Okay so I just sat with the two again. Only this time I had one ounce servings of each side by side, two times. The ER17 was noticeably darker than the ER10. Again I really didn’t notice any major differences between the two. There were however enough subtle differences to make the two stand apart from each other a bit.

So really I am no major spirits writer, bourbon just tastes good. As does wine, I just happen to like bourbon a little bit more. I think the majority of spirits writers/reviewers/whatever have these overtly fantastic descriptions of tastes and it always leaves me a bit confused. Like I don’t often taste hints of citrus but have read it in descriptions of bourbons I drink regularly. It could be that I identify what that person identified as citrus differently.

I was talking to this guy at BevMo last Wednesday and he was telling me that reviewing a drink should take three words, two words if it’s really good. Which makes sense to me too. I mean surely we all have different tastes and what I enjoy occasionally my friend may not enjoy ever (Willet.)

With that being said I think that there’s nothing too complicated about this comparison. The ER17 is better. But to say it correctly; the ER10 is better (than the average cheapo bottle) and ER17 is best (as far as Eagle Rare goes.) I found the ER17 to be more of everything I enjoy in the ER10. Sweeter (chocolate covered cherry?), darker, more oak flavor and it is noticeably smoother. It’s good enough to drink straight and it’s 90 proof. I can’t seem to find a proof statement on the ER10, but I think it’s also 90 proof.

The next morning I went over to the empty glasses and took a sniff. They both had some pleasant scent left in the glass but I could tell which one was the ER17 because it smelled almost like cotton candy 🙂 The smell took after the sweet cherry flavor I was tasting.

I’d say if you’re just starting out or don’t see any sense in dishing out sixty something dollars for a bottle to go with ER10. If you’ve had a few bottles or are a purveyor of the finest milks you may want to try the ER17. Will the difference wow you? Maybe. It didn’t wow me all that much but I can appreciate it for what it is. Now to get my hands on some of the other bottles from this years Antique Collection.