T. Stagg (142.8 proof)
I tried the full range of expressions last night and rated them based on aroma, taste, and finish in individual reviews linked below. Here are the six 2025 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection whiskeys, ranked from lowest to highest score.
6. William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon
The only “wheater” in the series comes from the exact same mash bill as the Van Winkles, though at a barrel-strength 129 proof this year. Uncut and unfiltered, the nose is sweet and creamy, but the palate is jarring and boozy; not something you would expect from a wheated bourbon. By far the hottest in the collection this year.
Rating: 91
5. Sazerac 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Always the toughest to accurately judge in the series whilst doing a complete collection tasting at once, the 90 proof again does it no favors against its boozy brethren. The nose is wonderful; the most aromatic in the series this year: tropical, with notes of pineapple and mango. At 18 years and 5 months of age, this “low-rye” rye is not particularly spicy. It’s more herbal, with notes of caraway and a hint of oak.
Rating: 93
4. E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon
The newest offering in the collection is named after the so-called “Father of Modern Bourbon” who helped modernize distilling operations while also playing a pivotal role in formalizing industry-wide quality standards through the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. It has the exact same mash bill (Mash Bill No.1 as it’s known internally) as Eagle Rare 17, and just a proof point lower. At 14 years of age it is tannic and bitter on the palate, with the spicy rye note really coming through above just a mild hint of cherry cola sweetness. If that seems like a pan, it’s not; you’ll keep coming back for more.
Rating: 94
3. Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Another Mash Bill No. 1 bottling, this year’s release is actually aged to 18 years and 4 months. It has a beautiful herbal nose, while the palate leans more Neapolitan ice cream, leather, and lingering oaky spiciness. It’s fantastic, but is it that much better than the recently released, and excellent, Eagle Rare 12 Year Old? For the elevated price, I’d say no.
Rating: 94
2. George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Hazmat! It’s hazmat! You’ve heard of hazmat right?!?! The most tater-coveted in the series is jacked up to a startling, hazardous materials proof of 142.8 this year, one of the label’s highest ever numbers. And yet, at 15 years and 4 months, it is really not that hot. The nose is beautiful, with vanilla and a hint of pipe tobacco; the palate is boozy, sure, but not overwhelming. Another great edition of “GTS.”
Rating: 95
1. Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
This uncut, unfiltered whiskey is crafted from barrels aged over six years and bottled at 129.8 proof, up from last year’s 127.2. Despite its youth, it is by far the most well-rounded in this year’s series. The nose is spicy oak balanced by some citrus and orchard fruit. The palate is an explosion of flavor; baking spices, dried fruit, and nuts. The mid-palate has a sort of malted whiskey/bready note that’s really enjoyable. The finish is warm and lingering, with oak and vanilla, but no bitterness or burn. It’s insanely drinkable at this proof and a home run for the year.
Rating: 97
