Eagle Rare 17-Year Bourbon 2005

Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (2005 Antique Collection)

Price

$2,799.95

✔ 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

Barrels

1988

Distilled

Years at Bottling

Proof

45%

ABV

55.54%

Evaporated

Warehouse Q, a single Buffalo Trace warehouse, held all 36 barrels behind the fall 2005 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, a 90.0-proof (45% ABV) bourbon distilled in the spring of 1988. Over 17 years the barrels lost 55.54% of their original whiskey to evaporation.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

Thirty-six barrels, picked by hand, all listed in one warehouse on Buffalo Trace's fact sheet for the release.

Spring 1988 whiskey, seventeen years old when it was bottled in 2005.

55.54% evaporated. Warehouse Q kept a little under half of what went into the barrels.

The recipe on the sheet: Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye and North Dakota malted barley, sour mashed and double distilled.

Dated September 20, 2005: Buffalo Trace's letter to the retailers of the release, which reports that each bottle was hand filled and hand labeled.

Nº 02

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Warehouse Q in the glass

Sensory Profile

The tasting comment on Buffalo Trace's 2005 fact sheet reads, in full, “A touch of caramel and a hint of old leather.” Behind it are 17 years in Warehouse Q, chill filtration and a bottling strength of 90.0 proof (45% ABV).

Strategic Position

Read it between its neighbors: the nine-barrel 2004 release before it drew on spring 1987 whiskey from Warehouses H and I, while the 2006 bottling, eighteen years old, came, like this one, from spring 1988 whiskey in Warehouse Q. The same fall saw William Larue Weller's first barrel-proof release.

Nº 03

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

→

One Warehouse

The fact sheet names a single warehouse for the release, Warehouse Q, and a single distillation season, spring 1988.

→

The Bottled Line

On this bottle the front label's Bottled line is written in as Fall 2005, beside 45% Alc/Vol (90 Proof), 17 Years Old and a 90 Proof side panel; a navy capsule tops the neck.

Collector IndexER17 · Fall 2005

Release: Fall 2005 Antique Collection
Distilled: Spring 1988
Age at bottling: 17 years
Proof: 90.0 (45% ABV)
Barrels: 36, picked by hand
Warehouse: Q
Evaporation: 55.54%

Other years and other whiskeys of the set are on the Antique Collection page, from Stagg to Sazerac.

Nº 04

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Whiskey	Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Release	Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, fall 2005
Distiller	Buffalo Trace Distillery, Franklin County, Kentucky
Distilled	Spring 1988
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
Warehouse	Q
Evaporation loss	55.54% of the original whiskey
Barrels	36, picked by hand
Filtration	Chill filtered
Format	750 mL

Nº 05

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Distillers-grade Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye and North Dakota malted barley went into this bourbon, according to Buffalo Trace's sheet for the 2005 release: milled through a #10 screen, cooked at 240°F with Kentucky limestone water treated by reverse osmosis, and fermented as a sour mash in carbon steel and black iron. The beer was double distilled, through a beer still and a doubler, to 135 proof and barreled at 125 proof in new white oak from Independent Stave of Lebanon, Kentucky, charred 55 seconds to a #4 char. After 17 years in Warehouse Q, 36 barrels were chosen by hand for a chill-filtered bottling at 90.0 proof.

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

Is the 2005 Eagle Rare 17 90 proof?

Yes. The proof for release on Buffalo Trace's 2005 fact sheet is 90.0, and the front label of the fall 2005 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old states 45% Alc/Vol (90 Proof). The sheet also records chill filtration.

How long was the 2005 Eagle Rare 17 aged?

For 17 years: Buffalo Trace's 2005 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old was distilled in the spring of 1988 and bottled in 2005, after aging in Warehouse Q at the Franklin County, Kentucky distillery. The fact sheet puts the evaporation loss over those years at 55.54%.

When was the 2005 Eagle Rare 17 released?

Its release came in the fall of 2005: Buffalo Trace's letter to the retailers who bought the 2005 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old is dated September 20, 2005. The same collection brought 2005 releases of Sazerac 18 Year Old, William Larue Weller and George T. Stagg.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Eagle Rare 17 · Fall 2005

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Eagle Rare 17 Year Old

The Elemental Distinction