Ancient Ancient Age 10 Year

Bourbon Review #2: Ancient Ancient Age 10 Year

Category: Boutique

Price: $18

Availability: (previously in Kentucky only) Discontinued

Proof: 86, 43% avb

Mashbill: B.T. #2  (higher percentage of rye than the standard B.T. #1 mashbill)

Distillery: Buffalo Trace



     Up for my second review is the Ancient Ancient Age 10 year. And no, thats not a typo. Despite the redundancy, they chose this name for the label because it's....well, more ancient than ancient. Super ancient things tend to go extinct, and that is also sadly true of this label.

      The A.A. brand has been around for the better part of sixty years. It's now being distilled out of Buffalo Trace with three offerings (soon to be two); 1. Ancient Age 2. Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star and 3. Ancient Ancient Age 10 Year. The labels on the bottles look very similar, but the juice inside is quite different. Many people have mistaken the 10 Star for the 10 Year.

     The mashbill used in the AAA 10 year is reported to be the same #2 mashbill used in some of the higher end Buffalo Trace bourbons such as Elmer T. Lee, Rock Hill Farms and Blantons. Don't be fooled by the price tag. Though it suggests "budget bourbon", Jim Murray of the Whisky Bible gave it a 95 out of 100 in 2011. He also said that it was his favorite go to bourbon when he lived in KY.  Jason Pile of Sourmash Manifesto placed it in his superb/outstanding category. Buffalo Trace lists it as there "cult bourbon".

     This bourbon was never distributed outside of Kentucky. My partner in crime sent me this bottle as a Christmas gift shortly after it's discontinuation from Buffalo Trace. There have been circulating rumors for some time that Buffalo Trace was removing this label from the A.A brand. Up until recently, these rumors have been unfounded.

     I decided to cut to the chase and call Bufflao Trace myself. I spoke with Nan Harnice, the Consumer Affairs Associate. She informed me that it had recently been discontinued, and that Buffalo Trace had no plans to bring it back. Reportedly, this decision was made for the purpose of reserving the barrels that would have gone to this expression for blending (small batch) with higher end labels.Upon further investigation, all of the major liquor stores in Central Kentucky had sold out. The cat was out of the bag, and people were buying up the very last of the AAA 10 Year. Fortunately, I was able to pull from some of my KY resources to obtain an extra bottle despite the fast growing extinction of this once cult classic.  

     Since we are on the topic of Ancient Age, I have a story for you. My father-in-law is a life-long fisherman. If you visit his apartment, it will become immediately evident to you upon arrival that he collects, and is passionate about, all things fishing. You would be hard pressed to find a square inch of wall space that is not adorned with mounted fish, vintage fishing equipment brands and even fish pomes.....No Joke! Knowing of my interest in bourbon, he gave me this vintage, Ancient Age plastic mounted bluegill advertisement/home bar decoration. I can't think of a better time to share this lovely gem of a find with you!

     During the course of this review, I changed the status of this bourbon no less than three times! It went from my "Go-To" category, to semi boutique (when I learned that it was only available in KY), to boutique (when I discovered that it had ben discontinued altogether). It's truly sad that this fine expression of bourbon is gone. Honestly, it's difficult to think of another bourbon that delivers as much complexity for the price. If it were sticking around, it would certainly compete for my #1 go-to spot.


   

     Overall: the AAA 10 Year is wonderfuly balanced from start to finish. Rating it on a scale of one to ten, Colonel's Score is between a 7 and an 8. Thats a full step up from last weeks review of the Weller 12 year. The thing that bumps it up a notch for me, is the unique, bright citrus notes both on the nose and pallet. My wife also tried this bourbon and she said, "this would be the perfect bourbon for a topical vacation"! It has a perfectly harmonious blend of sweet, spicy and fruity notes working beautifully together.

     I wish I could tell you that you could run out and grab a bottle, but your chances are slim to none. I'm only glad that I was able to discover and review it before its complete extinction. Ancient Ancient Age 10 Year, gone but not forgotten, R.I.P.