Produced by Buffalo Trace Distillery using an undisclosed mash bill rumored to be 75% corn, 17% rye, and 8% malted rye, Stagg is a barrel proof, non-chill filtered bourbon that is released in batches, four in 2024 and 2025 though the number of batches is not set in stone. Stagg is aged for eight years in level four charred new American White Oak barrels.
A few months ago, I fortuned upon several Virginia ABC stores that had just dropped the newest batch, 26A, at the MSRP of $65 and picked a few bottles up since I’ve never seen it before in a Virginia store and only see it way overpriced (upwards of $150-200 depending on the batch) in stores in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. This batch is bottled at 129.3 proof (64.65% ABV), one of the highest proof spirits that I’ve tried.
While I’ll need more time with this, like all new bottles, to formulate a more definitive opinion of it, sketched out below are my initial impressions from a neat pour aerated in a Denver & Liely Bourbon glass for 30 minutes and then nursed over nearly an hour.
Thick, slow-forming and slow-running tears coat the sides of the glass after swirling the dark amber colored bourbon. Wafting out of the glass through the high ethanol is rich caramel and toasted brown sugar, dark chocolate candied filled with dark cherry preserves, rich oak and a hint of barrel char smokiness, robust baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves) and black pepper, and dark natural vanilla.
Across the palate the flavors largely mirror the aromas with the addition of unsweetened dark chocolate, leather, sweet tobacco leaf, and blackstrap molasses. The sip finishes long (10-12 seconds) on the drier, less sweet end with pops of dark sweetness, punchy oak and oak tannins, baking spices, and toasted brown sugar. The flavor profile isn’t unusual or unique when it comes to a bourbon but this batch’s depth of rich and dark notes is punchy and beautiful in terms of intensity of flavor.
I will try adding small drops of water to see if/how that changes the aroma and flavor profiles as I continue to spend time with this. I’m glad that I was able to pick up a few bottles of this – unlike other Buffalo Trace Distillery “FOMO” bottles, this one lives up to the hype.
_________________
1792 Bourbon Agave Spirits American Single Malts American Whisky ArteNOM Añejo Tequila Blanco Tequila Blended Whisky Bourbon Whisky Bruichladdich Buffalo Trace Buffalo Trace Distillery Cocktails Código 1530 (Codigo 1530) E.H. Taylor Eagle Rare El Tesoro Extra Añejo Tequila Fortaleza G4 Gin Glassware Irish Whisky Jack Daniel's Liqueurs Lost Lore Maker's Mark Mezcal Mijenta Old Fitzgerald Patrón Penelope Reposado Tequila Reviews Rye Whisky Scotch Whisky Scotland Siempre Single Malt Whisky Spirits Tequila Tequila Ocho Virginia Virginia Distillery Company Whisky
