George T. Stagg Bourbon 2009
George T. Stagg Bourbon 2009: Specs
Classification: Bourbon
Origin: Buffalo Trace Distillery
Mashbill: Buffalo Trace High-Rye Mashbill (#1)
Proof: 141.4 (70.7% ABV)
Age: 16 Years 7 Months
Location: Kentucky
George T. Stagg Bourbon 2009 Price: N/A
George T. Stagg Bourbon 2009 Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Dark maple syrup, almost opaque. Thin stable rims, slow beady drops.
Nose: Caramelizing red fruits, solid proof heat with some oak behind it. Semisweet chocolate, spiced caramel corn. Great nose, if a touch hot.
Palate: Hot on the tip of the tongue. Lots of Szechuan peppercorns, dark, dark chocolate. Dried cherries and oak woodiness and astringency. Mouthfeel is lighter than expected, but still very hot - tongue-numbing hot to the point of losing flavor. I felt like my tongue was bleeding.
Finish: Stays hot for a few seconds before finally settling down. The flavors all seem distant, like the heat scared them away. Dark chocolate is there at the end, but it’s raw and bitter.
Overall: Wow that’s a scorcher. Oaky, some caramel fruitiness, but the heat is too much even for me. Some water is definitely needed, and even then the flavors don’t really come back.
Final Rating: 5.1
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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