Barrel proof bourbon is just what we need to stay warm this winter, and Buffalo Trace Distillery is delivering with the 15th batch of Stagg Jr.
The baby brother to the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection’s George T. Stagg, Stagg Jr. has been released just a couple times a year since 2013, varying in proof each batch. The 15th batch clocks in at 131.1 proof at around 8 years old. In contrast, George T. Stagg is usually almost twice that age, at 15 years. Both members of the Stagg family are uncut and unfiltered, usually bottled at a cask strength 125 proof or higher.
Tasting notes from the distillery describe batch 15 as having “vanilla bean and salted caramel front and center on the nose, cherries, cinnamon and oak on the palate, and a long finish of toasted vanilla, pepper, coffee and hints of sweet mint.”
Stagg Jr. has become highly allocated, with fans snapping up on shelves as soon as they can hit. If you can find one at retail, expect to pay around $50, although they’ll go for around 3 times that on secondary markets. We’ll see Batch 16 in late Spring of 2021.
