Buffalo Trace Distillery (Sazerac Company)
Stagg Bourbon (Formerly Stagg Jr.) Bourbon Review — Score & Tasting Notes
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey · NAS (estimated 7-9 years)
Formerly known as Stagg Jr., this barrel-proof brute has been renamed but not tamed. At 130 proof, it's Kentucky in its most concentrated, uncompromising form.
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Rating Breakdown
Flavor Profile
Tasting Journey
Nose
Cherry, raspberry, dark fruit, caramel, vanilla, barrel char, leather, baking spice, berry jam
Palate
Bold cherry and berry sweetness, full density, leather, charred oak, bittersweet chocolate, molasses, cinnamon, syrupy mouthfeel
Finish
Length: LongSweet fruit lingering, oak, slight medicinal bite in some batches, massive Kentucky hug, long and warming
Specs
Price / Value
MSRP: $65
Your Rating
Click to rate
Our Score: 89/100
Pairings
Food
- Cherry wood-smoked brisket
- dark chocolate lava cake
- blue cheese and fig jam
- charred octopus
- pecan pie
Cocktails
- Best enjoyed neat or with a splash of water to unlock hidden layers. Makes an absolutely devastating Manhattan.
Our Verdict
Stagg is barrel-proof bourbon at its most dramatic and rewarding. The cherry bomb character is unmistakable, the intensity unmatched at this price point, and every batch is an event worth tracking. At MSRP, it's an absolute steal.
Buy NowThree Perspectives
Our editorial panel weighs in.
Marcus Chen
The Explorer
Dark cherry, oak, leather, intense ethanol. This demands respect.
Massive oak and dark fruit, almost port-like richness. Very tannic.
Extremely long, oaky, with lingering dark chocolate bitterness.
“Won a bottle in a raffle at a whiskey festival (never would've bought it at $65). Made the mistake of trying it neat at a BBQ—way too hot. Added ice, still too oaky. Made a Manhattan with it and honestly, the vermouth and bitters got completely steamrolled. This is probably incredible if you're a barrel proof fanatic, but for my palate it's just... too much wood. My buddy who loves Booker's went crazy for it, so I traded him the rest of my bottle for two bottles of Wild Turkey 101. No regrets.”
William Hayes
The Connoisseur
Powerful oak, dark chocolate, and black cherry with underlying leather and tobacco. The high proof delivers aromatic intensity that fills the room.
Rich, viscous, and complex—brown sugar, espresso, and charred oak with layers of baking spices. This is barrel proof bourbon done right.
Extraordinarily long finish with evolving oak tannins, dark fruit, and lingering spice. The proof carries through with surprising balance.
“I first tasted Stagg Jr. at a Kentucky Bourbon Festival event in 2013, the year it launched, and I remember thinking 'they've finally made barrel proof accessible.' It's not quite George T. Stagg from the BTAC, but it's cut from the same cloth—that same low-rye Buffalo Trace mash bill pushed to its limits. I've watched batch-to-batch variation over the years, and while some batches edge into the mid-90s, the consistency is impressive for barrel proof. This is what people should be chasing instead of Blanton's.”
Sophia Laurent
The Host
Massive oak, dark cherry, and baking spices. The ethanol is intense but there's real depth underneath.
Thick and chewy with layers of dark fruit, leather, tobacco, and espresso. The proof is aggressive but the flavors are exceptional.
Extremely long and warming, with wave after wave of oak and spice. It lingers forever.
“I bought a bottle of Stagg Jr. for a winter solstice dinner party last December, thinking it would be a showstopper alongside braised short ribs and roasted root vegetables. It was incredible—but only for the three bourbon collectors at the table. Everyone else found it too hot to enjoy, and I ended up serving Buffalo Trace to most of my guests. It's a spectacular bourbon for serious drinkers, but terrible for mixed groups. I save it for small gatherings with people who know what they're getting into.”
How We Score
Every spirit is tasted blind in a Glencairn glass across multiple sessions on different days. We score on a 100-point weighted scale, recording notes before the label is revealed to eliminate brand bias.
Rating Criteria
Aroma complexity, intensity, and appeal
Flavor depth, balance, and mouthfeel
Length, evolution, and lingering notes
Quality relative to price point
Layered character and uniqueness
Why Trust This Review
Boozemakers is an independent spirits publication built by passionate enthusiasts. Every bottle is purchased at full retail — never gifted, never sponsored. We use a structured blind-tasting methodology, scoring across five dimensions before revealing the label. We maintain complete editorial independence: no brand has ever paid for coverage, and affiliate links never influence our scores.
Editorial independence notice: Boozemakers maintains full editorial independence. We purchase all products at retail and are never compensated for our reviews. Affiliate links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
When Buffalo Trace decided to rename Stagg Jr. to simply "Stagg" in 2021, they weren't just simplifying a label—they were acknowledging that this barrel-proof bourbon had grown into something worthy of standing on its own. No longer the junior version of anything, Stagg has become one of the most anticipated biannual releases in American whiskey.
Let's talk about what makes Stagg special: this is a bourbon that tastes like someone took an already excellent spirit and turned the flavor dial to eleven. At 126-134 proof depending on the batch, it delivers the kind of intensity that barrel-proof devotees live for—massive, unapologetic, and loaded with the dark fruit character that has become its signature calling card.
The nose is explosive: cherry, raspberry, and dark fruit cascade from the glass alongside caramel, vanilla, and serious barrel char. There's leather and baking spice in the background, creating an aroma so rich you could nearly eat it with a spoon. Each batch varies—some lean more toward cherry compote, others toward dark berry jam—but the overall character remains unmistakably Stagg.
On the palate, the cherry bomb detonates. Bold cherry and berry sweetness hit with full weight and density, followed by leather, charred oak, bittersweet chocolate, and waves of molasses and cinnamon. The mouthfeel is thick, almost syrupy, with a coating quality that refuses to let go. Despite the fearsome proof, the best batches drink remarkably smooth—a testament to Buffalo Trace's careful barrel selection.
The finish lingers with sweet fruit, oak, and the characteristic "Kentucky hug" that will warm your chest for minutes. Some batches carry a slight medicinal bite; others finish clean as a church bell. The inconsistency between batches is both Stagg's frustration and its charm—you're never quite sure which version you'll get.
At MSRP ($65), Stagg is among the best barrel-proof values in bourbon. At anything above $100 on the secondary market, the equation changes dramatically. But find one at retail, and you've found a bottle that will make you forget about every allocated bottle you've ever chased.
I've tasted Stagg (formerly Stagg Jr.) blind across four different batches, and the cherry bomb is real. Every. Single. Time. Even without a label, this bourbon announces itself with a fruit-forward intensity that nothing else in the Buffalo Trace portfolio replicates. My tasting notes from Batch 17 are especially emphatic—the interplay between dark cherry, barrel char, and cinnamon produced one of those rare moments where the pen stops moving and you just sit with the glass.
On the barrel-proof shelf, Stagg competes directly with Booker's Bourbon ($100) and Old Forester 1920 ($60). Booker's brings Beam's peanut-forward warmth, 1920 delivers dark chocolate richness, and Stagg leads with fruit. All three are exceptional; your preference depends on which flavor profile makes you close your eyes involuntarily. For the ultimate Buffalo Trace barrel-proof experience, the annual George T. Stagg BTAC release takes this DNA to its absolute ceiling—but good luck finding one at retail.
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