Stagg Jr.

[brettckeen]

Wow this stuff is hot, puts some hair on your chest, a couple drops of water bringin the proof down a tad makes for a sweet corn and carmel joyful kick in the face. I dig this stuff.

[Mickbourbon]

Picked up one in St. Paul MN today.

[ChainWhip]

No Bambi bottles in WA state yet...

[MyOldKyDram]

I'm going to get into mine after I finish this most delicious beer!

[squire]

No, no, no lets not go there, who among us would kill a Bambi.

[oke&coke]

If Bambi is a ten point buck who wouldn't?

[suntour]

No Bambi bottles in WA state yet...

Oregon has it on the price list for next month. Notably absent from that list is FRsmb2013 and OFBB, the latter we used to get every year.

[mbroo5880i]

I'm going to get into mine after I finish this most delicious beer!

Make sure to share your notes! This is on my buy list if I can find it in the Indy area!

[MyOldKyDram]

Im going to give it another go this weekend before putting anything up. It's got elements I like, and some I don't. Hoping it settles but only time will tell.

[DeanSheen]

I look forward to tasting (old) Eagle Rare Jr.

[snifred]

Anyone find a bottle in the mid-Atlantic area yet? I've had no luck in MD or DC, and many of the store owners I've asked don't even know about it, even though many of those stores have good selection of bourbon. Just wondering if it just hasn't made it this far east yet, or if I'm looking in the wrong places.

[BoyScout]

Just found two untouched bottles on the shelf @ $60 at the Beverage Mart, corner of US 41 and Mars Hill in Acworth. I've got mine, one is enough, I've tried it and am moving on.

[bourbonfoot]

Anyone find a bottle in the mid-Atlantic area yet? I've had no luck in MD or DC, and many of the store owners I've asked don't even know about it, even though many of those stores have good selection of bourbon. Just wondering if it just hasn't made it this far east yet, or if I'm looking in the wrong places.

None here... I was told that VA doesn't stock new releases in the middle of the quarters, so not to expect to see it or WT Unforgiven until Oct 1.

[Fullbuck]

Many bottles hit the shelves today in Louisville.

[Dolph Lundgren]

Bought a few a couple days ago. It was good out of the gate - hot - but good. After a few days of air time, it has improved quite a bit. Typicall vanilla, caramel and a bit of Maple. It's basically barrel proof Buffalo Trace. It's not the bottle of the year but I really dig it and $50 is a fair price (at least to me). I don't see where all the hate is coming from.

[joboyd]

Bought a few a couple days ago. It was good out of the gate - hot - but good. After a few days of air time, it has improved quite a bit. Typicall vanilla, caramel and a bit of Maple. It's basically barrel proof Buffalo Trace. It's not the bottle of the year but I really dig it and $50 is a fair price (at least to me). I don't see where all the hate is coming from.

Haven't tried it yet, but when you put a Stagg name on it, expectations will be exceedingly (and perhaps unfairly) high. Had they released it under a different name, would it be getting such negative reviews? Granted, there wouldn't be nearly the hype, but that's the trade-off that comes from marketing a brand under an established and well-respected name.

[thiemb]

Bought a few a couple days ago. It was good out of the gate - hot - but good. After a few days of air time, it has improved quite a bit. Typicall vanilla, caramel and a bit of Maple. It's basically barrel proof Buffalo Trace. It's not the bottle of the year but I really dig it and $50 is a fair price (at least to me). I don't see where all the hate is coming from.

Justin brought some of this over last night and after trying it I gotta say I'm also surprised by all the negative reviews. Maybe my expectations were just set very low, but I think it's a solid barrel proof pour at a reasonable price. I was going to pass on this, but now I'm picking up a couple bottles. We even did it side by side with GTS '10 and while it doesn't have the depth and oaky intensity of Papa Stagg, it has some nice sweeter candy notes and stood up pretty well.

[Yeti]

. It's basically barrel proof Buffalo Trace..

[GaryT]

I think Bambi did suffer from higher expectations out of the gate, and also from coming on the heels of ECBP (which frankly I think gives GTS a pretty good fight!) If I had $50 and enough options, I'm just not sure there aren't many things I would grab before Bambi. I'm not even sure I would pick Bambi over Bookers, which is about even money - although I think that would be an interesting comparison. I do agree though that some of the reviews may be overly critical.

[Yeti]

I have always loved Booker's but the last batch I saw was 6 years 0 months. You gotta work with me here, Booker. I guess the days of seeing one at 7+ are forever behind us.

[MyOldKyDram]

I think Bambi did suffer from higher expectations out of the gate, and also from coming on the heels of ECBP (which frankly I think gives GTS a pretty good fight!) If I had $50 and enough options, I'm just not sure there aren't many things I would grab before Bambi. I'm not even sure I would pick Bambi over Bookers, which is about even money - although I think that would be an interesting comparison. I do agree though that some of the reviews may be overly critical.

just wanna commend the liberal usage of Bambi.

and yeah, thinking the name did it no favors and ECBP, well...also heard theres some pretty major batch variance going on here. All that being said its plenty good enough stuff.

[sutton]

Call it barrel proof BT, you have a winner. Call it Stagg Jr. and price at $50, you set expectations that 9 yo BT barrel proof isn't going to meet.

Is there really any bad bourbon (maybe stuff that is too young) - but most of this is about expectations and QPR - expectations were set that can't be met on a QPR basis - same story with RRSmBSB - at $35, it's a winner. at $50, a loser.

[MyOldKyDram]

Largely true, although that RRSmBSB would be a loser at $25.

[Yeti]

Yeah, BTBP (or ERBP if you need to throw marketing a bone) at $40 and I'm out there on the hunt, but I've been surprisingly calm about this one.

[sutton]

Largely true, although that RRSmBSB would be a loser at $25.

OK ... $25? The point is where you set price and your marketing campaign is going to set expectations and if you don't meet/exceed, it gets panned.

GTS is one of the most sought after bottlings - you call this Jr., people are going to expect some family resemblance that justifies the price, other than proof.