Stagg 2026 Releases: A, B, and C Side-by-side; Ep. 89

Dan, Bob. Nick, and Michael: Welcome back to Bourbon Brass and Beyond. So tonight we're doing the stag 2026 releases. So far. So far. So far. A, B, and C. correctly following Phil levels. Yeah. Yeah. So we were just talking about how we have Lower bottles. I need new seat. What is this shit? Yeah. But how people can sometimes rip off the the extra neck. The extra neck. But so the C we just got today. Yeah. And this was yours you just got yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Gino's yeah. Bob got one, I didn't get one. You didn't go out. That's your own fault. No, I we went to lunch. Yeah. You know, I didn't even notice in the picture at first because the boxes were like sitting when you posted the picture of Chalet. I was like caught up looking at the the the green bookers and I was like, what's that? And then like later I opened my Instagram and I was like what was sitting on the counter. Yeah, I've got a box. You got a box. I got an empty box. You got a stag. Yeah, you got an empty box. Nobody else wanted the box. I'm like, I'll take it. too because want to try it. But it's like the cinnamon infused and the I'm like just put put the put the anyway. A, B, and C. Can they even do the cinnamon infused? Well it's not fireball. It's in yeah, it's in like apple brandy barrels and then I thought I thought I heard it like cinnamon infused or something. Just one that I would have to get a pour of before I admit it. Yeah. It was the same thing, right? I mean they had the Baker's 13 out today too. I'm like, I'd love to get that baker's thirteen, but at a hundred and fifty bucks, like I wanna try that first. Well that's like the little books were a hundred what two hundred two hundred two hundred bucks. Yeah. is that the twenty bucks every day? Which was the interesting thing too that we just had the same discussion on in the last episode was like the infinite was last year's. Like the Infinite Two was last year's 'cause I have that bottle. the new one, I can't remember what the new one is this year, but it's so weird how yeah we're keeping up with Stag releases, but we're still getting last year is on other stuff. But super infinite. Well Michael, do you wanna do the port? The twenty six A is is yours. True. Yeah, buddy. We get another ride home today. Yeah. Whoa. Hey buddy, you keep that one. Yeah, that's your dark. You keep that one. You keep that one. You go real light on that one. That's good. I don't need to see how dark it is in my glass. Yeah, that's Dan's He ain't gotta drink doesn't have to walk right across the street. Make it three sweeps. I ain't driving. So it's one twenty nine point three proof. These all crazy hot. Yeah. One twenty five, one twenty six. Yeah. Okay. They always are. Listen, I I've always said and I I shouldn't prejudge this. I think stags drink hot intentionally. I think they're all I I don't know. They do. They I got a great nose on it. I like I like I like stags. but they do. If you don't like that big bold spicy flavor, it's it's not for you. Yeah, for sure. Well, and it's the younger George T stag, you know, it's supposed to. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I mean George T's are what, usually That to me is seventeen, eighteen, something like eighteen years old. Don't call junior. Yeah, I got a couple. Yeah, don't call junior. Yeah. But they're also one thirty five and one forty two proof too. So Yeah. The yeah, the twenty twenty five was one forty two point eight, I think, 'cause I have that one as well. Yeah. But I think we decided that was a really good drinker though. I don't know if I was here for that. Maybe it was, yeah. that's right. I do remember this. You still have some some left in yours. You didn't embottle kill it with the So that's oaky. I was saying Casco, yeah. Yeah. I like that. Is that what you pulled out of that? Is it a cherry or like a cola? I smell it on that. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Almost almost like a like a Dr. Pepper type cola. It's a I was gonna say, it's like a I remember that's why I said my twenty six A is open as well. And now I'm remembering that. Yeah, there's there's like that cola flavor to it. Yeah. Like for for something that comes in at that proof. Yeah. It it's very flavor forward as opposed to like the ethanol. Yeah. Yeah. So we're talk that's we're talking about. So it's not totally Give it give it some air. I'm not gonna watch this is how the correct way to Do you save the foil on the top too? yeah. Yeah, buddy. Must be nice. That's the right way to do it. Michael and I just like to get in there. Rip off. Rip it. Absolutely. I mean, as we saw with the gold foil edition, like even what, thirty seconds, one minute. Yeah, it makes a huge air. Changes