Eagle Rare 101 Bottles

[ProofPositive]

In my hunting expeditions of last week, there is something I noted and forgot to mention/ask about at the time. I found one store here in town - I think I mentioned it in another thread as the "store off the beaten path" - that has a good supply of ER101 in 750ml bottles at a very reasonable price.

My question involves the 750ml bottles. I noticed the 3 bottles at the front of the dozen or so on the shelf having a small label on the neck that says "101 Proof" in white lettering with a red background. This label is in addition to the regular one found on all 750ml bottles of ER101. I looked on the bottom of these 3 bottles and found an "05" on them. All of the remaining bottles do not have the neck label, and, looking on the bottom of these bottles there was a "00" designation.

In terms of bottle markings (of which I am completely ignorant), does this tend to point to the majority of the bottles being bottled in 2000 and perhaps the red neck labelled ones in the front being 2005 bottlings?

Maybe it is no big deal either way....just a slight variation that I noted while perusing this particular shop.

[TNbourbon]

Do the ones with the neck label ("101 Proof") say "Bottled by Old Prentice Company, New Orleans, LA" on them instead of "Bottled by Old Prentice Company, Frankfort, KY"? Also, look at the cap -- I suspect any New Orleans product will have a burgundy-colored one, while Frankfort will be gold.

If some say New Orleans, they are older -- and I'd bet that marking on the bottom is '95' instead of '05'. I'd probably grab the older bottling just on general principle, but either one is disappearing fast and is quite good bourbon.

[BourbonJoe]

In also thought I remember an Old Prentice Lawrenceberg bottling. How does this one fit in the equation?

Joe

[barturtle]

Eagle Rare was originally a brand owned by Seagram's who also owned Four Roses and that label probably came from there.

[ProofPositive]

You are absolutely correct. I bought one with the red label "101" on the neck and never noticed the New Orleans address until I got home tonite & checked. I don't think I have ever seen one before and know I have never bought one with the New Orleans address in the past. You are also correct on the "95" on the bottle bottom as well as the cap. It is a very dark brown color but maybe it was originally a burgundy and faded with age.

If you do not mind, I do have another question. You said that both are "disappearing fast". Does that mean ER101 is going away? Or, do you mean the "Bottled By" has been changed by BT since taking over the label? I am afraid there is not enough ER (of any type) around this town right now for me to tell. Initially, I thought there was plenty of it here in my locale. However, after all my hunts last week, I only visited one store that had more than 2 bottles on the shelf of the ER101. Almost everyone has the ER-10 and a few stores had ER-17 of the Antique Collection. Maybe it has been disappearing for a while and I just did not realize it until joining this Forum.

[gr8erdane]

ER 101 has indeed been phased out by BT. Get it while you can.

[ProofPositive]

WOW ....missed that somewhere here in the discussions. What a shame!!

I will take your advice and do the best I can. There are getting to be too many endangered species on my list these days to fit my pocketbook! All we can do is our best and hope for better times ahead. This is/was a very good old bourbon and had been for a long time. I hope this is not a sign of the times and the road ahead. Anything we can do to reverse the decision?

[Sijan]

Eagle Rare 101 is pretty widely available in many older liquor stores in the Houston and Austin areas - have seen shelves full of the stuff at several stores, and at least a few bottles at several more stores

[cowdery]

If past history with this sort of thing is any indication, there probably is enough in the pipeline that any real fan of ER101 probably will have little trouble finding it for a year or more, and only a little trouble after that.

Anybody who thinks they can make a killing on eBay by scooping up a lot of ER101 now probably will be disappointed.