2004 George T. Stagg <older than 16 years this time around!>

[TNbourbon]

A disappointment, then redemption:

The store in which I work part-time receive an allocation of a single 3-pack of Stagg '04 and a single bottle of Sazerac '04 Wednesday. Alas, Wednesday was two days before my payday, so I only took home one Stagg and the Saz, confident that a high-dollar bourbon would last a couple of days on our shelves (as usual).

Well, I was wrong -- I went back to collect the other two today (even though I don't work again until tomorrow) and they were gone , purchased by a regular bourbon customer.

Disappointed, I decided to check with a local store in which I'd purchased Saz and ER17 last year. When I walked in the door, I noted the space where it had appeared last year had ERSB in it.

"Didn't you get any Antique Collection this year?" I asked the owner cautiously.

"Sure did," he replied. "I saved them for you, knowing you'd want 'em."

Bless his heart, he sold me three Staggs at a case discount (10%) and promised to keep the bottle apiece of Saz and ER17 he'd gotten for me to get later.

Life is good!

[TheWhiskeyViking]

The Eagle Rare 17 production this year was disappointingly low this year. We just didn't have as many quality barrels as we would have liked.

As for getting additional cases into PA and NY, I am trying to find out if any states around the nation did not take their entire allocation. If they have not, I have already put in my request for all available cases. If I get them (which I may very well not), I will send a couple additional cases your way.

Ken

Hi Ken

Can you tell me anything about the amount of Stagg that has been / will be shipped to Europe (in particular Germany)

Thanks in advance

Thomas

[Gillman]

I met Ken last night at Spirit of Toronto and we had a nice chat. Ken is a great spokesman and ambassador for whiskey and of course the products of Buffalo Trace. And I thanked him for his frequent and illuminating posts here, which are much appreciated since few industry members post here. I sampled the Eagle Rare 17 year old which was very fine, there may not have been much of it this year but what they released is really good: dryish, elegant, "wistful" if bourbon can be so termed, with a haunting taste of barrel char in the background. (This whisky was a good analogue to, say, an older, lighter Islay malt whisky, maybe an older Bruichladdich. I've got to think ex-Scot Dr. Crow had the Auld Country's whisky in mind when he developed methods to use reliably sour mashing and new barrel charring). The whiskey is well-aged but shows no astringency from tannin or rankish, "old wood" flavor. I liked the 12 year old Old Charter, too, in the past some of the Charters seemed lesser to me but this one was fine, "juicy" (a term Michael Jackson uses in his books which describes some whiskies well) yet perfectly mature. These guys at Leesville are pros to the max, a class act. Also, Ken explained further his idea how to taste Stagg, i.e., slowly over a number of hours, often nosing instead of sipping and I'll try that when I have the chance.

Gary

[LeNell]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the new 17. I often this the SB had that sort of Bruichladdich light Islay quality.

[LeNell]

Ken, you are a real dear to take the time to post to us knuckleheads here. We really appreciate it. Thanks for all you do for us bourbon lovers.

[TNbourbon]

The Eagle Rare 17 production this year was disappointingly low this year. We just didn't have as many quality barrels as we would have liked.

Can you share a bottle number for the ER17 and Sazerac? From what I've experienced around here so far, it seems that those who got any of the Antique Collection received more Stagg than either Saz or Eagle Rare 17yo.

[TNbourbon]

In the interest of full disclosure: I posted a similar 'review' on another (competing?) bourbon site since I found this experiment enlightening. So, the many of you I've also seen 'over there' might recognize it. In any case, it's still my views.

I happen to like JB Black very much (though I prefer the older 7yo, 90-proof version, which is almost impossible to find now). So, I have favorable, first-hand experience with a (relatively low-proof) 86-proof bourbon. And, as it happened, I was set to open my first bottle of the four Stagg '04s I bagged this week with its appearance in Tennessee.

So -- with the remainder of the bottle as margin for error -- I decided to try the Stagg at 86 proof (even I couldn't tolerate the heresy of taking it all the way to 80). From 129 proof, this was a cinch -- a 2:1 (bourbon:water) ratio is exactly 86 proof.

The result: it's still Stagg. Somewhat diluted Stagg, yes -- but, just as at full strength, there was still a more prominent nose, more layered flavors, a more lingering finish than anyone has a right to expect at 86 proof.

The cotton candy and caramel aromas still leap from the glass -- in fact, they may be more prominent at this lower proof. The entry perhaps suffers most from the dilution -- but, that could be a positive for someone new to bourbon and unprepared for a high-proof taste. It takes some rolling around the tongue to begin to sense the power of this pour. But it's there -- dried apples and raisins come to mind forcefully. And the finish -- well, there's just nothing longer in the sport. Even the 'legs' on the glass -- at 86 proof! -- keep holding on for dear life.

So, in short -- Stagg is Stagg! Things work according to their nature. Stagg, even at 86 proof, has more depth than just about anything on the market I've experienced.

