George T. Stagg 2020 is the barrel-proof bourbon of that year's Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, bottled at 130.4 proof after fifteen years and four months in oak. It marked a return to full power after the record-low 2019, and there was no Stagg at all the following year.
About This Bourbon
The 2020 Stagg was distilled in spring 2005 and aged 15 years and 4 months in Warehouses L, K and Q. Evaporation took around 59% of the original whiskey, concentrating what was left. It was bottled uncut and unfiltered at 130.4 proof, or 65.2% ABV, in 750mL. No Stagg was released in 2021, which gives this bottle a particular place in a vertical.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Dark caramel, espresso and charred oak, with warm baking spice.
- Palate: Massive and layered; toffee, dark fruit and cocoa, with molasses sweetness under the heat.
- Finish: Very long, peppery and chocolate-rich, with oak holding on.
Serving & Food
Let the glass sit for a while before nosing, and add still water drop by drop; at 65% it changes a lot. Try it with a slab of dark chocolate brownie, black pepper beef or blue cheese with honey.
How to Enjoy
Collectors who follow Stagg year by year, and experienced bourbon hands who like to tune a barrel-proof bourbon in the glass.
Product Details
Producer: Buffalo Trace Distillery
Collection: Buffalo Trace Antique Collection
Expression: George T. Stagg
Release: 2020
Distilled: Spring 2005
Age: 15 years 4 months
Proof: 130.4 / 65.2% ABV
Origin: USA
Region: Kentucky
Volume: 750mL
About the Distillery
The Antique Collection is Buffalo Trace's autumn set of older and stronger whiskeys. In 2020 it held five: George T. Stagg and William Larue Weller bourbons, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac rye, Eagle Rare 17 Year Old and Sazerac 18 Year Old rye. From 2025 an E. H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond bourbon joined them.
Within that line-up Stagg is the oldest bourbon at full strength, drawn from the same low-rye mash as Eagle Rare but left at barrel proof. The Frankfort distillery, owned by the Sazerac Company, releases each whiskey once a year, so a given year's bottle is effectively a vintage, fixed by the barrels chosen and the weather they lived through.