As fall draws to a close with the winter solstice and Christmas, the fall limited release bourbons also come to an end. Rounding out the 2024 Fall Limited Release Series on this blog are the 2024 releases of George T. Stagg and Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye from Buffalo Trace’s 2024 BTAC (Buffalo Trace Antique Collection). George T. Stagg is generally my preferred pick from Buffalo Trace’s limited release bourbons. My local retailer did not get a William LaRue Weller this year, so I opted from the Handy Rye, as I much prefer the cask strength whiskies in the BTAC to the others. I opted not to pick a Van Winkle this year, largely because other customers of my local will be way more thrilled to receive it than I would be, and pickings were slim on my local got.
The 2024 George T. Stagg (GTS) is 15 years and two months old at bottling at cask strength at 136.1 proof. The color on this is a rich dark dark amber with mahogany flecks, reflecting its 15 long years in the barrel, with a big thick film and gravity defying legs on the swirl. The nose is this knock your socks off traditional bourbon nose of vanilla, caramelized sugar, and oak. In some years, the mouthfeel on George T. Stagg can be a bit thin, but not this year; the mouthfeel is quite rich, although not as thick as the Handy described below. On the palate is super rich vanilla, maraschino cherries, caramel, and a hint of baking spice. The flavors are just so rich on this bourbon. The finish is full of drying oak and a hint of clove that lingers and lingers. This is a sweet bourbon but the flavors are really barrel driven. The 2023 GTS swept all manner of bourbon and American Whiskey awards. I had some 2023 left so I poured a dram to compare with the 2024. The 2023 is a bit sweeter and a bit less oak driven than the 2024; the 2024 has a richer mouthfeel and so much wonderful oak. I suspect the 2024 will likewise sweep the Bourbon and American Whiskey awards out there.
The 2024 Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye is six years and three months old, and is cask strength 127.2 proof. The color on this is a nice solid amber, with a big thick film and legs on the swirl. Lots of candided herbal rye on the nose, which perfectly matches the palate – candied rye, herbs, some lemon notes, some bitter notes, and some magnificent oak. Really thick rich mouthfeel, which is not typical for this whiskey which tends to have a medium to full bodied mouthfeel. On the finish are wonderful mint notes, cloves, bitters, and oak. I have bought a few of these over the years, and the 2024 is remarkably good. The flavors are really crisp and clean, very rye forward, and that mouthfeel is just amazing. I would also say that this Handy comes as close as any other release to the flavor profile of Sazerac 18, especially due to the mint notes. Really delicious.
I am really happy with the two bottles of the BTAC collection I received this year. The irony is that there isn’t anything Buffalo Trace did differently to make these particular bottlings great. They just had the right weather conditions over a long period of time to really hit the mark. But, the fact that there are spots in the rickhouses at Buffalo Trace where you can age bourbon for 15 years have it is still be drinkable at cask strength consistently year over year (except for that one year) is amazing for a distillery. Speaking of that one year where there was no George T. Stagg, Buffalo Trace has an aspirational goal of releasing the BTAC collection each fall. But if the barrels don’t measure up, they would rather release limited quantities of what is good or not release a particular bottling at all. That is what really makes the BTAC collection special.
Hard to believe that is has been ten years since I got my first bottle of George T. Stagg. After drinking BTAC whiskies over the last ten years, I have to say the two 2024’s I got from my beautiful wife Catherine for Christmas are quite special. In a huge act of discipline on my part, I didn’t (for the first time ever) buy these for myself. I set Hokus Pokus set them aside for my wife to buy them for me for Christmas. Although I kept pestering her about had she been by Hokus Pokus or not last week. Because reasons.
Merry Christmas from me, Catherine, and the rest of my family.