everything. Yeah. Mm. Yeah, that's like a like a cherry cola. Yeah. Kinda. Boy, that's nice. Yeah. Not near as complex as like the the gold foil, but it's got some great flavors. That the cola just sits there. It doesn't go to bitter. Yeah, no, that's nice. Think a lot of the heat it's it's on the front end and then the f like the flavors on the back end of the palette, so you just sort of savor that. Nice. Bob's point, it's still it's still big and bold. Yeah. Right? But every time. But it's Some of that nice I'll stick with the same. that's not a bad idea. Yeah, it's true. Keep the dishes simple. All right. topic but since I have a Tom's Foolery Glenn. You've been up there, right? You love it. You love it. Yeah I wanna go. I've just been down to Middle West, shameless like Ohio plug and it was fantastic and I left with three bottles. I'd love to get down to I hear that Middle is such a good experience. Yeah, great tour, awesome staff. Really great restaurant too, like planned, like eat dinner there, man. And they also let you they have a bunch of open bottles at the tour or at in the gift shop. So you can sample stuff before you buy it, including some of their like crazy stuff. But I think there's gonna be a lot of, you know, big stuff. Very very light. That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good. I only need to splash it. it's gonna be a lot of good s good stuff coming up too because I believe what I remember hearing was I think we might have talked about this the other night. Old elk in Middle West are yeah, I I don't know. I don't yeah, I don't remember yeah. Yeah, they're producing for them or Yeah, I don't remember the details on that, but I think I think there's gonna be a lot of good stuff, which I mean even Yeah. Yeah, that cash strength pumper nickel rye is like it on that. It's so that it is I mean, like the regular pumper nickel rye is really good, but like the cast strength one, like I I reloaded last week because I needed another one. This is Middle West? Yeah. I gotta try it. yeah, they got it over at Chalet. They got the Cash Strength and they got single barrels down at the distiller. I got like three distillery exclusives. I got They're weeded. They used that soft red wheat. Okay. And then also the pumper nickel rye finished in Spanish orange wine casks. Is that like one of those tubed ones? Yeah. Yeah. yeah. Not not as pretty as the gold foil tube, of course. But very different. Pumper nickel rye? They're out at Chalet. Canfield Giant Eagle. wait, never mind. I'm looking at Ginos. Can'tfield Giant Eagle. That's where I reloaded last week online. They had them. So if Chalet doesn't have it, pop over there. So drink it. I'm not gonna give I'll let you guys Yeah, let's see. 'Cause It's not as hot as this last night. No, I I think that drinks a lot lighter. Yeah. Yep. And I get like Well, I'll let you guys kinda got like we were just saying, you know, stag, you know, kinda big, bold, spicy. Doesn't have that really, really long finish to it that sticks with you for, you know, that big, deep Kentucky hug with kind of that spice. Yeah, I mean what it was a couple proof points. Difference wise, but yeah, not that big of a difference. maybe But what flavors are you getting with it though? That's the question. I'm getting one twenty. This is weird to say, but like a darker I agree. Like when I nosed it, I was getting more of the tobacco in this one than the first. Maybe it's just 'cause I can get into it more. but almost like a not dark chocolate, but some something like Like cocoa. Like that bitterness you kinda get like from yeah. So I get a lot of grape. I get a lot of that grape soda. Like the Welches or whatever. Yeah. Mm. Yeah. Dark rich. Yeah. Yeah. Get a little more oak than what I I think I got the last time on this. Like a cherry like a cherry wood or a you know, like a a French oak. Yeah. You know? I think that's my new I think it's French oak that I really like, which I wish I yeah. I we talked about this a little bit. But I every time Well you ha you have Omega, don't you? I mean that's one of my favorite That's one of my favorite French oaks. the new Frank August was a French oak. Case study side. yeah, that's just sorta I've been seeing that around. Yeah. Yeah. Ohio's had it for maybe a month or so. I got a makers. I got a makers 46 cast strength. That is one of the most underrated finds. You know, it's not like the hardest thing to find in the you know, like compared to the Omega. But you don't see the cask strength all the time and I think it's something that people should ha like if you like French oaked you need that bottle. Yeah. So we need to open that one. We do. We should do a French oak night. I I mean be smart about it, but 'cause there's enough to go from. I don't think we I don't think we need to be smart