Eagle Rare 101 is the old Eagle Rare and there are two big differences between the bottle pictured above and the current Eagle Rare; proof and who made it. The current Eagle Rare clocks in at 45% while this older (the original) version clocks in at 50.5%. It was put out by Seagrams using whiskey from the Old Prentice distillery whereas the current Eagle Rare is put out by Sazerac using whiskey from Buffalo Trace.
First released in 1975 as a competitor to Wild Turkey 101, Eagle Rare 101 was a staple of liquor store shelves until march 2005 when Sazerac, who acquired the brand it in march 1989, removed it from their lineup. Though it wasn’t gone for long and Sazerac reintroduced it as Eagle Rare 10 year single barrel bourbon bottled at 90 proof. The OB is no longer a single barrel whiskey, but is a very popular single barrel pick for stores.
Eagle Rare 101 Info
Region: Kentucky, USA
Distiller: Old Prentice
Cask: New charred oak
Age: 10 years
ABV: 50.5%
Price: NA – Dusty (1979)
Eagle Rare 101 Review
EYE
Ruddy brown
NOSE
Lovely aroma of oak, dark fruit, caramel, vanilla, spice and a mild herbal underpinning. Buffalo Trace makes a great Eagle Rare, but this… this is something else.
PALATE
That lovely aroma translates well to the palate and wave of oak, dark fruit, caramel, spice, vanilla and citrus peels come crashing in. I could sip this all night long.
FINISH
Long woody fade layered with notes of dark fruit, caramel and spice.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Great balance, full rich body and a heavy warm feel.
OVERALL
Eagle Rare 101 is awesome. Thick, rich and heavy it moves through the senses like a country gentleman through the crowd at a Cotillion; confident, steady and with purpose. There is a bit of that dusty old-bottle-effect going on here as well which adds to the overall weight of this whiskey. Each sip is as rich and full as the last and I didn’t find myself getting weary of it at any point the evening I was enjoying it. A great example of what bourbon can be.
SCORE: 90-92/100 (consumed at a tasting, not at home)
It looks like I have the same bottle as Gerald L Schoen. Can you tell me what the collector’s price is? i had pancreatitis a few months ago and cannot drink alcohol anymore. I would like to sell it but have no idea of its value.
It can go for $250-$500, but it’s illegal for a private individual to sell alcohol. You would need to see if you can sell it via consignment at a local liquor store, if that’s legal in your area. You could try and send it to an auction, but the profit from a single bottle is very small after shipping, insurance and all the fees that come with it (hammer fee, listing fee, etc.). Best to give it as a gift to someone you really like. Cheers.
I have bote dated 1978. Eagle Rare 101 aged 10 years.
$ ?
That’s gonna be some good whiskey. Enjoy it!
My neighbors were cleaning out their uncles home he was a big whisky collector had some real cool bottles, they gave me for my garage. The other day they found a bottle and box in the back of a cabinet. And thought I would like it. Thank God my son in law looked it up prior to me opening it. 1980 mint condition box and in opened Eagle Rare 101. Not sure what I’m going to do with it but it’s now in my safe
That’s awesome, I say drink it. It’s illegal for individuals to sell alcohol without a license to do so and selling 1 bottle via an overseas (or even the rare domestic ones) is never worth it. By the time you shipped it, insured it and paid all the auction fees you might get $100 cash out of a bottle like that. But sharing a legendary whiskey like that with your friends and family = priceless. :)
I have a bottle of Eagle Rare I Purchased many years ago, still sealed. The thinner label just below the neck states 101 PROOF, large label states EAGLE RARE, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky,
Distilled by Old Prentice Distillery, 750 M.
Aged TEN Years.
The bottom of the glass bottle has: a 20, a what looks like a fancy anchor, E25B9A, LIQUOR BOTTLE, D-126, a 9 on the left, a 3 on the bottom middle and a 82 on the right.
The bottle neck has the original paper gloss tag that says: Soars above All Others, with a picture of an Eagle. The other side of tag shows a picture of the distillery and below that is printed:
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 101 Proof, Old Prentice Distillery Lawrenceburg Kentucky.
What’s the difference between the label that has 101 Proof sand a bottle that has a 10 on the label?
Do you know what this bottle may be worth?
I can send photos. Would like some history on my 201 proof!
Thanking you in advance.
My email is: [email protected]
Jerry Schoen
Hey Jerry, sounds like you have one of the original Eagle Rare 101s. It’s really good stuff, I’ll email you.
I still have 5 bottles of Eagle Rare 101
Lucky. :)
I gave a bottle of Eagle Rare 101 to my father in 1980. Guess what I found digging through his estate after he passed? Unopened in its box and in mint condition! Not sure what to do with it as I am not much of a drinker. Good to know that it highly rated.
Wow, that’s a great thing to find. Definitely worth holding on to for a special occasion!
I was lucky enough to indulge in this 101 proof during my military days in the early 80s…never tasted anything comparable since! Really wish they hadn’t fixed what wasn’t broke!!
100% Agree!
Thank goodness whisky keeps so well–we’ve still got a bit of this bliss left from the good old days.
Lucky you!
Yea, go ahead and tease me with something I’ll never have a chance of tasting…
Jealous, Josh. Just… jealous.
That’s probably the only taste of it I’ll get, but I got to check off a bucket list whiskey :)