Stagg Jr. Bourbon

Great review! I won't pretend I can tease out everything you smelled and tasted (after all I have a different batch anyway) but I echo the sentiment and agree this is a great bang. It's also a great bang for your buck!

Thanks for the review. Yes, this is batch #5. I managed to capture two bottles of every batch from 1-5. Sadly, my supply has now tapered off. I will say that there is great batch variety.

I am a huge fan of batch #1 which most people (including @Victor) greatly disliked. That said, I agree that #5 is also a fantastic batch that is right in the "pocket" of the releases. It isn't too much or too little of anything. It is simply a good, powerful, barrel proof bourbon for $50-70. For me it has a slight edge over Elijah Craig Barrel Proof - which I also adore. I picked up two bottles of this batch while touring Baltimore with @Victor.

@Nozinan, I wish I could have gotten my mitts on the batch you have. Sadly, the ABC system in Virginia failed me and it slipped through my fingers (all supply going to bars and restaurants). Oh well. Maybe next batch.

@Nock I could arrange to have a small sample delivered to you through a mutual friend who may be visiting in 2017... we could discuss it off line (well, still online but, oh - you know what I mean!)

I think this is a great alternative to the George and even the EC12 Barrel Proof!

@MaltActivist I think all three are different, and would hate to have to choose (mind you, with the rarity of all three here in Canada I don't have to choose (the choice is usually none...)

Thank you @MaltActivist for a candid and captivating review.

I have recently obtained a bottle (130 proof), @Nozinan is responsible for my good fortune. More than one bottle was made available to me, but I declined, knowing that I would likely regret not acquiring more than one bottle of Stagg Jr.

I am both pleased and grateful to have one and hope to share this with friends and family sometime soon.

Cheers!

Yes, I agree with both comments - that all three are different, and that all three are similar. I remember in my early days of bourbon drinking I was able to acquire a bottle of George T. Stagg fall 2005 release (for only $50 at the time). And my thought was, "this is fantastic; I want to drink more stuff like this." When I first joined Connosr (back in 2010 or 2011 I think it was?) I remember asking the venerable bourbon expert @Victor what in the bourbon world was "similar" to George T. Stagg. I was having a much more difficult time finding it in those days (go figure). I remember his laugh at my ignorance. His only comment was, "Nothing."

Today, I happily consider both Elijah Craig Barrel Proof and Stagg Jr. to be worthy alternatives to the venerable Stagg senior. Yes, neither are quite to the level. But I consider it two A-'s to the A/A+ that is George T. Stagg. Not quite, but close enough. I am grateful that both ECBP and SJr. can still be had for around $50 - when you can find them!

Anyway, back to the review: Thanks again!

Hello Gentlemen! @MaltActivist, @Nock, @paddockjudge, @Nozinan, four of my favourite people "all in one place" cyber-speakingly. I'd like to get the four of you together with us for a tasting one day.

About those three Bourbon products, 15 yo George T. Stagg, Elijah Craig 12 yo Barrel Proof, and 8 to 9 yo Stagg Jr....the WOOD is the differentiator. Remember this, George T. Stagg is George T. Stagg because the barrels of whisky going into it continue to mellow and get better all the way up to 15 years (and more) of aging. Very few new oak barrels are good enough to succeed in aging to make a great whiskey at 15 years. If the wood barrels are NOT GOOD ENOUGH to allow the whisky to progress in a good direction for that long number of years then they are dumped for standard Buffalo Trace bourbon or for Stagg Jr bourbon. This is not to suggest that Buffalo Trace and Stagg Jr. cannot be very delicious products, only that they are products reflecting the "sell by"/"bottle by" dates of those particular barrels, based upon the quality of the individual barrels. Similarly, if the barrels used for Elijah Craig 12 yo Barrel Proof were "better" = more able to do so, they would most likely not be used for Elijah Craig 12 yo BP, but would instead become Elijah Craig 18 yo, or another premium Heaven Hill long-aged product.

I greatly love both George T. Stagg and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, and have found at least one batch of Stagg Jr that I like a lot, from a sample given to me by @Nock. I am still wary of Stagg Jr. from that first batch offered (and I still have a bottle of that one). I continue to think that Buffalo Trace blew it by bottling that first batch of Stagg Jr. after the wood had become too tannic and bitter. @Nozinan, you would have been appalled to have heard the HOWLS of hatred and disgust from four or five of our mutual Toronto friends when I served them samples of that first batch of Stagg Jr. They hated it. They hated it more than I did. In truth, my review score of 85 did not reflect hatred, but instead severe disappointment, in a whiskey which should have been good enough to score 90-93 points.

But the bottom line is that I will be happy to drink any and all three of these bourbons with any or all of you gentlemen when the opportunity arises.

I meant to add that there is a clean sweet quality to the wood in George T. Stagg, even after 15+ years of aging, which contrasts to the hinted at and lightly touched upon bitter tannic wood astringency of both Stagg Jr. and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. Generally, with the exception of that Batch 1 of Stagg Jr., Stagg Jr. and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof have kept that tannic wood astringency under sufficient control that it does not destroy the whiskey.

And of course, those 64-70% ABVs give a righteous intensity to all of these products.

@Victor oh to have the depth of knowledge you possess... If I had a genie and three wishes I would wish for that. And a better nose. And a much much better palate.

@MaltActivist, you do quite well as it is.

Thank you for your review.

@Victor I'm going to get in touch with you soon regarding my summer plans for the US. I think it's about time.

@MaltActivist, excellent to hear!

Why not all come to Ontario? I hear it's very nice in May and there's lots of whisky!

@Nozinan I probably will

@Victor, @MaltActivist, @Nozinan, that would be very cool.

Would love to pick up a bottle of this but it's £75 in the UK, it feels a bit steep