This entry is going to be mostly short (edit… it wasn’t) and sweet, while I wax poetic about finishing off my “must try this bourbon” list. Thank you again, amazing person, you know who you are. After the two samples below, I’ve tried or acquired every type of bourbon bottling to cover my bases of about 95% of American Bourbon-type Whiskey (by volume). Obviously it’s borderline impossible to cover every bottling but I’ve got a decent sample from just about everywhere major to get a taste of the distillery character.
Stagg Jr Batch 13
Short notes: Typical Buffalo Trace notes, amped up to 11 by the proof and concentration. Almost oily in character, wood, spices and sweetness are in decent balance with alcohol burn to give it a savory-sweetness that’s delicious. On the downside, its youth is somewhat betrayed by the nose. When it is swished around in the glencairn it gives out a slightly paint thinner-like notes. The aftertaste is short and not particularly exciting with typical Buffalo Trace character of somewhat bitter ash/wood. It benefits well from sitting around to open up and maybe a few drops of water to tune back alcohol. It’s a full flavor bomb and total pleaser for distillery fans. Do yourself a favor and trace down whatever is left of this batch in the wild as long as you like the style. I’ve heard that some of the Stagg Jr batches were not very exciting, but this one does not disappoint.
Score: N/A
Mystery Sample, Revealed Below
My benefactor on this endeavor sent me what he described as ’something nice to try in the 110 to 120 proof range, try to guess what it is’. So I tried. Few things helped me out here… One: I’m trying it side-by-side with Stagg Jr. Two: I’ve opened up a McKenzie wheated bourbon just yesterday to try and was incredibly impressed by its insanely long finish, I believe it was somewhere at around 20 minutes later and I was still tasting it in on the palate…
Again, short notes on the process: Nosing it, somewhat similar to Stagg with less alcohol burn (expected) and no rye spice notes (unexpected), sorta sweet perfume, rather than cologne. I’m smelling wood and some spice rather than flowers though. Still strong but not overwhelmingly so and no paint thinner notes that are often there in 120+ proofs. So far so good. Taste, still little-to-none rye spice, same wood and spices from the nose and an aftertaste that lasts 10+ minutes. A-ha! A nice wheated bourbon with buffalo trace notes in 110 to 120 proof range, well(er) that narrows it down only a few choices. Quick google later on the proofs and guess of it being wheater, so my guess: Weller Full Proof. A message exchange with the benefactor, and the truth is… DRUMROLL: “Weller Full Proof single barrel project private pick from Maison Corbeaux”.
Is it good? Absolutely! Really really incredibly, insanely good. I told my wife “This is the best wheated bourbon we will try in any conceivable future”, and I truly believe so. Are there ‘better’ bottles out there? Sure, Pappy 15+ and whatnot and even then its a ‘maybe better’ as taste is in the eye of the beholder. Does an Average Joe has a chance of ever trying this bottle? Sorry, it’s unlikely, unless they are very rich or insanely lucky. That being said, just about any Weller bottling, regular or store pick at MSRP, would be quite acceptable way to sample a Weller bourbon. Just be aware that in bourbons proof rather than age correlates to concentration of flavor. In the case above, I’ve been incredibly lucky to get both single barrel and highest proof outside of BTAC Weller, which is both an incredible combination of flavor and an honor to have been given a sample.
Score: N/A
Both of the samples in this review are fantastic and well worth trying. Produced by the Buffalo Trace distillery, they are different, yet interesting beasts of their own that any whiskey drinker would do a disservice to themselves by not having a taste.
So there we have it, with Stagg Jr and Weller Full Proof samples, I’ve completed my distillery/major brand tour and will eventually write a rant why bourbons are terrible. I’ll leave you with this as good summary of what I’ll probably rant about in the meantime: https://www.youtube. … /watch?v=C5KnRBQpkmM