Stagg Jr Batch 16

Brian’s Stagg Jr Batch 16 Review:

reviewed 01-February-2022

STAGG JR BATCH 16 BOURBON REVIEW:

It has been over two months since we last reviewed a barrel proof bourbon and it seems even longer since something stellar was opened. Welcome Stagg Jr Batch 16 (Stagg Jr B16), a bourbon which ticks my boxes … High proof – check; fruit, spice, sweet and wood, check, check, check, and check. This is a dark and wonderful treat for the senses to which some drinkers may want to add a drop or two of water. Stagg bottles always impress and when found on the shelf at retail or even in the slightly elevated range of $60-80 they should be bought and taken home. But please, don’t pay ridiculous secondary, ever.

Stagg Jr Batch 16
STAGG JR BATCH 16 VITAL STATS:

Category: Barrel Proof Bourbon
Region: Kentucky, USA
Distiller: Buffalo Trace
Mashbill: Buffalo Trace Mashbill #1 (low rye <10% rye, speculated to be about 75% corn, 10% rye and 15% malted barley)
Barrel Char: #4
Barrel Entry Proof: 125
Age: nas (believed to be ~8 years)
Released: Summer 2021
ABV: 65.45% (130.9 Proof)
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered
NABCA CSC #: 21540
Price: $49.95 (Idaho, October-2021)
Other than ABV and proof numbers, bottles of Stagg Jr have no batch or other identifiers on the label.

Learn more at Buffalo Trace Brands
and BoubonEx – Stagg Jr Releases.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

Taken out of the newly opened bottle, the first one and a half ounces mixed with the bourbon in our Infinity Bottle Project. Then, by alternating pours, four once review amounts went into two Glencairns. My daughter and I enjoyed the bourbon neat for this review.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

STAGG JR BATCH 16 NOSE:

When I first brought the glass to my nose I got little if any alcohol. But as I sniff, Stagg Jr B16 becomes a dried potpourri of fruit tree blossoms, roasted corn and dusty grain. With further nosing I get fresh apples, a bit of apricot, something tropical and drying currants and soft gourmet raisins. The tropical fruit remains undefined as it drifts in and out, but spices of toasted cinnamon sticks, crushed green peppercorns and rye are easy to detect. The spice aromas are balanced by sweets of vanilla custard, brown sugar, dark molasses and toffee covered nuts. But to me and my nose, Batch 16 is wood forward, with strong, heavy old oak, some smoky-sweet barrel char and anchored by damp leather.

STAGG JR BATCH 16 PALATE:

The flavors of Stagg Jr B16 come in waves. The first sip is dry. Then comes roasted corn and grain followed by apple pipe tobacco, dark cherries, currants and raisins. My mouth salivates in self defense as it tries to calm the heat of cinnamon, ginger and pepper. But there is just enough light vanilla in the browned butter,  brown sugar caramel to help calm the senses. In the next sips, there’s more dark molasses and then toffee covered walnuts backed by strong flavors of oak, more smoky-sweet barrel char and leather. Drinking this pour is a workout for the mouth, esophagus and senses.

Stagg Jr Batch 16

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
With a good Kentucky Chew Stagg Jr B16 bites and has the potential to give a burning hug. One needs to be careful with this (and all Stagg offerings for that matter.) Each sip is challenging to hold, yet this bourbon has both depth and balance. It is rough and gritty on the tongue and causes the mouth to salivate in defence. I do not think I could find all its nuances in a single pour and I welcome the next. In the Glencairn thin widespread legs glide the sip dregs back to the mahogany colored pool, leaving behind a thin crown ring.

STAGG JR BATCH 16 FINISH:

Stagg Jr Batch 16 has a long warm tongue tingling finish which simply wants to fight. As each sip fades, dusty grain seems to mix with ginger and pepper, faint brown sugar and molasses. I have been on the verge of a Kentucky Hug all night, yet I am truly enjoying the bite and heat. In between sips, as other flavors fade, seasoned oak, char, and some smoky-sweet leather soothes the heat. When the last dram is downed, I smell smoky barrel char, and oak sawdust in the empty Glencairn along with some lingering some heat.

