This Bourbon Was Just Named The Best Value In All Of Whiskey—Get It While You Still Can

As reported earlier in the week, the Ultimate Spirits Competition just published its annual list of top-scoring entries. The winners are divided across 15 different categories of liquor, everything from baijiu to brandy; all evaluated on a scale of 1-100. But in addition to the esteemed ‘Chairman’s Trophy’—bestowed upon the highest scores in each classification—USC recognizes another distinction based upon ‘Great Value’. As you might have surmised, it indicates products with the most favorable relationship between price and final ratings.

After sipping through literally hundreds of whiskies, a panel of 16 judges (comprised of some of the most renowned names in the industry) placed Stagg Jr. at the top of that particular list. The straight bourbon out of Frankfort, Kentucky received an extraordinary mark of 98 for its pound cake and maple cream bouquet, weighty, spiced palate, and smoky, dark chocolate-drenched finish.

These tasting notes alone ought to elicit quite an attraction. And its score places it in elite company. But the kicker is that the bottle retails for just $49.99. Out of all spirits judged—a number in the thousands—just two other labels offer the same score or higher at a lower price. One was a $30 potato vodka from Boyd & Blair. The other was a Caribbean dark rum from George Bowman, retailing at $29.99.

USC is hardly alone in its glowing assessment of Stagg Jr. Since the series was introduced in 2013 by Buffalo Trace Distillery, it has gone on to win countless awards—including, most recently, the Double Gold Medal at this year’s San Francisco Spirits Competition. And although such judgings seem to be cropping up in increasing numbers across the industry, USC feels as though it has its own competitive advantage.

According to its mission statement: “Ultimate Spirits Challenge’s methodology raises the standard for competitive beverage evaluation by instituting more rigorous judging. Each product is reviewed under ideal tasting conditions over a period of time that allows the product to express its best characteristics. Each product is evaluated blind by panels in multi-stages assessments to remove any inherent or individual bias.”

It’s true that the tasting takes place over two months—way longer than other competitions, spread out over several days. It helps lend added credibility to the results. But as for the value peg on Stagg Jr., that’s a touch more tenuous. As with virtually all allocated releases from Buffalo Trace this one was already vexingly hard to find at its list price. The distillery releases just two batches a year of the barrel-proof, unfiltered liquid. A January bottling was already fetching $80-$90 through online vendors well before this latest USC judging. While it’s certainly not at the level of Pappy Van Winkle, or even WL Weller-mania, each accumulated accolade brings it closer to that point. To wit, as of today, most sub-$100 online listings are temporarily sold out. The lowest available price? $300 at Cask Cartel. As the stock market always warns us: Buy low, drink high.