Tastes

11y 8m, warehouse CL-E (Claremont, KY). Selected by/for Kroger. The packaging is impressive - similar to the annual Masters Keep packaging. The latter would be more appropriate for Thanksgiving but this should do. Wound up getting this at a local impromptu release. At around $115 my expectations are quite high. I’m hoping for a recreation of Baker’s 13… but what difference does 1y 2m make?? Light amber and relatively thin appearance. Nose at first crack is classic dusty, dusty peanuts. Vanilla frosting, oak and heat. Caramel. Baking spice medley of allspice, ginger, clove and white peppercorn. So far this reminds me a good deal of the precious Baker’s 13 year. Thin on entry with loads and loads of oak. Oak for days oak. Dry. Caraway and stuffing. Thanksgiving in a glass. I miss the cranberries though - some fruit would be nice. So would more brown sugar. Maybe I’m being too hasty. There is a certain funk about it. Not full-on Masters Keep 17y BiB, but it’s there. Dusty books. Old wooden furniture. Tannic but not quite astringent. In summary, this is not a sweet bourbon. This just doesn’t drink like a ~12 year bourbon. If I were to guess I would say 14-16. It would make no sense to label a single barrel as 11y 8m if it was actually older, so I’m guessing the age is as-stated. Maybe the entry proof and barrel location in the rick house explain the bone-dry, funky nature of this bottle? It is however definitely Beam (and drinks like a Beam 15 year product). There is a nutty undertone with slightly sour esters and it drinks, as Beam tends to, above its proof (I would have guessed 115-120). Score? I don’t really know. It defies expectations - in ways good, in other ways less good. This will turn some people off. Those expecting a brown sugar, cherry and cinnamon bomb will be unhappy. Those who favor dusty boots and wood furniture will smirk and be amused but likely fall short of pleases. Anyone who is happy with something dry and dusty, nutty and a tad hot will be exuberant. I’m frankly a bit undecided so score is preliminary. I still don’t believe this age statement.

It might seem like I hate on Castle & Key or Pinhook, but I really don't mean to. This profile is unique, and young, and thus a bit off-putting for me. This particular bottle for example - doesn't do it for me. Has a good 3-4 notes and leans heavily in one direction. With time, however, this could be a successor (or at least competitor) to MGP's more herbal profile. That kind of potential should earn the patronage of at least a handful of bourbon die-hards. This bottle is a bit light on the nose, which isn't surprising for 2 years. The color is also a bit light. Typical light caramel and wood notes - and then an interesting spice. I thought maybe caraway or fennel but on the palate it lands like a butter pickle. Not astringent, but certainly more herbal than sweet. Which takes me back to MGP. Frequently labeled as "dill," MGP churns out a product that, when left in a barrel for 10+ years, does something amazing. Around 5-6 years some interesting stuff starts happening but around 10-11 things become fascinating and 12+ years at barrel strength... you get the point. I'm not sure which way this will go because, frankly, it needs time to morph and come into its own. If the sweet notes become richer and deeper, the herbal qualities spread out and a bit of funk or leather finds it's way in then I might have a new favorite distillery. I feel like it's worth supporting them and hoping they can put out enough volume to have some really incredible 10+ year stock available within 12-15 years (depending on distilling/barreling/warehouse capacity). Speculation aside I don't know that I would recommend this particular bottle unless you like butter pickles and also like corn whiskey. If you like both of those things, and have $50+ to spend then go for it. I would spring on this rather than another NDP bottling super young MGP at the same price if that's the direction you are leaning.

So, this was not a Benny's pick. In fact I'm not going to bother saying who did the pick because these unicorns are only sighted on occasion and what I was able to sample was the result of a charity effort. I don't know how many picks have been allowed out of the warehouse and made their way down the bottling line but my general thoughts are thus: If you like Stagg Jr, you will probably like a single barrel pick of the same. You might like this slightly more, but only slightly. But honestly, how often does anyone come across a standard Stagg Jr anymore? If offered a bottle just buy it and drink it. A few words of caution though. This might physically burn a hole in your tongue. The flavors are grand - oak, tobacco, vanilla, cherry, etc. but are not worth risking your ability to taste as a result of rolling this around the mouth. A friend kindly shared his bottle, clocking in around 135 proof vs. my batch 14, 130 proof. It's hot. No way around that fact, and if physical pain isn't your thing then maybe pass or at least add a few drops of water or an ice cube. I doubt the flavors will be washed out. What did I get from this pour? Mostly gastritis. Flavor-wise it is your mash bill #1, tobacco-forward, earthy but still laden with gobs of vanilla, cinnamon and cherry. Probably a bit more vanilla and less oak on this pick but no matter. It is not, however, any closer to GTS than any other Jr batch I've had. There is no big leather, fertilizer or mineral component that screams 15+ years in a barrel. Frankly, it's delicious. Was top 2 of the night out of 6-10 bottles. Standard Stagg Jr was probably #3 in my book, followed by a Woodford Reserve Batch Proof (toned down elements of cherry and wood with a dash more new-leather). The latter, at around $120 is steep but, anymore, so is $90 for Bookers - which has a completely different profile but is still just fantastically good. This bottle would easily command $150 and is likely close to what my friend paid - $70 or so going to charity and the remainder covering the cost of sourcing the bottle. Yes, Stagg Jr should run closer to $80-125 in today's market but BT wouldn't do that because it would hurt their model of buy low and then rush to post on F-book. Unless you are paying to support a charity, however, don't overpay for one of these. Just don't. All it does is feed the ongoing bubble of hype around a solid product. If you are desperate for a bottle of Stagg Jr and one of these shows up on the secondary (I hate myself a bit for condoning such a though) alongside a standard bottle - buy the standard bottle if it is $125 or less. If someone is trying to flip these for $200+ and other, cheaper/standard bottles are available then shame on them - especially if money that could go to charity is being diverted to personal gain. While they are fun, the are still well within the realm of good old Stagg Jr. and are nothing to be fleeced over.

