Eagle Rare 12?! Plus Rock Hill Farms Bourbon Review

Today on the Bourbon Bytes podcast, I'm back and I'm sharing the latest and greatest bourbon and whiskey news from around the world, including the just announced Eagle Rare 12, the next release of Remus Babe Ruth Reserve, and some exciting news for the rest of us Old Forester fans that don't live in Kentucky. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first episode of season two of the Bourbon Bytes podcast. I'm your host, Clifton. And if you don't know, I started this podcast several years

ago. My last episode was in 2022. I switched focus to do more on YouTube and then the live streams. But after some time and some thought behind it, I figured this is the best platform for me to share the latest and greatest news with you guys on my live streams. We're typically doing flights for doing reviews, but I really wanted a platform where I can talk about the top stories in bourbon and whiskey. And not just that, we can expand things out to the gaming world. I haven't

quite figured out like what other news I'm going to cover beyond whiskey. But this first episode, we're just going to talk whiskey, because what better way to kick off a season two of a whiskey podcast than lots of whiskey news and a whiskey that I've actually never reviewed on the podcast. So if you're new to my podcast, I try to keep my episodes relatively short, so around 20 minutes ish. That way you have something nice to listen to on your commute or

your bathroom break. I don't know who you guys are listening, but you guys really seem to enjoy the short form format of this. So, yeah, I'm going to keep with that and we'll see how it goes. But I'm always open to suggestions if you have other ideas to improve. But today, I'll keep it short

and sweet. Let's get into the whiskey news of the week. And surprisingly, there's a lot of it.

We'll talk about the big one first. Buffalo Trace announced that they're introducing Eagle Rare 12. Now, this is a new release. Normally, Eagle Rare is a 10 year age dated whiskey, but they're actually releasing this at two years older. They say that this is a bold, aspirational, yet accessible bourbon and the latest result of the world's most award winning distilleries commitment to distilling and aging expertise. When I first saw this, I was like,

wait, what? I thought maybe they were just changing the age on Eagle Rare because there's a photo and it's the exact same bottle. It looks like the top is made out of copper or it's like a copper color instead of silver. But yeah, it looks like the same bottle. It just has a 12 on it. So I think that's an interesting move. I am a fan of Eagle Rare. For a while, I was kind of burned out by them because every store around me was getting pics of them. But just the standard stuff I revisited

relatively recently and I was like, yeah, this is a good 10 year old bourbon. So it makes me wonder why they are putting out a minimum 12 year old version of it. Now, this one is bottled at a different proof. It's bottled at 95 proof, 47.5% ABV. So that's coming in five proof points higher than the standard Eagle Rare 10. And this release will be released at select retailers, bars and restaurants across the U.S. beginning June of 2025 at a suggested retail price of $49.99

per bottle. I think the most shocking thing about this is it is joining the regular Eagle Rare like as part of their permanent lineup. To me, I read this as like, OK, maybe they have some older stocks of what they're using for Eagle Rare. Maybe they're just going to increase the age statement, you know, like some brands will take it off, they'll add it. We saw that with Knob Creek,

they took the nine year off and they added it back. So I thought maybe they were just saying like, hey, we got this older stock, let's let's up the age of Eagle Rare, maybe make it a little bit more pricey. That just seems like what I would think they would do. I think it's very strange to release a 12 year old at 95 proof when you have a 10 year old at 90 proof on the market. Is that just me? Especially because the pricing, I mean, I haven't bought Eagle Rare in a while, but I assume

it's around 40, 45 for the regular. So this is what, five, ten dollars more? It just seems like a weird place to come out with a new product versus maybe replace Eagle Rare 10. But I do think that 12 makes sense only because they already have Weller 12 as part of a Buffalo Trace lineup. I was actually going to review that for today's podcast, but then I realized that I reviewed it on season one of the podcast. So I got to make sure I got new content for you

guys. We're reviewing a different Buffalo Trace product. But yeah, this is the same mash bill number one that's in Eagle Rare, the same one that's in the standard Buffalo Trace. I'm curious what you guys think. Maybe I'm overthinking this. It just to me, it feels like it is kind of unnecessary. I get like increasing the age statement on an existing product just because you can like, you know, say like, oh, you know, we got older stock. Let's let's release it older.

