Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC) Hub

The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC) was designed to be a showcase of some of the finest whiskies the distillery has to offer. In 2000, the first release featured Sazerac 18 Year, Eagle Rare 17 Year, and W.L. Weller 19 Year (all bottled at 90 proof). Between 2002 and 2006, Weller 19 Year was phased out and the barrel proof expressions George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, and Thomas H. Handy were added to the collection. With the popularly of bourbon surging year after year, production of these releases has increased steadily but because of their status, they remain exceedingly difficult to find on store shelves.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of barrels aging in their warehouses, the team at Buffalo Trace chooses only a few hundred casks to shine a spotlight on their best wheated bourbon, low-rye (BT Mashbill No. 1) bourbons, and rye whiskies. When you think about it that way, there must be something incredibly special about each and every barrel that makes the cut for this series. Buffalo Trace has been extremely transparent about the details that go into making each bottle in the series with the exception of barrel counts starting in 2019.

It’s no surprise that I’m a huge fan of the series. I was exposed to a few Antique Collection bottles many years ago with some friends and it’s what finally turned me on to bourbon after ignoring it for a long time. I have tried many of these releases over the years and have taken on the project of attempting to try as many of them as I can. To better organize my efforts, I’ve shared my BTAC reviews below in an easily sortable and searchable format. Enjoy!