Credit: Lost Cargo
Sazerac Rye 18 Year-Old was one of the original three releases in the first edition of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, released in 2000. The other two releases were Eagle Rare 17 Year-Old and W. L. Weller 19 Year-Old.
Sazerac is the name of Buffalo Trace’s parent company, Sazerac Company, founded in New Orleans in 1869 by Thomas H. Handy. Sazerac Coffee House gained fame as the home of “America’s First Cocktail” known as the Sazerac.
In 2005 Sazerac 18 Year-Old was awarded American Whisky of the Year by Whisky Advocate. Rather than risk over-oaking any of the spring 1985 distillate they had aging, Buffalo Trace dumped the barrels in to stainless steel tanks, halting the aging process. From 2006 through 2015, Sazerac 18 Year-Old releases came from the stainless-steel stored rye whiskey. In 2016, Buffalo Trace used distillate from spring 1998, marking the end of the “tanked” releases.
Batches
Releases from 2005 through 2015 used the same rye whiskey that was distilled in 1985, aged 18 years, then stored in stainless steel tanks.
