George T Stagg Review - 2012 edition

George T Stagg is a member of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection and what many consider the most coveted of the 5 BTAC offerings. Simply put, this guy is a beast. Consistently among the best rated whiskeys every year, Stagg is a high-proof whiskey that you should get your hands on if you haven't already. That being said, the shelves are typically depleted within days (sometimes hours) of its annual fall delivery. So did the juice live up to the hype/demand?

George T. Stagg (2012) - Tasting Notes

Nose: Sweet and spicy with a slight burn, which dissipates after a couple of minutes. There is a lot going on here, some smoke, dark chocolate, coconut, brown/demerara sugar, maple, white sugar and I'm sure a lot more I didn't catch. Some water heightens the sweetness, but the complexity remains.

Palate: Initial taste is sweet and mouth-watering. Viscous and syrupy followed by some heat as would be expected with a bourbon this strong. A slight coffee bitterness is present along with some oak and a slight drying of the mouth. A touch of water eases the heat and highlights the oak a bit, but the sweetness is still very present.

George T. Stagg 2012

Finish: A very long, lingering finish that begins with coffee and an ever-present spice. After a moment some subtle cocoa and dark chocolate sweetness re-emerges and covers the mouth. The heat isn't what you'd expect from a bourbon this strong. Water cools the heat some, but doesn't detract from the overall experience.

Proof: 142.8 (71.4% ABV)
Price: ~$80

This is an extremely complex bourbon. I'm sure I could have spent hours trying to figure it out, and as you can tell from the bottle I've already spent a good chuck of time with this horned devil. This is just an exceptional pour that has so much going on. While it won our blind, high-proof bourbon tasting, and finished second to the Weller on my score card, I'm actually going to rate this slightly higher. The Stagg just seems to offer a bit more complexity than the Weller and has a bit more range in terms of sugar and spice (and everything nice.)

2012 George T. Stagg Rating: 9.5/10