But having a new product in the lineup, I don't know, just a strange decision in my opinion. We'll see. I would love a chance to review it. I don't have it. I don't know when I'll see it. But yeah, that's that's a first story of the day. Kind of kind of perked my ears up this morning. Like, why? All right. Next up, we have news out of Remus Bourbon. They're bringing back the Babe

Ruth Reserve. Of course, this is the next chapter in their partnership with the Babe Ruth family. They had a release last year as well. But this is the 2025 ultra limited release. There's only eight thousand three hundred ninety nine bottles, and they're going to arrive at retail this month with the MSRP of one forty nine ninety nine per 750 milliliter bottle. Of course, this is out of Ross and Squibb Distillery. You may know them as MGP.

That's just kind of their house brand. Remus is like their house bourbon. But this is a very limited release. And they're saying it's inspired by Ruth's number three. Now, I assume that means his number on his jersey. And that just reveals how much of a sports person I am not. All right. I just Googled it. Yes, he was number three for both the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees.

So good thing. Good thing I looked that up. Now, the way they say they tribute that is this is a medley of three high rye bourbon mash bills, some of which were distilled in twenty sixteen and twenty seventeen, comprising of 44 percent rye, forty nine percent rye and thirty six percent rye bourbons, respectively. They then took those blended them together and released it at one hundred eleven proof or fifty five point five percent ABV. Now we have a quote from Tom Stevens,

who is the grandson of Babe Ruth. He says the estate of Babe Ruth is thrilled to once again collaborate with Ross and Squibb Distillery on the limited edition twenty twenty five Remus Babe Ruth Reserve. We are confident that collectors and baseball fans alike will conclude that Remus hit another home run with a special release. Babe would be proud. So as with last year,

this comes in a very special bottle. It is a rectangular art deco inspired glass bottle similar to what you see with the Remus Reserve or even the higher end version. I forget what that one's called. That came out a couple of years ago. I don't know if they still do that. I had a sample of it thanks to our good friend Bourbon Noob. But this one is embossed with a baseball diamond pattern and a unique baseball bat knob, wooden cork. I'm looking at the bottle.

It is nice. It looks like a really nice decanter, definitely one that you would buy and reuse. I always love Remus, just even the repeal reserve, their art deco style just is such a cool classic look. Now, I unfortunately don't have a sample here to review. But if you're curious how much of each of those mash bills went into it, 73% of this whiskey is a 49% rye, 15% of the whiskey is a 44% rye and 12% of it is a 36% rye. So majority of it is a 49%

rye from MGP. I'm trying to think which of their which of their products would have that because I mean, that's interesting. That's like a it's almost like a barely legal rye, but it's not a rye. It's like the maximum amount of rye you can put in a bourbon. So that's really confusing. But I'm interested. I'm intrigued. I would love a chance to try it. So if you guys have a bottle of it and you want to share, reach out to me, contact at bourbonBytes.com. And our last piece

of news that came in this week, this was coming to us from Old Forester. And this one I'm pretty excited about because it's a release that I've never seen in person. I hear about it. I hear fantastic things about it. But it's one of the, you know, allocated releases that only someone who knows somebody gets access to a bottle. But that may be changing. So Old Forester is now releasing their President's Choice bottles, not just at the distillery, but in select markets. So that means

you don't have to line up at the distillery, you know, two days in advance. Actually, I don't know how long I've never done that. I've heard it's fun, but yeah, that's not my style. But yes, certain regions are getting it starting June 14th. They also are having a new rye expression, President's Choice Rye, and this will be available in select states and in limited quantities. So doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get your hands on it. But for those of us that live

outside of Kentucky, it offers us a glimmer of hope of seeing this bottle. Now, these were inspired by private single barrels offered in 1964 by former Old Forester President George Garvin Brown II. These barrels will typically be aged between seven to nine years old and will vary within the traditional range of 110 to 125 proof based on optimal flavor. Of these two, I'm most interested in the rye because I have had some barrel strength Old Forester rye that I've loved.

Most of it, it tends to taste a bit young, but with these being seven to nine years old, I think we're getting some of that more well-aged rye. So I can imagine the rye is delicious. I do love the rye on its own. And even the rye, just the standard small batch rye, I think it's like 100 proof. I love that for a cocktail. That's actually my go-to bottle for Manhattan around this house. Sometimes I'll switch it out for some wild turkey 101 rye, but yeah, Old Forester 100

rye is always on my bar cart pretty much. So the barrel proof releases have been very hit or miss. I just, I just feel like they taste quite young, especially the bourbon. The barrel proof bourbon from Old Forester really let me down. The rye was a little more exciting, but with it being seven to nine years old, that makes me really, really excited. Now, will I see one in California? We'll see. So they'll actually be releasing this at 10 a.m. Eastern time this Saturday,