about it. Fuck it, let's see how it's starting that. Yeah. Let's take it in and off seventy dots and see how it goes. Yeah. Yeah. Hope for the best. and they didn't even use the crosswind correction. I'm like they just kept l letting the wing lift up. You know, I I don't listen, as a not pilot, I don't pay attention to these things. But this one is like I when I saw the crash, I'm like, what are those guys thinking? And I immediately recognized that something wasn't right. I just kind of watched all the runway go by. Yeah. As they were up here. Yeah. Well, like what I saw the video, but you know, I I'm gonna get on a soapbox. yes. Here we go. HLQ? N no. So I've been a Czech airman for twenty-two years. Okay instructor for twenty two years. And the trend is people keep adding speed for safety. Right? we I'm gonna add a couple extra knots to the approach. By the top of the bug. Blood, top of the butt. Yeah. Top of the bug. Right. It's gotten to the point now they're they're adding so much extra speed on their approaches. Yeah. Yeah. so every ten percent you increase your approach speed increases your landing distance to twenty one percent. Jeez, man. Okay, that's that's that's numbers. You go into the compounding fact too, right? You cross the gate at eighty feet instead of fifty feet. Right. That's fast, right? Like it it compounds really. So so you add in the fact that they touch down four thousand four thousand feet down the runway. Yeah. Of a nine thousand foot runway. I mean our our rule of thumb is if you don't touch down within the first in the touchdown zone or the first one third of the runway, whichever's less. Three thousand or one third, whichever's less. Yeah. You go around. You know, yeah. It's it is it's no longer a question, is you just go around. Yeah. I mean that's literally in our approach briefing package. You guys fight for different companies. Right. Yeah. But I mean there's so much crossover, right? And I mean well for us, right? That's my point though, is that different companies same close enough rules. Like everybody should be everybody everybody should be following at a certain point. That's simple. Three thousand one or one third, right? So if I'm coming in on a seven thousand or sake of simple math, seventy five hundred feet, I'm like twenty five hundred feet, that's what I got. That's my first third, right? Like if the airplane's not down We're at a point where everybody's had to go around, right? Yeah. yeah. Yeah. Well, and it's now taught that a go around is not a bad thing. Correct. Yeah. yeah. As opposed to what we just saw. Yeah. Well, it used to be that you did It was like the walk of shame, right? Right. Right. If you had to go around the walk of shame. Yeah. Whereas now it's like, hey, I I went around. You made a good decision. Yeah. Right? When I started at the airlines twenty six six years ago. You touched down What you touched down at the top end of the touchdown marker? Yeah. You know, it was it was you were 20 feet long. Yeah. But you still touch down a thousand feet from the end of the runway. Yeah. If it was a 5,000 foot runway or a 4,500 foot runway, you touched down between 500 feet and a thousand feet from the end of the runway. That was you can't do that? See you. Yeah. Thanks for applying. Thanks for coming to the training. We're no longer gonna need But now it's you also flew in. stage too. Right. It's like where you know, you don't want to be a captain, like, all right, go find another job. Like right. And it was kinda well in and in and when I would get them out of simulator, they had twenty five hours of online training with a training cap. Wait, you can fly one of those jets after only twenty five hours. No, no, it was forty hours of simulator time and then you got twenty five hours with a Czech airman and passengers. For IOE, for your initial operators experience, if you weren't done at 25 hours, see ya. Shut up. Yeah. That takes some stones. That's not the way it is anymore. No. It takes 2,000. Yeah. Well, no, it just that after 25 hours, okay, well, we're gonna give you another 25 hours. No, we'll give you another twenty-five hours. Well, and there were yeah, twenty-six years ago there was no special tracking. There was the flight simulators simulators were probably wild. Yes and no. They're they're a little better, but you know The thing is about like the simulators. We're still CRT TV. I was trying to make an age joke. Well, I mean the simulators are what what is it? It's like the excitement of tongue kissing your sister. Yeah. You know, it's it's just it's not I haven't heard that one. You're still in a simulator. I see. sorry. So the mental aspect is Now, I I have seen people that were doing something that they the simulator was crashing and it was because the simulator was failing. And