Bourbon Review: George T. Stagg 2015
Today is National Bourbon Day here in the USA, so I thought it would be a good time to post my first bourbon review. And what better way to start out my bourbon reviews than with one of the most desirable and sought-after limited edition bourbons in the world—George T. Stagg.
George T. Stagg is one of five whiskeys that make up the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC), a range of limited edition bourbons and ryes that are released by Buffalo Trace every fall. The entire Antique Collection is highly prized by bourbon lovers and very difficult to obtain. The chances of ever walking into a store and finding a bottle of Stagg or any of the other BTAC bottles sitting on a shelf at MSRP is slim to none. I “won” the right to buy this bottle back in 2015 at a local store which held a lottery for limited edition whiskeys. Out of about 100 or 150 people that were in the lottery, my name was drawn 2nd. The guy who was selected first in the lottery chose the only bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year that was available. I then choose this bottle of Stagg (passing up Pappy 15, amongst other excellent bottles).
This is the 2015 version of Stagg. It was aged for 15 years and bottled at a whopping 69.1% ABV. Uncut and unfiltered. This is a massive bourbon. I love cask strength bourbons, but when the ABV gets this high, I do think it’s a requirement to add at least a few drops of water. Without at least a little water, it’s nearly impossible to find all the wonderfully complex flavors and aromas that make this whiskey so highly praised. My notes below are written from tasting with a few drops of water added. Without water, my notes would be something like this: ethanol, oak, cinnamon… and that’s about it. Taming this hot and wild spirit with water brings out a wonderful array of flavors. Even so, this is a demanding whiskey. If you do manage to get a taste of this for yourself, take your time with it, and it will reward you.
George T. Stagg (2015)
Type: Bourbon
Region: Kentucky
ABV: 69.1%
Non chill-filtered
Nose: A terrific mix of sweet, savory, and spice. Chocolate-covered raisins. Nougat. Butterscotch. Vanilla. Oak. Nutmeg. Cinnamon. Rye spice. Buttered sweet corn. Fudge. Chocolate chip granola bar. Mixed nuts. Chocolate mint cookies. Malted milkshake. Dark fruits. Potent. Complex. Wonderful. One of the great bourbon noses.
Palate: Big, traditional bourbon flavors—vanilla, caramel, and plenty of oak. Liquified wood. Hot cinnamon candy. Old-fashioned hard candy. Root beer. Fudge. Dried fruits. The mouthfeel is thick and chewy, coating the mouth in oaky, aged-bourbon goodness.
Finish: Long and powerful. Cinnamon. Allspice. Cherry. Butterscotch. Molasses. Peanuts. One of the longest finishes I’ve ever experienced in a whisky.
Overall: Lots of depth and complexity. The nose is simply wonderful. If someone made a cologne that smelled exactly like this, I would wear it frequently. And the finish really is incredibly long. I’m still tasting the finish 30 minutes after taking a sip—it’s that powerful. And in between the nose and finish, the palate’s awfully nice too.
This is a great bourbon. A great whiskey. In general I prefer single malt scotch over bourbon, but if all bourbons were as good as George T. Stagg, I might reconsider that opinion. Unfortunately, not many bourbons reach this level of greatness, and the ones that do tend to be extremely hard to find on store shelves, like all of the BTAC whiskeys.
I’ve had this bottle open for about a year and a half now and still have about 2/3 of the bottle left. Why such a slow consumption? Believe me, it’s not because I don’t want to drink it. Quite the opposite. The whiskeys I love the most are the whiskeys I drink the slowest, especially when it’s a whiskey that is so hard to find for sale. So until Stagg becomes more readily available (if that ever happens), this is something I will only drink on special days when I want to spend a long time savoring a wonderful whiskey.
If you love bourbon and you ever have the chance to buy George T. Stagg at MSRP, grab a bottle. You won’t regret it.
Score: 92/100
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
