Sazerac Rye

Rye whiskey is synonymous with the Sazerac Company, becoming the key ingredient in the Sazerac cocktail which they sold at their eponymous coffee house in the late 19th century. The coffee house was run by Thomas H. Handy until his death in 1893. His former secretary, C.J. O’Reilly, took over the business and it was he who named it the Sazerac Company. The new company marketed a Sazerac rye whiskey for the first time, producing it up until Prohibition closed the Sazerac Coffee House down.

When the Sazerac Company acquired what is now called Buffalo Trace distillery in 1992, one of their long-term intentions was to see the eponymous rye brand return. They began distilling it for the first time in 1998, and introducing their proprietary version of the Sazerac Rye in 2006.

Prior to this however, a Sazerac 18 year old was launched in 2000 as part of what is now the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC). These were bottled from a legendary batch of rye whiskey originally distilled by Schenley Industries at Buffalo Trace when it was still known as George T. Stagg. Production began in 1982 with the intention of releasing a rye line for its popular Cream of Kentucky brand. The company sold the distillery the following year however, and its new owners were less enthusiastic and stopped distilling rye again in 1985. As such, the casks were left to age far beyond the normal period for such whiskies. To the surprise of many, it turned into an exceptional product and has produced many legendary bottlings. In addition to Sazerac Rye, it was also blended through the Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye in 2004, and a number of barrels also ended up in the warehouses at Willett, where Kentucky Bourbon Distillers used them for a number of brands including the Willett Familty Estate, Black Maple Hill, and early examples of the Michter's revival.

Buffalo Trace placed the last of their 1985 vintages casks into steel tanks in 2005 to prevent it from over-maturing, by then actually a 20-year-old. The 2015 release of the BTAC 18-year-old was the last to be bottled from these tanks, which finally ran out that year. The subsequent release was the first to be bottled using the 1998 vintage Sazerac Company-distilled rye.

This was not the first appearance for those casks within the BTAC however, as the company had introduced the Thomas H. Handy Sazerac band extension in 2006.