George T. Stagg Bourbon (Fall 2016)

The nose starts off with a big burst of heat along with dry oak and cherry syrup. It soon mellows out to offer up vanilla, brown sugar, leather, smoke. There is also some way of a slight brine to it, all in all promising quite the experience. The palate is very hot and very dry, filling with mouth with intense rye spice, oak, baking spices and a slight bit of astringent cherry syrup. Smoother notes of vanilla, cream and brown sugar are present, but not enough to reign in the heat. Not to say that is bad, as the hallmark of this bourbon is high proof. And for it is, it does it quite well. The finish is long, dry and spicy, with heat and lingers and lingers while subtle notes of oak and cherry fade away.

Damn it’s hot. Ethanol kinda overpowers on the nose but if you let it open up there is cherry pie in there with oak. Palate is hot but explodes with flavor. Massive hit of oak with burnt sugar and caramel. It coats the mouth and doesn’t let up. Cinnamon pepper and oak dominate the finish however it sticks around a long time and brings some sweetness back on the end. It is a monster of a bourbon at a ridiculously high proof. The only thing that would make it better would have been a slightly lower proof point. It’s the third Stagg I have had and they have all been amazing. Cheers

Mooched a dram from a friend at a recent birthday celebration. I genuinely enjoyed this. As someone who enjoys Stagg Jr. neat this naturally was delicious to me and one of the more interesting bourbons I have had the pleasure of tasting. Oak, dry red fruit, spices (distinguishable from the alcohol), cherry, and more oak. I unfortuately did not add any water to see the flavor profile mellow as I was quite content with this full bore. I would happily purchase if I somehow found one sitting under a pile of dust in a store. 4.25/5

Goodness gracious you gotta let this breathe! Even after breathing for a while it still requires a lot of digging under a big whiff of medicinal alcohol. There is mint oil, delicate toffee, cocoa powder, and browned butter. The palate is primarily hot and minty. The finish is very dry due to a large amount of wood tannin. Adding water softens and lengthens the wood notes. Despite the tannin and alcohol the texture is fairly juicy. Overall, the alcohol has too tight a grip on this whiskey and it has no intention of letting go.

Belated. Neat. Glencairn. Dark chocolate brown color. Medium to heavy body. Legs very slow to form. Dominant chocolate covered cherries on the nose, with a creamy frosted flake background. Vanilla and obvious ethanol, but not a huge singe. On the palate, again dominant cherry syrup and milk chocolate with chili pepper. Bitter orange rind. Sweet corn and vanilla. The proof tingles the entire mouth, but it is complementary and highlights the chili pepper. Just an incredible burst of flavor that is a treat to savor.

Nose: cherry, caramel, sweet oak in comparison to the stagg jr batch 9 I just tried this has much less of the sugary nose and more oak. Maybe a little red fruit maraschino cherry Body: full and wow another big banger Palate: sweet oak, caramels covered in cherry glaze and dipped in vanilla. Wow. Finish: long, smoky sweet Note: another ounce from don. Whoa as full bodied as the stagg jr batch 9 I just tried but has more depth of flavor, more refined and interesting. Holy shit this was good.