Will I do this again? Well, maybe, if I'm drinking with a newbie. But, next time, I'm upping it to 3:1, which will put it at 96-97-proof range. I expect THAT to be serious Stagg.

I'll fiddle from there.

[WEG3]

Can you share a bottle number for the ER17 and Sazerac? From what I've experienced around here so far, it seems that those who got any of the Antique Collection received more Stagg than either Saz or Eagle Rare 17yo.

Tim

I know were to get 2 bottles of Sazerac Rye 2004 ...some one felt it was equal to the Stagg I had hoped for and sent that out ,,,, Still have my bottle shop hunting for Stagg ... Maybe I can work a trade Saz for Stagg,,, ,,, What was I thinking No one would be that ,,,, to do that ,,,,

Bill G Stagg-less in Mass..

[Ken Weber]

We only received an allocation of 40 cases each of the Sazerac and Stagg, nothing for Eagle Rare 17. Since we did not have enough to send to all of our international customers, we sent the two lots of 40 to the UK. The UK is our most developed international market and we thought that while taking care of it, other European customers would have better access than if we sent a couple of cases into each country. When you send just a couple cases into a country, the product rarely shows up in stores, rather, it is held by the importer.

Ken

[Speedy_John]

Thanks for trying, Ken.

SpeedyJohn

[Ken Weber]

Some folks have asked about how much Sazerac Rye and Eagle Rare 17 were produced. For the record, we produced 2550 bottles of Sazerac and only 1050 bottles of Eagle Rare 17. So we did in fact produce more Stagg this year than the other two brands. Please bear in mind that both of these brands have tighter profile expectations than Stagg, which can be any age and any proof.

Ken

[TheWhiskeyViking]

Hi Ken

Thanks for the info.

No need to pound my usual german retailers for any Stagg then. I'll try my luck in the UK.

[doubleblank]

I can usually find the ER17 easier to find than the Stagg here in Texas......glad I grabed a couple of the '04 ER17's during the Festival this year at Liquor Barn in Lexington. Only 1050 bottles......that makes it a very limited release. Maybe the lowest ever of a national brand? Looking forward to doing an '03 vs '04 taste-off.

Randy

[TNbourbon]

Ken, you prompted me to go pick up the only one I've seen locally (it's in the house!) -- even though the storeowner had promised to keep it for me.

Man, 1,050 bottles! -- Now I'm anxious to find a backup bottle.

[Speedy_John]

Ken, I owe you an apology. I checked my notes and discovered that PA, in fact, received only 10 cases of Stagg last year--the same as this year. Last year, we received 40 cases each of the Sazerac and ER17. Not sure how many of the Saz and ER we got this year, but it didn't seem like enough

SpeedyJohn

[Ken Weber]

The last time I was in Texas I bought 2 bottles of Weller 19 I saw sitting on a shelf in a store. Since Weller is big in Texas, we sent more there than anywhere other than Kentucky.

Ken

[cale]

Ah, at long last my local store came through with 2 bottles of the 04 Stagg way out in here in Northern California. Now...my problem: Do I wait for some sort of accolade deserving of celebration before I indulge, or is the mere joy of opening a bottle of good drink reason enough for celebration?

[Barrel_Proof]

You don't really need help answering that question, do you?

The arrival of Stagg at your home is reason enough for celebration!

[jeff]

Personally I would need a special occasion for opening a new bottle of Stagg. Something like the sun comming up in the morning

[squire]

Yea, I agree, that stuff has been in bottle for awhile and should be sampled immediately to make sure it hasn't gone bad or something.

Squire

[TNbourbon]

Ya got 2 bottles -- be finicky with the second one. Open the first one on arrival.

[musher]

Besides, you want a quiet enough atmosphere to allow you to focus your attention on the magnificence of that whiskey. You don't want to be distracted by whatever else it might be that you would be celebrating. Celebrate the Stagg!!

[Dave_in_Canada]

Jeff, I haven't seen the sun come up here in awhile. It's all been rain rain rain. But tonight I celebrated with a nice shot of Stagg just knowing that some day the sun would come up... and it did... thanks to another SB.com member (thank you... you know who you are!)

[camduncan]

I (hopefully) have a bottle arriving any day now It should have cleared customs and been here Friday, but there was a hold up. I've no idea what year it'll be though - fingers crossed it's a 2004 bottling..but any will do. There's a bottle of Sazerac in there as well

...and the grand total for importing 2 bottles into Australia was around $138US each for those who keep tabs on such things...

My dilema now is, do I sample them when they arrive, or save them for a special occasion like a drink with my Dad & close family before our wedding next August??

[camduncan]

My bottle of Stagg arrived today

Can anyone tell me how I identify what year it is?

It doesn't say on the bottle (that I can find...)

The only markings show that it is a 64.5% Alc by vol and 129 proof..