THE ADDITION OF WATER

Water can often tame big, bold whiskeys and allow aromas and flavors to bloom. The addition of 2-4 drops will not radically lower the proof of the pour. Re-evaluation of Stagg Jr B16 occurred a few days after our initial review using measured pours and precise amounts of distilled water to determine the effect.

Adding two drops to 1.5 ounces of this bourbon reduces the proof to 130.52 (down from 130.9). As I nose, the dried potpourri, roasted corn and dusty grain still comes through as does notes of apricot and gourmet raisins. There are spices of toasted cinnamon sticks and rye but now the tropical notes come as toasted coconut shavings in a hint of milk chocolate, vanilla custard, brown sugar, and dark molasses. As I drink this watered sample, many of the aromas pass to the palate and my mouth salivates to tame the heat allowing for a long throat warming finish. For me, two drops do not improve nor detract from the pour.

Adding four drops to 1.5 ounces of the bourbon lowers the proof to 130.14. While four drops do not seem like much to most people, for me, both the aromas and flavors become washed and the finish shortens. With the added water, Stagg Jr Batch 16 is still a fine bourbon, but for me, I will finish my bottle with no more blending.

MY RATING: 92/100;
… with two drops 92/100;
… with four drops 90/100

Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

Click 92/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Stagg.

WHISKEY TRAITS, FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
Stagg Jr Batch 16
Stagg Jr Batch 16

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Stagg Jr. Batch #16 Bourbon Review

Hannah’s Stagg Jr Batch #16 Bourbon Review

Original review written February 1, 2022

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

A creamy mouth feel with rich, fruity, woody punches – all matched with high proof bourbon complexity. Solid offering, and I’m glad it’s open in the bunker at last. 94/100

VITALS:
Stagg Jr Batch #16 Bourbon Review

– Made In: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Buffalo Trace Distillery
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
– Age: nas (believed to be ~8yrs.)
– Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 (low rye <10%; speculated corn around 75%)
– Casks: Char #4
– Non-chill filtered
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– ABV: 65.45% (130.9 proof)
– Price: $49.95 USD in Idaho 2021

For more information, visit buffalotracedistillery.com

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I enjoyed the spirit neat from a Glencairn glass with father and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Brian.

Check out his review for this bourbon here!

SETTING:

This bourbon screams for a creative mind. Even though I am not an artist, I still feel the urge to pull out paints and brushes and let this bourbon take me wherever it wants to go across the canvas. The richness and complexity of this bourbon calls for vibrant colors, with a flair for messy as the brush hurries to make the image in your head a reality. Maybe it doesn’t look the best (maybe it’s not supposed to look like the best). Maybe it’s just supposed to be an honest, deep thought with colors. This bourbon would be your best critic and supporter all in one.

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

NOSE:

Sharp berries, cherries, and apple cross the nose first, followed quickly by a white pepper and alcohol bite. With them is a perfect golden caramel, cinnamon, and maple sugar, contributing to the sweetness and making my salivary glands already excited. There is also a yellow cake element, maybe one with a dark chocolate marbling in it. Deep inhales coax out the corn, decidedly roasted, and an almost salty leather. A bitter nuttiness comes with the corn at the very end of the inhale, mixing with the sting of the alcohol. And despite the alcohol being most certainly present, it isn’t acetone-like, and I hesitate to even name it ethanol. I’d call it fiery and leave it at that.

Oak is present; however, it is very hidden and subdued behind all of the fruit sweetness and alcohol burn. The oak that is there, is spicy and freshly sawn.

PALATE:
Stagg Jr Batch #16 Bourbon Review

– Mouth Feel: Creamy. The alcohol bite is certainly there, but this bourbon still has a distinct thickness to it, and I quite enjoy that.
– Balance: Complex. The sharpness of many of the flavors makes the bourbon angular; however, the creaminess softens the edges.
– Visual: Mahogany in color, this has a very faint ring, and the spirit falls in sheets, therefore leaving very few legs behind.

