Stagg Jr Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch 17

Brown sugar, caramel, vanilla, baking spices, so darn tasty.

The nose is cinnamon, cherry, brown sugar, and ethanol. The palate is smooth for the proof with dark chocolate, cherries, and a building spice that makes for a very nice finish. I think I prefer this over batches 15 or 16.

Received 2 oz sample from a friend Nose - Medicinal grape and cherry cough syrup, bubble gum, brown sugar, caramel, toasted marshmallow, milk chocolate, medium oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Chocolate covered cherries, raisins, light tobacco, sweet oak, maple syrup, and light baking spices. Finish is long with prominent dry oak, light black pepper, bitter dark chocolate, burnt vanilla, and medium ethanol. This is my first ever taste of Stagg Jr, and I'm disappointed. It's actually pretty good for the MSRP, but the scarcity and hype surrounding this and anything BT is frankly ridiculous. You can get roughly the same flavor profile minus the medicinal grape with OF 1920, ECBP, 1792 FP, and JDSSBP. I think all of those bottles are more interesting and complex, plus they are so much easier to find. This is sweet and flat, like every BT product I've tried. At this point in my bourbon journey I'm pretty confident in my assessment that anyone who thinks BT makes the best bourbon just doesn't have the palate for spice and complexity. My irritation is particularly influenced by YouTube where I ardently disagree with some popular channels (e.g., Bourbon Junkies) whom almost always rate BT products over Wild Turkey, Elijah Craig, Knob Creek, etc. Not only do those companies offer more transparency in their mash bills, age statements, barrel number, warehouse, etc., they are also priced competitively and available everywhere. The ECBP and JDSBBP I have open right now beat this handily, it's not even close. I know I'm ranting, but it's both frustrating and gratifying to finally try a highly reviewed product I've sought after for years to only discover it's just another mid-level barrel proof bourbon.

Absolute barn burner. Okay with a cube but doesn’t stand up to the complexity and smoothness of its papa.