June 14th. They're going to have some at their gift shop and in their online store, shop.oldforester.com. But it says what's shipping in states where it's legal. However, they only list a few options. I know it's definitely legal in California, but we're not one of the states listed. It says it's available to order online for Kentucky, North Dakota, New Hampshire, and DC only. So that's a bit of a bummer. I don't know why they wouldn't

sell it to California. I mean, and let's have something to do with the distributors out here. I mean, again, I don't know the business of it all, but I've definitely bought whiskey online from legit places, not to mention many other places. But yeah, like Silbox, they ship out here. So that's really interesting. Now, pricing wise, both the president's choice and the president's choice rye MSRP price is $225. I think that's a bit pricey, but with this being such a limited

release, I've heard great things about them. Again, I've not had the chance to try them, so I'll reserve my judgment of whether that's too high of a price until I get a chance to try them, hopefully, fingers crossed. But I got to say, I do appreciate that they're branching out. They're not making it exclusive for Kentucky. I think that's one of the biggest frustrations of being a whiskey lover or a bourbon lover, particularly on the West Coast is because

there's all these distillery only releases that just are not easy to get to. I mean, my Maker's Mark barrel is part of their ambassador program. You get a barrel dedicated to you when you sign up. My barrel's ready to pick up. I can pick up, you know, my bottles. Now, of course, it's just a cool commemorative collectible to have. But yeah, am I going to book a flight all the way out to Kentucky to pick up my bottle of Maker's Mark? I don't think so. But again,

I'm sure some people do. Some people have the means to do so. And you know, good for them. Now, last thing I'll mention about buying this president's choice release at the distillery, they are going to be one bottle per person or a bottle set. So it sounds like you can get one of each when you're going, which I encourage you to. If you have a chance to, why not get them both? It'd be fun to compare them side by side. And again, if you want to send me a sample,

I would love to try it. Just kidding. But I love taking suggestions from you guys of things to

review. I think that's what's going to make this this podcast more fun this season is I'm going to try to be very interactive. I'm going to try to involve the Bite Club community, which is my membership that I offer. If you've not yet heard bourbon Bytes dot com, you can see all the details. You can see all the perks for as little as two dollars a month. You can support the channel there all the way up to the hundred dollar tier, which is my bourbon daddy. Yes, that's a tier.

Yes, it's a thing. Yes, I've had one once before, but there are plenty of other tiers at multiple different levels, whatever you're comfortable with. You're supporting not only the podcast, but the channel, the merch, all of the fun stuff I do here, all the details at bourbon Bytes dot com. You can also support on Patreon. This is basically a mirrored version of a Patreon membership. It's just through this website. More of the support goes straight to me. So a little less

of the middleman takes a cut. I can also host my merch there. Like I said, I got some cool ideas brewing. I'd love to come up with new segments of the podcast. So if you ever have suggestions for fun weekly activities, let me know if you want me to set up a phone number for you guys to call in or you want me to do with this or that kind of thing. I mean, I don't want to take other

ideas from other channels, but I don't know. I just want to do something fun with this year, especially because I want to make sure that this is very clearly different from my live streams. My live streams, we, of course, like I said, do the flights and do the whiskey reviews and we're still going to review whiskey here, but I want this to be about news and hot topics in the world of whiskey. So that's my goal. We'll see how it goes. But don't go anywhere. We are going into

our byte size review. Now, this is a section where I will quickly review a whiskey. I used

to do these on TikTok and Instagram. I limited it to 60 seconds then I'm not going to be so precise this time, but I would like to give a little review to a whiskey. I do want to pull out a Buffalo Trace product since we just talked about the new Eagle Rare product. And that's one that I've not reviewed here on the podcast. So I'm talking about Rock Hill Farms. Now, this is the same mash bill that's used in blends, the same one that's an Elmer T. Lee, but it's my favorite of

the mash bill number two at Buffalo Trace because it comes in at 100 proof. And for some reason, it just hits the spot for me. Now, I want to give a shout out to my friend Brandon, who helped me source this bottle. It's been a couple of years, honestly, but I've had it on the channel when I've compared to the other mash bill number twos, but I've never reviewed it here for you guys. So this time we're going to focus in on Rock Hill Farms. Let's go and get a port.