they thought it was real. You know, so they react you asshole. That was not a experiment. As someone who doesn't know any I'm really curious, you said something earlier about adding speed. I I don't think you said to make it so every category every category two aircraft is certified by the FAA to cross Over the landing threshold, 50 feet above the landing threshold, at 1.21 VSO, which is 1.21 times the stall speed in that configuration. You did this math the other day. So that's called V ref, right? So as a safety thing, there's they they they do an additive to read v ref to be v approach speed. So you fly the approach at V approach speed, which protects V ref, right? And then you're to cross the fence at V ref, slowing the touchdown speed. So you're gonna touch down at V ref minus five, sure, V ref minus eight in the flare, right? But that's so you do not float and you touch down on the thousand foot marker. Whereas now people do the V approach speed coming down. And then they're like, I'm gonna add five knots here, I'm gonna add ten knots for Gus, I'm gonna add fifteen knots for wind shear or whatever just because, but that's become the norm where everybody's adding all these i and for us they're now coming in forty percent faster. Thirty percent right. So for every knot above V ref you cross the fence, that's an additional one hundred feet of rollout, right? So if you cross fifteen knots. Above V ref, that's fifteen hundred feet of additional runway that you need. Can you make that up by stomping on the brakes? Well, so the landing performance data You can, but it ain't smart. Is already predicated upon using max braking. Okay. Not all of all of my airplanes have auto brakes. No, but I mean too, right? I mean, your landing distance, right? I mean, then you talk about like, you know. You know, you got the you know, at least R Rs is fifteen percent Sappho, you know, added to landing distance too, but like you you chew that up real fast is the point. Yeah, right. I mean, yeah. Yeah. So Well and and we go into some shorter runways. No, we all also have different flap configurations and that and and I I teach I I make sure to teach the full flap landing so that we have the maximum extended flaps. But It's it's just become that everybody's so afraid of V ref. Yeah. And nobody wants to stall out on approach, right? Like that's the Right. And you're not even close to You're 220% above it. Right. I mean it's the same thing, right? I mean, with VMD, right? I mean, I'm Listen, I as a not pilot, this math and this understanding makes infinite sense to me. Like so, so now imagine that I mean Amazon crash that we were talking about. I think they said like 180. the speed that I heard or so they are they are they are forty five percent above V refrazy you know or fifty percent they are so fast compared to what their V ref speed was trying to there on time make them packages faster. So now I know there's thunderstorm behind them. You were just talking about this the other day too and so they may have had a tailwind. Yeah. So their ground speed may have been faster than their V ref. So any of the radar returns that we see i is is is a Ground speed. Now we're getting in the yeah. But it's even higher, yeah. Speed ground speed. But no matter what, they touch down so far down the runway. That's again as a not pilot nice. And that's the thing, right? Even if they were on speed, on profile, everything to still end up two thirds down the runway. Like something like this thing smells crazy good, right? Yeah. It's the smell was This is like George Tea Stag's. It's OC leathery. Everything all turned to eleven. Big on the nose. Or I'm really drunk. Big on the nose. Yes. Yeah. Yes. No, Was it an accident? They overpoured me, you get overpoured. Yeah. Ooh. It almost has like a dusty funk to it in the palette. Lucky we're going out early on Saturday. I'm getting another Holy shit. All right, I'll be honest. My my big gripe lately has been the four batches, right? Because they never they never used to do this A, B, C, and D batch, right? Yeah, they quadrupled production as well. Exactly. Exactly. With that being said, those are all three very different. Yeah, really? Like very, very different. I do think overall the quality has dropped from, you know, especially back to when they were juniors. Twelve, thirty. When they were juniors and they were yeah, and Batch thirteen, batch four back in my day. Yeah, yeah, back in my day. Yeah. But it is pretty remote how different they they are. I think I'm gravitating towards B if I'm being honest. I think I think C is my favorite. And this is a fresh crack. I mean we let it open a little bit, but this I mean I'm gonna go that that that that leg the legs are just phenomenal on that. I'm gonna go different than both of you. I still like