Stagg Jr Batch 17 Bourbon

Brian’s Stagg Jr Batch 17 Review:

reviewed 26-April-2022

STAGG JR BATCH 17 BOURBON REVIEW:

Stagg Jr Batch 17 (Stagg Jr B17) starts dark and woody bringing only a touch of alcohol to the nose. The dark aromas I smell then pass to the palate and on to the finish. I found this batch a bit challenging to review as most of the aromas and flavors are quite subtle. But this bourbon grew on me the longer I sat and sipped. It is a good one and if B17 is truly the last of the line, it lives up to the legacy.

STAGG JR BATCH 17 VITAL STATS:
Stagg Jr Batch 17

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 ~ 8-9 years old)
Released: Fall 2021
ABV: 64.35% (128.7 Proof)
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered
NABCA CSC #: 21540
Price: $49.95 (purchased in Idaho October-2021)

Learn more at Buffalo Trace Brands.

Other than ABV and proof numbers, bottles of Stagg Jr do not include batch or other number identifiers. An internet search for the proof of “128.7” reveals this bottle to be Batch 17, bottled in the fall of 2021.

Click Bourbonex for detailed Stagg Jr, batch information.

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. Our glasses rested for about 15 minutes before we began our nosing.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

STAGG JR BATCH 17 NOSE:

At first there was hardly any alcohol when first brought to my nose. But with heavy draughts, Stagg Jr B17 gives the nose a slight burn. As I acclimate, I sense sherry wine and tannins from the barrel, then dry roasted corn and dusty grain. Soon I detect a basket of dark dried fruits; figs, currants, plum, and a faint dark cherry jam. Continued nosing brings allspice, cinnamon, and white pepper and then more fruit aromas … now dark Bing cherry pie. While most of the sweetness comes from fruit, I also get rich vanilla, brown sugar, burnt caramel, light molasses and a few toasted almonds. But what shines here is the sense of age. I smell dry old oak, toasted wood, and smoky sweet barrel char coupled with earthy leather and musty potting soil.

STAGG JR BATCH 17 PALATE:

So many of Stagg Jr B17’s aromas pass to the palate. Warm wine tannins, roasted corn and dusty grain mix with dark dried currants and ripe plums. While fruit forward, this bourbon is dark making the spices stand out. Allspice, toasted cinnamon sticks, ginger, and black pepper blend with rich vanilla, brown sugar caramel, and light molasses. Under the nectar’s spice and sweets lays a foundation of dry old toasted oak, barrel char, and musty leather. All the flavors blend and no trait overpowers another.

Stagg Jr Batch 17

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Stagg Jr B17 is creamy, viscous and easy to hold. It is hard for me to believe this is 128.7 Proof, as B17 is quite mellow and rich. The nose, palate and finish are in balance making this a solid bourbon. In between my nosing and sips, the liquid inside the glass creates a thick curtain which breaks into fat and thick clinging legs with no droplets left behind … just a well defined ring above the terracotta colored pool.

STAGG JR BATCH 17 FINISH:

The only departure from true balance is Stagg Jr Batch 17’s long almost hot finish. Yet I do feel barrel tannins and dusty grain in my mouth as the memory of plums and other dark dried fruits fade in the throat. The I feel the cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper prickle then become soothed by rich vanilla and brown sugar. There is also a fading taste of toasted almonds and dry old toasted oak, barrel char and leather. As I finish the pour, the empty Glencairn smells of dark sweet oak. I am both sad and pleased this glass has been emptied … it smells so good. Pour me some more.

MY RATING: 89/100

Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
I will never pass on a Stagg product in whatever version it may be found.
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

Click 89/100 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 17
Stagg Jr Batch 17

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LABELS, MARKETING AND AN OPINION

Stagg Jr Batch 17 is the last Stagg Jr to ever be produced. But, do not be alarmed … Buffalo Trace announced in mid-November-2021, the “Jr.” designation will be dropped from future bottle labels. The announcement comes on the heels of the decision to pull the George T Stagg (GTS) entry from the annual 2021 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.

In my mind, the change to new labeling is pure marketing. After a rocky three years following its inaugural release in the fall of 2013, Stagg Jr has taken on a life of its own. To many of us, Stagg Jr is on our unicorn list. We do not regard it as an offshoot of GTS. I dare say most of us have not had the pleasure of enjoying a pour of GTS, so we have no grounds for comparison.

While still allocated and hard to find, bottles of Stagg Jr are much more available than its so called namesake. All the while, Buffalo Trace has not treated either Stagg offering as a variant of the other.

Of course anything is possible, but it seams unlikely and costly for Buffalo Trace to make a drastic change in recipes or distilling and aging processes for a new product. There are likely thousands of barrels which would have set aside for Stagg Jr/Stagg bottlings laid down 8-10 years ago. Where would that product go if not to the Stagg line?

It is likely the new Stagg will continue to be allocated. And the new designation sets the stage for a price update. I would not be surprised if the Stagg MSRP adjusts up to align with premium Beam-Suntory, Brown-Forman, Heaven Hill, and other offerings. (Just not too fast please!}

Cheers!
– Brian

Stagg Jr. Batch #17 Bourbon Review

Hannah’s Stagg Jr Batch #17 Bourbon Review

Original review written April 26, 2022

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Another great addition to the Stagg Jr. line, though it’s potentially the last before we move to just “Stagg.” Deep, warm, complex – it’s high proof good bourbon. 94/100

VITALS:
Stagg Jr. Batch #17 Bourbon Review

– Made In: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Buffalo Trace Distillery
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
– Age: nas (believed to be 8-9 yrs.)
– Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 (low rye <10%; speculated corn around 75%)
– Casks: Char #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– Cask Strength/Non-Chill Filtered
– ABV: 64.35% (128.7 proof)
– Price: $49.95 USD in Idaho in 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:

I imagine a sunset horizon in the distance with the sun having just disappeared. There’s enough light to see the world, but the colors are faint and fading fast. In the distance, pink and orange are the only identifiable colors, and you feel comfortable and peaceful knowing it’s just you and those colors. Stagg Jr. Batch #17 is suddenly the only thing needed to make your appreciation of them profound. After all, it’s how a beautiful day should end.

Photo by Luke Moss on Unsplash

NOSE:

Caramel, milk chocolate, peaches, and freshly baked bread all attack the nose collectively on the first inhale, being distinct enough to be both recognizable and enjoyable. Deeper inhales find lemon zest, shaved peanuts and waffle cone sweetness on one hand, and black and white pepper on the other. They are more difficult to distinguish; however, there is a specific bite given only by black pepper, and a characteristic sweetness found with the bite of the white pepper. The blend enhances one another as well as the other sugary flavors.

Other spice includes rye, which combines with the pepper blend to aggravate an already alcohol-forward nose. There’s even a wine tannin aspect that deepens the alcohol into something both rich and zinging.

PALATE:
Stagg Jr. Batch #17 Bourbon Review

– Mouth Feel: This has a big mouth feel – from the alcohol warmth to spice and fruit depth. It’s all encompassing and full, and everything you’d want a bourbon to be.
– Balance: Solid. The depth and richness make it complex, even when there aren’t many distinct forward flavors.
– Visual: Terracotta pot in color, there are many long, thick legs that drop from an eventual even ring – looking very much like veins.

– Taste: First impression: WOW that’s good. The alcohol isn’t immediately aggressive, and I’m able to sit with it for a while before feeling prompted to do anything. When I move it around on the palate, cherries, caramel, and bitter, yet creamy hazelnuts in a chocolate spread settle in. The result is warm, rich and complex bourbon with the burn kicking up especially at the back end of the sip. There’s a hint of barrel char, but I think it adds more as a spice than anything else or foundational.

The alcohol certainly grows, and with a Kentucky chew, the cherry becomes more pronounced, along with black pepper and the addition of a dark berry that makes it that much more jammy. That being said, the chew does induce many needles to stab at the tongue, and that sensation is slightly less pleasant.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Long. The warmth expands from the palate itself to the belly where a Kentucky hug is definitely possible, if you aren’t careful. Flavor lingers behind a little as well.
– Between Sips: Funnel cake sits between sips – a surprise, but certainly a welcome one. There might be a bread element here too, but it would be a sweet bread without question.

– No More: Bourbon heat only escalates, along with the richness of each of the flavors the further into the glass I get. What was already a great pour on the first sip, continues to become more complex and deeper; I couldn’t be happier.

The empty Glencairn is dark, deep sawdust – enticing, warm and everything I’d want an empty Glencairn to be.

WORTH THE PRICE?

It’s a Stagg Jr. It’s $50 USD. It is high proof bourbon. It will always be worth it.

STAGG JR BATCH #17 BOURBON REVIEW RATING: 94/100

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

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