It’s been two years since Drew’s overview of Stagg Jr. Batch 15, and we’re now taking one other spin with the whiskey — RIP to the “Jr.” designation — after a quick hiatus. It’s comprehensible: within the time since Drew’s overview, bourbon has, one way or the other, managed to turn into even boomier, the common shopper is exceedingly educated, and secondary costs on the bottle have risen to a constant $250. This excessive proof huge brother within the core Buffalo Hint lineup serves as a pure terminus for fanatics weaned on the flagship namesake, Eagle Uncommon, and/or Blanton’s. Which is all to say that, yeah, we’ve “missed” a couple of batches
That’s fantastic, although (they stated by means of gritted enamel). Right here we’re, within the now, reintroducing Stagg to the location through the just lately launched Batch 23A. And what a batch it’s. On the nostril it’s deeply fruited in a manner that many have argued was lacking from the previous few batches. Communion wine, stewed cherries, and candy oak give strategy to Boylan black cherry and grape sodas because the bottle is allowed to open up. It’s remarkably ethanol-free at 130.2 proof, and an empty, lingering Glencairn smells much less like alcohol and extra like room temperature NuGrape. But, regardless of all of this candied sweetness, it doesn’t really feel cloying.
The palate has a definite dustiness to it. It’s funky however by no means difficult, flippantly smoked maraschinos and maple syrup. There’s tack, a stickiness, and its comparatively fleeting end really makes for fairly the crushable pour – a 130-something proof bottle that’s been emptied within the span of a month.
And it’s all slightly archetypal, as a result of as fascinating an train as it’s to check the assorted batches, Stagg stays a testomony to the consistency of craft at Sazerac’s Frankfort distillery. It was and is a good gateway to cask energy bourbon, as shut as the common individual will get to experiencing the Buffalo Hint Vintage Assortment and, at MSRP, one of the best bottle available on the market round fifty bucks.
As Drew stated final time round, One other winner.
130.2 proof.
A / $53 / buffalotracedistillery.com [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Stagg Bourbon Batch #23A (2023)
$53
