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Buffalo Trace Antique Collection: Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye 2011 spirit image
92Excellent

Buffalo Trace Antique Collection: Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye 2011

Rye Buffalo Trace
  • Distiller

    Buffalo Trace

  • Bottler

    Buffalo Trace

  • ABV

    64.3%

  • Age

    6 Years

  • Price $200+
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Aggregated Reviews
  • Raided Score: 93
  • WhiskyCast
  • By Mark Gillespie
  • The taste is powerful and slightly tart with a strong pepperiness that fades nicely to reveal green apple and brown sugar notes. The finish is smooth and long.
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  • Raided Score: 93
  • Whisky Advocate
  • By John Hansell
  • The American equivalent to a young, cask-strength, smoky Islay whisky.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 88
  • Drinkhacker
  • By Christopher Null
  • With plenty of heft at 128.8 proof, it doesn’t pull punches, but it’s perhaps a bit too young to really compete with the big boys. (That said, this year perhaps Handy’s youth — 6 years old — is its greatest asset.)
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 92
  • The Daily Pour
  • By t8ke
  • Not too punishing on the palate for the proof. Thick rye spice, a good deal of pepper and butter
  • Read Full Review

Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

House Review
  • Nose:

    Pepper and butter. Caramel and toffee with some nice peanut brittle notes. Not Beam funk peanut but a sweet, salty, savory combination of salt and pepper and buttery caramel.

  • Taste:

    Not too punishing on the palate for the proof. Thick rye spice, a good deal of pepper and butter. Sweet nougaty toffee. For such a young product, this really shines with relatively minimal roughness on the edges.

  • Finish:

    Medium long - grows hotter but for the proof it is pleasant and delicious. Lots of buttery caramel and pepper. A good dusting of clove.

  • Overall:

    I wish I had my paws on this when I did the full SBS but my inner curiosity is a fiend - so I pulled out my bottle of 2012 to compare this sample to. This is a bit more peppery - the 2012 a bit sweeter but both are absurdly delicious for their age. I cant say that I have a favorite but Im not complaining one bit that Im in this pickle. Or rather, no pickle at all since this isnt MGP rye. I really like rye and cask strength rye makes me even happier. Im rating this fine fellow an 8 which means its quite the dram to talk about on the scale. At Rank 8, Thomas H Handy Sazerac Rye 2011 sits next to other big guns like Smooth Ambler Cask Strength Rye, Whistle Pig Store Select Rye and High Wests Midwinters Night Dram. Thanks for reading!

  • Score:

    92

  • By t8ke
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources