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:
– 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:
– 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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