George T. Stagg Bourbon (Fall 2020)

Drinking this neat, neck pour. Alright folks, this is my first BTAC experience and I’m absolutely stoked. I’ve been waiting about 4 months on this bottle and finally was able to get it last week. Okay so going into this, I knew GTS ‘20 was hitting all the marks and getting a shit ton of hype from the boards. Very excited it is on the higher proof side so let’s get into this. When people talk about cherry bombs, I thought I knew what they were talking about. Nope. THIS is a cherry bomb. Cherry pie, cherry twizzlers, maraschino cherries, chocolates covered cherries. Pretty much any variety of cherry I’ve been able to associate to the nose. The oak is high but not disappointing at all. It carries that dust oakiness which is something I am quite familiar finding in a lot of the 15+ yr bourbons. There is a deep fruitiness as well like strawberry preserves but I’d go even further into the caramel candies. The mouth is oily but it doesn’t last super long. For 130 proof, this drink amazingly smooth. It is incredibly sweet, like dessert wine and again I get hit with chocolate covered cherries. Tannins hit late on the back end. Finish is oak and lightly charred wood. It has an appropriately length burn that leaves you unable to sit this glass down. This bottle did not disappoint. I think is my highest rating so far I given so that’s cool. I always say though that the true test will be a blind flight. I’ll have to write back in after I do some blinds. Now as far as where this bottle goes. I think the trade value is higher than what you should be paying online. I said the same thing about SJr. The secondary has gone absolutely nuts on BTAC, so you might be able to get 1.5-2x value on a trade. Keep that in mind if you’re ever faced with a purchasing choice. Can’t wait to share this with some good friends and a stogie. Cheers!

Definitely very good but slight letdown compared to the hype. It’s like a woodier stagg jr without the noticeable alcohol kick

Caramel, vanilla, oak, grape, molasses

This bottle needs to breathe. Once it opens up it is fantastic. The nuances and age are very apparent

Literal perfection. Best bourbon I have ever tried.