A First Look At The 2025 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

For many Americans fall is all about changing leaves, shorter days, football and maybe even pumpkin spice. For fans of American whiskey, however, autumn means one thing: the imminent arrival of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. And today it is officially upon us. The 2025 BTAC is here and we can already tell you that it’s bigger than ever before; with the addition of a yellow-topped EH Taylor bottling, the total number of expressions is up to six. But is it better? Let’s find out. We’ve got your first taste below.

Before we get into the tasting notes for each, though, here’s a very brief refresher of what BTAC is, and how it blossomed into full-blown bourbon (and rye) sensation. The collection originally debuted back in 2000 as a way for Buffalo Trace to showcase a trio of its legacy labels in an older age-stated format.

The legendary distillery out of Frankfort, Kentucky was well ahead of the whiskey boom, debuting a 19-year-old William Larue Weller wheated bourbon, 18-year-old Sazerac Rye, and a 17-year-old Eagle Rare, at a time when top shelf American offerings weren’t much more than a curiosity. But the quality of these products were undeniable from the start, and demand soon followed. By 2002, Buffalo Trace had added the venerable George T. Stagg brand into the mix. It was joined four years later by a high-proof rye from Thomas H. Handy.

By the mid-2010s, as bourbon was in the midsts of a mainstream explosion in popularity, BTAC enjoyed positioning at the forefront of the trend. It held the precise recipe to make collector’s swoon: high-proof, full-flavored liquids of vaunted provenance, in scant supply. This is the same producer responsible for Pappy Van Winkle, after all, and that no-so-closely-guarded secret had, by then, been revealed to all.

So even though these bottles were meant to retail well under the $100 mark, they were already seeing 10x fold mark-ups on the secondary. Nowadays, they’re priced at $150 each, and though the bourbon boom has leveled-off slightly, you can still expect to see them listed at four figure prices from many online retailers. Your best bet for finding them at cost is by visiting Legacy De Forge, a new global platform for premium bottle sales. A limited supply will be allocated for direct purchase on the site starting today.

Here’s what you can expect to uncork from each:

• E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon – The first new addition to the BTAC lineup in 19 years is a 100-proof offering, meeting the bottled-in-bond standards set by its namesake all the way back in 1897. This one sat in the barrel for exactly 15 years and 4 months, during which time it accumulated aromas of fresh vanilla pods and maple-drenched pancakes. The palate is surprisingly gentle in oak tones, considering its age, veering more towards cherry pie than wood sugar. The fruity sweetness simmers into a lengthy finish. It’s destined to be one of the most coveted offerings from the class of 2025.
• George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon – A perennial standout amongst BTAC releases, this iteration is going to be even more attention-worthy than usual. Bottled with an impressive 15 year age statement at a staggering 142.8-proof, it has crossed the threshold into Hazmat territory (any whiskey north of 140 is considered hazardous material by the FAA and prohibited from commercial air cargo). It is as intense as you’d expect, bursting with tobacco leaf and baking spice in the nose and evolving into sandalwood, menthol and earthier elements in the finish. A truly unforgettable dram.
• William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon – Named after the pioneer of wheated bourbon, this one is always built from Buffalo Trace’s celebrated wheated mash bill, the same one famously responsible for today’s Pappy Van Winkle bottlings. This year it’s 14 years in age, 64.5% in ABV, and unapologetically robust. Rounder with confection than the rest, it exudes generous portions of pecan pie and toffee. And despite its high proof point the softness typical to the subcategory remains true.
• Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon – For folks preferring something even gentler, look no further than this 101-proof caramel bomb. Despite its name, this release actually contains liquid that is upwards of 18 years in age. But the balance between oak and distillate is sublime, a glove-in-hand immersion that matches candied apple sweetness with a lingering leathery savoriness.
• Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey – And let us not forget about the ryes from the collection. This one is bright and spicy in equal measure. The young buck of the bunch was aged for just over six years, and flexes a proof point to 129.8 – up slightly from the 2024 entry. If you’re palate is strong enough to poke past the heat, you’re gifted a warming communion of peppermint and vanilla bean in a slowly fading finish.
• Sazerac 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye – If you desire a well-aged rye at a more accessible ABV, this is undoubtedly the bottle for you. The 90-proof liquid rested in barrels for nearly 18-and-a-half years, collecting caramel and leather to layer atop the herbal undertones and caraway seed at its core. This superior sipper also flaunts one of the richest bodies of any ryes currently on the market. It would make a memorable base for one heck of a Manhattan – for those even bolder than the whiskey itself.