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Buffalo Trace Antique Collection: George T. Stagg Bourbon 2023

  • Distiller

    Buffalo Trace

  • Bottler

    Buffalo Trace

  • ABV

    67.5%

  • Age

    15 Years, 4 Months

  • Price $200+

One of five whiskeys in the 2023 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, George T. Stagg Bourbon is aged 15 years and four months and is bottled at a powerful 135 proof. These barrels were pulled from Buffalo Trace's Warehouses C, I, K, L and M.

  • Raided Score: 92
  • The Daily Pour
  • By T8ke
  • This bruiser of a bourbon has no shortage of character. Fans of bold caramels, a hint of cherry and big char will rejoice.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 96
  • VinePair
  • By David Thomas Tao
  • The 2023 release stands on its own as a delicious, powerful bourbon; no punches pulled, no notes tucked away into recessive corners of the tasting experience.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 92
  • Breaking Bourbon
  • By Jordan Moskal
  • Bringing together high proof and high age to create a robust, memorable bourbon is what George T. Stagg is known for, which the 2023 release delivers in spades.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 95
  • Distiller
  • By Jake Emen
  • As booming as the ABV would suggest but not prohibitively so.
  • Read Full Review

Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

  • Nose:

    Heavy char and brown butter, maple sugar and a drizzle of luxardo cherry. There's pepper, plenty of oak, big caramel character and a wallop of baking spice.

  • Taste:

    Rich on the palate. The proof is deceptive — you'd never know this was over 130 proof if it weren't written in front of you. Packed with cherry, cola, brown sugar, char, heavy oak and caramel candies.

  • Finish:

    Long finish, super rich. The finish holds for a good, long, while and carries tons of baking spice, brown sugar, vanilla bean and a final dash of Luxardo cherry syrup with it.

  • Overall:

    Overall, GTS may be one of the most consistent releases from Buffalo Trace, and we love to see it. Another strong release from the brand demonstrates why GTS often ends up at the top of folks short list of desired bottles each fall. This bruiser of a bourbon has no shortage of character. Fans of bold caramels, a hint of cherry and big char will rejoice.

  • Score:

    92

  • Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.

  • By T8ke
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources