Sazerac 18 years Of. Antique Collection bottled Spring 2014

Lot presentation

Sazerac 18 years Of. Antique Collection bottled Spring 2014

The wine

A Sazerac bottled in 2014 for the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, a range released annually that features three bourbons (William Larue Weller, George T. Stagg and Eagle Rare) and two rye whiskeys (Sazerac and Thomas H. Handy). Thomas Handy was a bartender and owner of the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans, which he purchased in 1869 after directing Taylor Sewell, notably the importer of the cognac brand Sazerac de Forge & Fills which leant its name to the Sazerac cocktail. The Phylloxera crisis in the late 19th century drained the stocks of cognac and Handy decided to replace it with rye whiskey. He died in 1893, leaving the business in the hands of C.J. O’’Reilly, who created the Sazerac brand of rye whiskey, which was produced up until Prohibition. The brand was revived in 2006 by the Sazerac group after it bought the Buffalo Trace distillery in 1992 but joined the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection in 2000. Buffalo Trace therefore uses rye whiskey produced in the 1980s by Schenley at the George T. Staff distillery (today known as Buffalo Trace) for its brand Cream of Kentucky. As the group had decided to drop the brand, the rye remained in casks longer than usual before being transferred to steel vats in 2003. This stock, for which 1984 was the last vintage, was used for bottlings of Sazerac for the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection until 2015.

Founded in 1792, the Buffalo Trace Distillery is located in Frankfort, in the state of Kentucky. Owned by the Sazerac group, it has been known under several names including George T. Stagg and Old Fire Copper (OFC), and is thought to be the oldest distillery in operation in the United States. It produces an eponymous brand of bourbon, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon, as well as numerous other brands including William Larue Weller, Thomas H. Handy, Georges T. Stagg and the famous Pappy Van Winkle.