Now, like other mash bill number two bourbons, there is no age statement on this release, but each one is a single barrel, which is fun. This is I'm drinking one of the samples actually got a few years back, but I also have a bottle and an open bottle of it. So each one is going to taste a little bit different, but we're going to let this open up a bit and let's see how it is. It's got a little bit of a yellow hue to it, so not too much color on it. That makes me think

that it's potentially not that old with it being so light because it is 100 proof. And, you know, that's it's got character. It's not like it's been watered down to 80. Let's give it a nose. Oh, man, that's classic mash bill number two. I got to say of the two mash bills, I find myself gravitating more towards mash bill number two in general, and I think it's because it comes across as more of like a honey sweet note. Whereas when I try mash bill number

one, I do really enjoy those. But to me, that's a different flavor profile. To me, those are more of a red fruit, a little bit more of a hefty body to them where these feel light. These feel a little floral. And I don't know, I guess it's just a mood thing. But for the most part, I typically enjoy mash bill number two quite a bit better than the first one. It's interesting because on the nose, I'm getting a lot more of a baking spice than I recall having on other mash bill number two

products. This one is kind of giving like cinnamon sugar, like it's almost like a cookie, maybe gingerbread, something in that like holiday spice kind of thing is going on here, which I really like. I don't know if I've gotten that before. Maybe it's just this barrel. These are hard to find. I mean, retail on it's around 50, but people sell these for several hundred dollars in secondary. I wouldn't pay that every time I've had a chance to get it.

It's been at MSRP or near it. But I think it is a great under 100 dollar bottle. It's a fun bottle. It's really unique. I think it's the same bottle as what is it, the Caribou Crossing, the Canadian whiskey that's by Sazerac. I think it's the same bottle as that, but I really like it. Also, it has weird sentimental value to me for a really unrelated reason. My hometown is called Rockhill, South Carolina. So when I see Rockhill Farms,

it makes me think of home. No relation. It's not named after my town or anything, but it is kind of a nice little tribute to that in my head, at least. All right. I've yapped enough. Let's go ahead and give it a taste. Cheers. OK, what this reminds me of is this is going to be a donut, but but a specifically a glazed donut, maybe from Krispy Kreme. To me, it has that really good, fresh baked kind of bread note to it.

But there's a sweetness. There's an outside sweetness. It's like that frosting that as soon as it hardens, it's a little flaky, but sometimes it's a little sticky when you get it freshly made. Oh, my gosh. I'm making myself hungry. But it does kind of remind me of that experience of like biting into that that that frosting and getting a really good baked. I guess this is a yeast. I think those are yeast donuts. I don't know.

I think I prefer them way more than like Dunkin' Donuts. But this is kind of what it's reminding me of. You know, the more I taste it, the more I think of orchard fruits, because like I said, number one reminds me of like red fruits, like some cherry or things like that. But this one almost reminds me of like a I don't know, like a pear cobbler or I mean, I guess it could be kind of like an apple pie. Again, I'm still in that same territory. Like

I've had apple pie that have had some glaze like icing on top. But the interesting thing is, even though it has that sweetness, there's a good oak note in the background. Not overwhelming. It doesn't taste like, you know, either young oak, which is what I always say is comes from a lot of craft whiskeys or heavily saturated oak, which I give things like a Knob Creek 18 year. It's not that, but it has a good backbone. I think it helps that sweetness be less

intense and it really helps mellow out the whiskey. I really think this mash bill is one of the most approachable ones in the world of bourbon. It's got a little bit of rice spice. So I think if you're afraid of that, you might be a little turned off by it. I just wish it was more available because they're hard to find. I wish they had a more accessible version of them.

Now, technically, age and age is the same mash bill, but it's on the low, low end. It's going to be some of their well, one, it's lower proof to it's some of their younger stock. So I don't necessarily think that's a fair comparison. I think you got to go with at least Blanton's or Hancock's Reserve to really appreciate this mash bill.

I just feel like they should have a more budget entry level mash bill version because I think a Buffalo Trace and I think of Eagle Rare kind of not really entry level, but not just the bottom shelf stuff, but they really have good bourbons for $40 and under. Shoot, instead of making an Eagle Rare 12 year, I wish they would have made something at the like the Buffalo Trace level of mash bill number two. Honestly, I think of the of the mash bill number two, the one that's

the least interesting to me is Hancock's Reserve. I can see them pricing that down to a more affordable price, maybe making it a bit younger. I just I think there should be an entry level version of mash bill number two. And as far as I'm aware, there's not really a way to do it unless you get lucky and find some blends or are willing to drink an ancient age. So that's my thoughts on Rock Hill Farms. Thank you all so much for listening to this first episode of season two.

If you have recommendations on what I should do next, please let me know. I'm going to record these every Monday or Tuesday. I haven't quite picked the day that these are going to come out yet. I put up a poll on bourbonBytes.com asking my byte club members what they prefer. So we'll see later this week when this comes out. But I hope to keep it consistent. I hope to keep it short. But most of all, I hope to keep it entertaining for you guys. So

let me know what you think. Cheers. I'll talk to you guys next episode.