I still hadn’t tasted the George T. Stagg sample I had from the last Bottle-Share and thanks to Ewald, a fellow Usquebaugh Society member I got samples of the 2008 and 2009 version as well. I decided to put them head to head to see if there are many differences between all the different editions.

George T. Stagg 2008, 70.9%
Nose:
Some tobacco on the nose with caramel, nougat. There isn’t much depth to the nose. I do get some spices like nutmeg and ginger.

Taste:
The taste starts of with some coffee, both in mouthfeel (the dry grainy stuff) and flavour. Also some wood influences, cocoa and a nice hint of chili pepper. Its also a bit more treacly than I expected and grenadine as a surprise.

Finish:
The finish is long, very long. The tobacco is back again, which is nice. It really tastes like bourbon with age, but flavourwise there aren’t many new things happening.

Total: 33 points (available at The Whisky Exchange for 135 euros)

George T. Stagg 2009, 70.7%
Nose:
There is some crispness in here along with the wood. Also quite a nutty scent, like roasted almonds. Quite a lot of alcohol to singe your nostrills. Some dry grass and dry spices. It smells a bit like dry Indian spices.

Taste:
The mouth is incredibly dry with ground coffee and lots of pepper. Some sambal and again quite nutty. Very dry.

Finish:
The dryness lingers in the finish, which isn’t too short. Here I find the first bit of sweetness but still not as sweet as I expected.

Total: 33 points (available at Master of Malt for 115 euros)

George T. Stagg 2010, 71.5%
Nose:
Very crisp with some light perfume if you breathe deeply. If you just calmly inhale there are more deep earthy smells of cocoa. There is quite some caramel fudge on the nose as well. A bit of fruit as well, but I just can’t put my finger on which kind. Spices appear a lot later.

Taste:
Very dry and dusty with a huge alcohol kick. The crisp and sweet smells of the nose reappear here with treacle. There is also chili pepper and with a little bit of water some tree bark and ginger. Maple syrup as well.

Finish:
The finish is long and fierce with a continuation of the alcohol burn. Here the taste of maize appears with cloying sweetness and almost burnt caramel.

Total: 38 points (available at Master of Malt for 135 euros)

Conlusion:
I think there might be some effect of the bottles of the 2008 and 2009 being open for a while and the 2010 having been just recently opened. I prefer the 2010 version to the other two, since I kind of missed the fruits in the earlier two. The balance is a little bit better as well. Only drawback is the alcohol kick, but that can be remedied with some water and that will also bring out some nice new flavours.

So, credits to Ewald for sending a few samples over! Loved to taste them like this!

George T. Stagg 2010 showed some clouds in the bottle which made me think of caramel. I hope it isn’t that but I rather think it is just some sediment from the casks it comes from… Looks interesting, though.