Stagg Jr Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch 15

Usually a big fan of stagg jr, but this release disappointed a bit. All the bombastic wood, cherry and vanilla are there a but there's a hint of TCA or "corked" for my fellow wine nerds out there -very similar to the EH Taylor 4 grain from several years ago, which is definitely not my cup of tea

Pour and let sit for 30 min. Drink neat and its amazing.

Drinking this neat, neck pour. Holy cow. That pretty much sums it up. I’ve been pretty fortunate to get my hands on the last couple batches of SJr, and this one my friends, is every bit as good as any bourbon out there. In a lot of the prior batches, I feel like the heat was a bit over powering on the neck pour. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the hazmat just as much as the next guy. But there usually is something missing. Not this time folks. No need to let this open in the glass. The nose starts with a syrupy goodness. It’s is cherry galore. It not super oak (remember that SJr is effectively 9 year bourbon) but it still does present itself a little older than what it’s quoted at. There are pretty nice honey overtones mixes with dried cranberries, almost like a spiced cranberry sauce on thanksgiving. The mouth continues with that honey, a shot of maraschino and pecans? Finish of subtle leather and oak. Full disclosure, I’m drinking this side by side with GTS ‘20 and it is very much punching above it’s weight class. This bottle is awesome, full stop. if you see it retail/msrp, buy it. It terms of secondary. Maybe.... $200 max in this current market? Definitely don’t need to go above unless it’s not really worthy of the price and you’re just tatering hard. It *could* have higher trade value. Cheers!

As close to perfection as I’ve tasted.