One of many in the crowded $25 bourbon market, it's easy to mock Eagle Rare's 10-year-old single-barrel whiskey at first sight. For one thing, it's in an oversized wine bottle which, although likely historically accurate since those early moonshiners would use any hollow object at hand to store their corn likker, it just doesn't feel much like bourbon these days. Then there's the oddly random spout of jingoistic fervor mucking up the back label. What's the deal with liquor copywriters?
"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — the cornerstones of the birth of a nation, epitomized by the American bald eagle."
First, let's recognize that this isn't quite a sentence. Second, The Birth of a Nation was a silent film promoting white supremacy. Third, even if you don't intentionally misread the non-sentence for humorous effect, I think Trotsky and Mao would have something to say about the whole sentiment.
"That nation has come to represent the freedom, spirit and independence of the individual, giving the world products and innovations uniquely its own."
What? Now my hard-won freedom is only meant for use in commercial endeavors? What if I choose to fritter it away in largely unproductive behavior, ably assisted by your admittedly tasty bourbon, in a way that's uniquely my own? I think you're missing your core clientele here, guys.
"By practice, and protected by law, no other distilled spirit adheres to standards as strict as those established for Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey."
Now that's just poppycock, Mr. Freelance Copywriter. As much as I love bourbon — and yes, I'd marry it — requiring at least 51 percent corn in the grain mix is not a tough hurdle to leap. It can't be distilled to greater than 160 proof, water's the only extra ingredient allowed and it has to be aged for a minimum of two years in charred oak barrels. In the spirit world, that's about as selective as your average Match.com profile.
"And few other whiskeys can offer even a glimpse of the great whiskey making found in Eagle Rare."
I'm down with the marketing hyperbole, but this is still a stretch. Eagle Rare is a fine whiskey, a bit lean in body with elegant notes of citrus peel and caramel on the finish, a brief hit of spicy ginger and just enough smoky oak to give it a backbone. It's a "single barrel" product, which means they bottle straight from the cask with no blending to achieve a house style. That also means that flavors might differ from one bottle to the next.
Makers Mark fans who want something similar to drink neat — because MM is strictly mixing bourbon, folks — will be perfectly happy with Eagle Rare. But "few others"? C'mon, there are half a dozen bourbons in the same price range as this that easily compete, not to mention a whole world of whiskey outside Kentucky's borders.
Hmm, I like the bourbon, but can't handle the fervor of its label copy and the eagle reaching for prey etched onto the glass bottle. Maybe I'll just have to keep it in the brown paper bag it came in. "Here honey, I want to enjoy your slim body and smoky aftertaste, but could you just slip this over your head first?"
Eagle Reserve 10yr Old Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, $25
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2008.