Rank the 2006 BTAC

[fussychicken]

Were you lucky enough to find all five bottlings of the 2006 BTAC? Have you sampled them all? If so, let us know what you think!

My humble rankings: (This wasn't easy...)

1. Stagg : Just explodes on the palate

2. Handy: Similar to Stagg in that there is an amazing complexity on the palate but with more rye spice

3. Sazerac: Balanced with a complex palate and finish

4. WLW: More kick than I would expect from a wheater.

5. Eagle Rare: Smooth and balanced

Disclaimer #1: I am still very much a novice when it comes to tasting notes. This was actually my first meager attempt.

Disclaimer #2: I think all the BTAC bottlings are excellent. I just think some are more excellent than others.

Disclaimer #3: Good Luck to all those still looking for some or all of the BTAC. I am by no means trying to antagonize those that don't even have access to the BTAC!

[CrispyCritter]

How would I rank them? I'd randomly shuffle the bottles.

I'd say your descriptions are spot-on, though. Each of them has its own charm!

[ggilbertva]

I have all five bottles of the '06 BTAC (plus some) and I would rank them as follows:

WLW

Stagg

Handy

Saz

Eagle

...all great pours.

[jwrussell]

So far I've only been lucky enough to find Stagg and Eagle. I am on the look out for the other three with WLW and Handy being the two I'm most interested in. I can agree on the Stagg and Eagle notes you have.

[ggilbertva]

JW,

If you find a Handy on the shelf, consider yourself extremely fortunate. Of the 5 bottles released in '06, the only ones I still see on the shelf are:

Stagg - rare

Eagle - often

The others are completely non-existent (at least in my neck of the woods). My brother was looking for a bottle of SAZ last Dec....VA had one bottle in the whole state at it was a 3 hour drive away.

BT does such a nice job with those whiskey's that I expect that the '07 release will disappear faster due to product awareness and limited bottling. Start saving now so you can buy and bunker the next release....I am.

[jwrussell]

I have at least three stores I'm hitting up so far Greg, HAHA! The first one is the store around the corner who had never heard of the stuff but carries some BT stock (ER10yr for ex.). She's told me she'll do her best, but after three conversations about it (I was in there today getting some soda) she was still unaware of the rest of the Antique Collection (I had only asked her about the Stagg). You should have seen the look on her face when I asked her, "You carry the ER10, did you get any of the 17 year when it came out?" LOL. I think it was a mixture of stunned and pissed. Hopefully she works hard to get some in, but I'm not relying on someone who had no allocation last year and is only one small store.

There are two large stores here who I know carry it and I'm going to be making phone calls to both to see who I can bribe and beg to put me down for some in the Fall. Mainly I want to make sure I can get some Stagg as I love it. But I'm going to be trying to get them to hold back one bottle of each for me so I can at least try everything. If I can get both stores to hold one bottle of each for me I'll be pretty happy, though I'd like a case + 1 bottle of the Stagg.

Of course, to make that happen, I really need to start saving the pennies! lol.

[DrinkyBanjo]

Luckily for me people in NJ aren't too hip to the AC yet. If you know when they are released, where they are stocked, and act fast you should be able to acquire.

[jwrussell]

Luckily for me people in NJ aren't too hip to the AC yet. If you know when they are released, where they are stocked, and act fast you should be able to acquire.

Grew up across the river from Philly near Cherry Hill. Might just have to have the parental-units keep an eye out for me.

[jburlowski]

For me:

WLW

GTS

ER 17

Saz

Handy

All great pours... (Disclaimer: I'm not a big rye fan.)

[gothbat]

Luckily for me people in NJ aren't too hip to the AC yet. If you know when they are released, where they are stocked, and act fast you should be able to acquire.

I guess it depends on where in NJ you live, the store by me that gets them in had all the GTS pre-sold before they even got the shipment. The GTS is the only one in the collection that I really see reviewed and mentioned outside of whiskey or bourbon specific publications, I guess when the others become as mainstream there will be equal demand for them here in lame old NJ.

I haven't tried all of the 06' collection, the only ones that really interest me are the barrel proof ones because you don't see too many bottlings like that and I like the idea of drinking something straight from the barrel, uninhibited in it's flavor by water and filtration. This prospect is especially appealing when one of the offerings is a wheater!

WLW - Amazing sweet caramel every time.

GTS - Chocolate, but there is alot more going on here.

Handy - The rye taste of WT with some spice and alot of bite.