The 2013 George T. Stagg is the uncut, unfiltered bourbon of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, bottled at 128.2 proof. It came after a long run of 140-proof-plus releases, and its softer strength got a lot of attention among bourbon drinkers.
About This Bourbon
The 2013 batch was distilled in spring 1997 and aged 15 years and 11 months. It came from 157 barrels in Warehouses I, K and Q, mostly on lower floors, where cooler air lets the proof climb slowly. About 73% of the original whiskey was lost to evaporation.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Fudge, vanilla and pipe tobacco, with dark cherry and toasted oak.
- Palate: Dense and sweet; toffee, cocoa and baking spice, with the Buffalo Trace low-rye mash keeping the spice gentle.
- Finish: Long, with chocolate, leather and a slow oak dryness.
Serving & Food
Serve it neat in a Glencairn at room temperature, and try it again with a splash of water to compare. Salted dark chocolate, a smoked brisket or roasted pecans all work alongside.
How to Enjoy
Buffalo Trace Antique Collection collectors building a run of Stagg vintages, and drinkers who like big bourbon without the full 140-proof blast.
Product Details
Producer: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
Series: Buffalo Trace Antique Collection
Expression: George T. Stagg 2013 release
Region: Kentucky, USA
Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace Bourbon Mash #1 (low rye)
Distilled: Spring 1997
Age: 15 years 11 months
Barrels: 157
ABV: 128.2 proof / 64.1% ABV
Volume: 750mL
Origin: USA
About the Distillery
The whiskey is named after George Thomas Stagg, born in Garrard County, Kentucky in 1835. He served as a Union officer in the Civil War, rising to captain, and then made his name selling whiskey before moving into making it.
When E. H. Taylor Jr. ran into money trouble, Stagg bought the O.F.C. distillery in Frankfort, and the two men went on to build the distillery into a major force in late nineteenth-century American whiskey. After Stagg's death the plant was renamed the George T. Stagg Distillery in his honour. Today it is Buffalo Trace, owned by the Sazerac Company, and the Stagg bourbon is released each autumn at whatever proof the barrels give.