Eagle Rare 17-Year Bourbon 2004

Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (2004 Antique Collection)

Price

$3,499.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: 17 Years (~18 Years True Age) | Region: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA | Proof: 90.0

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

Proof

45%

ABV

Years at Bottling

1987

Distilled

Barrels

68.47%

Evaporated

In the fall of 2004 Buffalo Trace bottled Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey at 90.0 proof (45% ABV) from nine barrels, chosen by hand, of whiskey distilled in the spring of 1987 at its Franklin County, Kentucky distillery. Those barrels aged 17 years in Warehouses H and I.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

Nine barrels. That is the whole barrel selection Buffalo Trace lists for the release, each one picked by hand.

Spring 1987 distillate. Seventeen years old at bottling, from whiskey distilled twelve years before the Frankfort distillery took the Buffalo Trace name in 1999.

Warehouses H and I. Two warehouses held the barrels, and 68.47% of the original whiskey was lost to evaporation before they were emptied.

90.0 proof, chill filtered. The sheet gives 90.0 proof for release and chill filtration; the label adds 45% Alc/Vol.

Released with Stagg and Sazerac 18. George T. Stagg and the Sazerac 18 Year Old rye also had fall 2004 releases in the collection; Thomas H. Handy Sazerac joined it in 2006.

Nº 02

Every Year Since 2000

The collection and the 2004 letter

Buffalo Trace introduced the Antique Collection in 2000 with Eagle Rare 17 among its first releases, and a new Eagle Rare 17 has followed every year since. The letter for the 2004 release says every bottle was filled and labeled by hand, and that tissue paper went in to protect the finished bottle.

Nº 03

How the 2004 Was Made

From the barrel fact sheet

Grain

Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye, North Dakota malt

Distillers-grade Kentucky corn with Minnesota rye and North Dakota malted barley, milled through a #10 screen and cooked at 240°F in Kentucky limestone water that had been through reverse osmosis.

Mash & Still

Sour mash, beer still and doubler

A sour mash, fermented in carbon steel and black iron vessels; the beer still and doubler took the spirit to 135 proof.

Barrel

Independent Stave, #4 char

New white oak from Independent Stave in Lebanon, Kentucky, charred for 55 seconds to a #4 char, filled at 125 proof: 53 liquid gallons, 66.25 original proof gallons a barrel.

Warehouse

H and I, 1987 to 2004

Seventeen years across the two warehouses, long enough for more than two thirds of the whiskey to evaporate before the nine barrels were drawn.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Buffalo Trace's comment & the vertical

Sensory Profile

Buffalo Trace summed up the fall 2004 Eagle Rare 17 on its fact sheet as big and silky, with caramel and a hint of leather. The comment covers the whole release: nine barrels of spring 1987 whiskey from Warehouses H and I.

Strategic Position

Next in the line came the 36-barrel release of 2005, from Warehouse Q, distilled a year after this one, in the spring of 1988; the 2004 drew on a quarter as many barrels, from two warehouses. In its own collection the 2004 stood with the Sazerac 18, that year's only rye.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

→

Letter of August 30, 2004

Buffalo Trace addressed the letter to retailers of this release and printed the fact sheet on its reverse, from the distillation season to the evaporation loss.

→

On This Bottle

On the front label: 45% Alc/Vol (90 Proof), 17 Years Old, a 90 Proof panel down the left edge and a Bottled line reading Fall 2004. The capsule is navy.

Collector IndexER17 · Fall 2004

Release: Fall 2004 Antique Collection
Distilled: Spring 1987
Age at bottling: 17 years
Proof: 90.0 (45% ABV)
Barrels: 9, picked by hand
Warehouses: H and I
Evaporation: 68.47%

Look through every Antique Collection bottle on our shelf for its companions and later years.

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Whiskey	Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Release	Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, fall 2004
Distiller	Buffalo Trace Distillery, Franklin County, Kentucky
Distilled	Spring 1987
Age	17 years old at bottling
Proof / ABV	90.0 proof (45% ABV)
Mash bill	Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye and North Dakota malted barley
Barrel	New white oak, #4 char (55 seconds), filled at 125 proof
Warehouses	H and I
Evaporation loss	68.47% of the original whiskey
Barrels	9, picked by hand
Filtration	Chill filtered
Format	750 mL

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is the 2004 Eagle Rare 17?

Seventeen years old at bottling, according to Buffalo Trace's fact sheet for the fall 2004 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old. Its whiskey was distilled in the spring of 1987 at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Franklin County, Kentucky, and aged in the distillery's Warehouses H and I.

What proof is the 2004 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old?

It is 90.0 proof, the strength Buffalo Trace's fact sheet gives for the 2004 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, and the label reads 45% Alc/Vol. The bourbon was chill filtered before bottling; Buffalo Trace changed Eagle Rare 17 from 90 to 101 proof for its 2018 release.

When did Eagle Rare 17 first come out?

First released in 2000, the year Buffalo Trace introduced its Antique Collection, Eagle Rare 17 Year Old has come out every year since as part of that collection. The 2004 bottling was released in the fall of 2004, alongside George T. Stagg and Sazerac 18 Year Old.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Eagle Rare 17 · Fall 2004

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Eagle Rare 17 Year Old

The Elemental Distinction

Every Year Since 2000

How the 2004 Was Made