– Taste: The first sip immediately lets you know that it is a high proof bourbon, already stinging at the lips and not wanting to linger on the tip of the tongue for long. Cherries are much more pronounced on the palate than they were on the nose. They are chased by cashews, caramel… and cream? I rarely – if ever – find cream in a bourbon; however, I do find it subtly here, and I like the way it contributes to the mouth feel, and especially how it sits with the cherries. The cream also comes with some dark vanilla flavoring – dark enough to be almost bitter, but not quite.

Spice is similar to what was found on the nose – white pepper and cinnamon. These spices ingrain themselves firmly into the now present barrel char flavor of this bourbon. The barrel is strong, slightly bitter, simultaneously sweetened and heated by the spice. Naturally, along with the high proof, the bite of Batch #16 can be quite strong. On some sips, you’re lulled into a false sense of security with the creamy quality, and then given a hefty Kentucky Hug when you least expect it.

When I partake in a Kentucky chew, the burn and pain is much like needles to the tongue. That being said, a fresh oak, more nuts, and toffee appear on the taste buds.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Long-Very long. The heat goes on and on and on after the sip is over, despite not many flavors left in the aftertaste.
– Between Sips: A light fruit leather lingers between sips, but it dissipates quickly, leaving a mostly clean and warm finish behind.

– No More: The greatest change in this bourbon is not necessarily new flavors to notice or the elevation of others (though the caramel does grow to be slightly more formidable). Rather, the heat continues grow and threatens constantly to give a surprise Kentucky Hug. I’m trying to be careful and respectful, but I already know I won’t get out of this pour without a hug somewhere.

The empty Glencairn is fresh sawdust and smoke, playful with a nip of that proof that makes you want another glass.

THE ADDITION OF WATER

– This section written on February 6, 2022 –

Stagg Jr Batch #16 Bourbon Review

Stagg Jr Batch #16 Bourbon Review: Water can often tame bold whiskeys and the addition of 2-4 drops will not radically change the proof of the pour. Rather water may help open the spirit allowing the aromas and flavors to bloom. As such, 2 and 4 drops of distilled water were added to their own respective 1.5 oz. pours of Stagg Jr. Batch #16 to detect any potential differences:

This still smells like a Stagg Jr. on the nose; however, there is even less of an alcohol sting now that the water is added. I can also find a sprinkling of coconut shavings, and maybe even a sudden coconut milk component to sweeten the nose. The sip is still sweet (naturally with less heat), though now heavier on baking sweet flavors, like vanilla, chocolate curls, and a cakey element. The newfound coconut in the nose is also here. Overall, the flavors are more akin now to a certain cookie that comes out in spring with coconut, chocolate, and caramel ;). The pour remains great, and I don’t think I could choose between the two drops variation or having it neat. It would just depend on mood. (RATING: 93/100)

This smells immediately sugary with caramel, with little to no alcohol burn. There’s more coconut and now even marshmallow on this nose. The palate continues with the caramel/simple syrup and comes across as a one-hit wonder. There’s a bitterness trailing the caramel, which doesn’t quite help the simple sweet flavor. Nevertheless, if you are wanting to get into high proofs, and want to ease into it without shocking the senses, this is solid way to go. I say this because I *know* that if I wasn’t aware of this being Stagg Jr., and was given this blind, I’d likely enjoy it just fine – even with it being less complex. (RATING: 87/100)

WORTH THE PRICE?

As I say with every Stagg Jr., $50 USD for a high proof, complex, deep bourbon is always a bargain. If you can find any batch, get it. Consider adding some water if the proof is too aggressive for your tastes. No matter where you are in your bourbon journey; Stagg Jr.’s always can find a way to shine.

STAGG JR BATCH #16 BOURBON REVIEW RATING: 94/100

Click to see Hannah’s rating process

Click 94/100 to access other whiskies with this rating.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Stagg.

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