Big amber. Big spicy nose. Much MGP. Loads of cedar, cinnamon, “dill,” burnt brown sugar, cherry wood. Palate is mildly viscous and leads with complex spice, prickly cedar, dill, clove, touch of tobacco, cherry, brown sugar, candy corn, almond and leather. Altogether this is a solid MGP expression. I think I slightly prefer the 10 year barrel strength rye. This lacks some of the fresh herbs and in place highlights more candy corn and slightly toasted almond notes that border on being slightly bitter. It’s not out of balance but does hang in during the long, spicy finish. A winner for sure but a bit pricy. Probably a step up in complexity from Belle Meade NAS cask strength for $20-30 more and reminiscent of 10y SAOS.

This will be a Hail Mary if it works, but from what I understand this company (Brain Brew custom whiskey vs. WoodCraft bourbon blender... not sure what the parent company really is) is based out of Newtown, OH and sources (young) whiskey from MGP. What happens next is the gamble - they use some sort of new-found wood finishing process. While details are sparse I imagine something like wood chips + whiskey + pressure cooker, or possibly something like running MGP through an espresso machine in place of water using oak shavings/chunks in place of espresso powder. This was not clear based on reading the label... Anyway, NAS MGP "finished" separately via exposure to 200 year old oak, maple and cherry woods. You can actually buy a tasting kit to sample each of these individually but this bottle is a blend of undisclosed proportions. I was fascinated to see what the different barrel elements could bring out. The color is a nice medium amber. The nose? Seems like young, high-corn, sweet notes + sawdust at first. There's a bit of cola and cherry juice. Prominent ethanol. Somewhere in there is a bit of rye spice but nothing like I'd hoped for coming from MGP. No big cedar, dill, tobacco, ginger, etc. Dang. With time a bit more fruit (apple?) and tobacco comes out but that's about it. Not a complex nose. Ooh that is a bit syrupy. Very little burn. Low probability of offending anyone. Nice enough palate with more corn-forward (literally candy-corn) sweetness. More sawdust than any any individual wood notes. Light caramel. Green apple. Tiny bit of MGP dill. Maybe a splash of cherry cough syrup? Short finish. Bummer. You win some, you lose some. I wish I would have tried at a bar and saved myself $50-60. I didn't do my homework before purchasing and imagine that if this was finished in actual barrels, even for 6-18 months, that the unique wood notes would come through. Whatever process they are using, and or cheap/young MGP just doesn't cut it. This is at best a $25-30 bottle. I should have known based on the "95 point" sticker affixed to the neck - as it likely pertains to a category such as "unconventional whiskey innovations" where a score of 99 would clock in around a score of 72 for a conventionally aged, blended whiskey. Chances are that I try to blend this or give it away. It's not a drain pour but, sadly, my recommendation is to avoid.

Long time listener, first time caller. Actually like 6th time caller but first time taking notes. This is chasing Redemption 10 year barrel proof rye (95/5 MGP). Color is maybe a touch darker than Redemption 10 barrel proof - a nice deep amber. The nose still says "rye" with lots of herbs and pumpernickel bread. Immediately the corn-sweetness is present with notes of light caramel, cherry juice and oak predominating and eucalyptus, mint and pine following. Oddly, there is something I would liken to strawberry preserves in there as all. Mouthfeel is a touch thinner but dang this is good. Still has loads of brown sugar and vanilla bean on the front end with caraway, rye, Lipton tea, a touch of fennel and slightly astringent oak. It lacks the crunchy mineralogy of Redemption 10y barrel proof and is lower on the backed good scale. This also has more astringency on the finish. It seems to be a bit brighter and kept in balance with tannic oak. Might be a case of "to each their own" and if I had to pick it would be difficult. Can I explain the differences between 10 year 95R/5B and 6 year 51R/39C/10B... this does seem to show some lighter caramelized notes and has the odd strawberry preserve element to it. Would I guess that the age is that different? No. I think the corn behind this mash bill brightens things up but hard to say if it unmasks some barrel astringency (or of MGP and Heaven Hill barrels and rick house conditions are more to blame). At double the price the Redemption/MGP is hard to justify as good as this is but man do I love the MGP herb/spice profile. Let's just call it a draw - it's not but I'm going to say that it is. I love rye, and I love both of these. Together with Russel's Reserve single barrel rye and Willett 4 year rye I can't imagine needing much more of a top-shelf American rye selection. Sorry Canada, you do you and some day I'll make it up your way.

It’s 2021 and this is batch 002, bottle 18867 clocking in at 116.2 proof. Caramel-amber in color and big herbal, rye nose. Rich brown sugar, salted caramel, warm pumpernickel bread, vanilla frosting, caraway, fresh mint, dry, tobacco, Maraschino cherries. Viscous, heavy palate with loads of almost-gritty MGP “dill” spice that for me is really more like the marriage of cedar, tobacco, clove and eucalyptus. I would love to put this head to head with a Boone Co Eighteen-33 year single barrel. This has more brown sugar and baked goods in place of the caramel/corn based notes. It also has a nice bit of what I imagine licking old oak furniture tastes like. That said, it falls short of “dusty library books” territory as far as well-aged, softened tannins go. Big Kentucky hug. Predominantly sweet, long finish with pops of wood (pine?) and herbs. I’ll be buying another and if you like older MGP or the likes of SAOS rye, Boone Co single barrels or current Remus Reserve then you should consider doing so as well.