A the best. I don't think it drinks as hot as the proof. I I I'm getting A A does drink the the one knock on A, I will say too, is like it does drink hot. But I this one is not really like the flavors that that I get off of A. Getting more heat on the nose on this thing. The nose the nose that was my throw. I was like, you know, I had to and that could be the fresh crack. Go back. For sure. I think it's so interesting how different they are. As as someone who is like the bourbon novice out of all of us, so we have three different batches of stag. It's debatable. Same he just buys. Same same match bill, right? Same right. It it's just different batches. In different barrels. Yeah. And so it's a different blend. I think that is a different blend, right? Okay. I mean, it's it's the same mash bill, but yeah, I mean I think they're trying to make four batches, tru four truly differ true dis distinct batches. So I like the sweetness and see. I like I think that it has more of a confectioner sugar sweetness. It has a a deeper richer sweetness. We're gonna see back to this. But I've This might be the most drinkable stag I've had. Yeah. I I agree. I I agree with you. I caught some of the on the nose, but this is Yeah, I mean the very first nose I was a little bit taken back, but B and C are both very, very drinkable. I like the flavors I get the most off A, but it's it's hot compared to B and C for sure. And that's been open yeah. Since June. May or June. So it's had some time. I mean, it's got me wondering, like, to go back 'cause I mean I've got I've got all four of the twenty five batches as well. Like but I don't I've never sat down like this and all I'm I'm like, yeah, how much 'cause like twenty five D I think I remember really liking, but yeah, how much different are those side by side? I got we'll have to go back and We're coming back to this one. Yeah. And look what the legs just streamed down. Yeah. I mean that's just Yeah, you've got That's great. I mean Isn't it another good set? Yeah, that's a fantastic set. I to your point, they're all different. They're all distinct. They're all Yeah. Yeah. I like it. winner. Yeah. I'm the only one still drinking because Bob overplayed. Much more simple overall when it comes to like the palate and the nose compared to the last I think that is true. I think this one was more simple, I guess, but it wasn't as overwhelming as the others at the same time. It's more approachable too I guess if you're not very like big into those big flavors and spices and surprises. Yeah. Yeah. Mm. Well, I I appreciate this. I I have to mention doing a bottle share. I like this idea. I'm impressed by the way. With a bottle share? Wally. Wally Dant is fantastic. doing a bottle share September twenty-fifth from one to three PM at Monks Road Boiler House in Louisville during Bourbon and Beyond. Wally has set us up. We're gonna be using the basement of his restaurant. That's awesome. And he's got the vault down there and a bar and all that. So we're gonna have appetizers looking forward to it. if you're going to Bourbon and Beyond or if you're just in the Louisville area, please come by. bring a bottle if you want. If you don't, there's gonna be plenty. come on. But bring a bottle. It's a bottle there. They'll be that guy. so JD Fridges from the Bourbon Hunters is gonna be there. Okay. So I'm gonna take some of the bourbon hunters barrel picks that I have down for that. Jason Bronner responded today. So from Buzzard's Roost. So he's gonna bring over a bottle. Wally's gonna have some stuff. I'm sad I'm missing it. I'd go for just for that. You can come down for the just for that. Yeah, I might. Actually I might. I mean it's it's it's gonna be good time. When is it? Twenty fifth. September twenty fifth. It's a Friday. Okay. I'm still trying to work it in, so I saw it. Yeah, we might I'm Yeah, ride down with me, ride home with him. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're not coming home until Monday. I don't care. I got him there. He's gotta figure it out. Just drop him off in the airport. Yeah. but yeah, so I and on Thursday, by the way, did you see our Instagram today? Yeah. Derek Trucks liked our our posts and whatnot, but so Thursday at three thirty we're doing an interview with Derek Trucks because we got the media credentials at Bourbon and Beyond. Super excited about that. lot going on. Yeah. It's super cool. It's gonna be a busy couple of weeks. Yeah. please like, subscribe, share, leave comments. Absolutely. five stars. Lee Five stars. Any ca any complaints? Bob. Email Bob. And I don't have a bourbon Bourbon, Brass & Beyond house account. That's exactly why they're going to use. Yeah. We can set one up. But other than that, thanks for watching. I finish your drink. Everybody have a good night. Yeah, good night.