Stagg began as Stagg Jr. in 2013 and dropped the "Jr." with Batch 18 in 2022; the liquid did not change, only the name. Buffalo Trace now issues two to three batches a year, each identified by the two-digit year plus a letter, and each varies in proof and character. Batch 25D is the fourth and final entry of 2025 — the year-end release, bottled uncut at 129.2 proof. Where the year's earlier batches leaned brighter and fruitier, 25D is the brooding one: dark chocolate, molasses, and seasoned oak. As an allocated, year-closing batch in a numbered series, it is a natural collectible for anyone tracking Stagg vertically, batch by batch.

Pour it neat in a Glencairn and give it a minute. At 129.2 proof it runs hot and dense, so a few drops of water open the aroma and tame the heat, drawing out the toffee and dark fruit. A large cube works for a slower pour, but this is built to be taken close to neat by experienced bourbon drinkers.

Batch 25D is built on Buffalo Trace's Mash Bill #1, the distillery's low-rye recipe also used for George T. Stagg and Eagle Rare (exact grain percentages are not published — and note that this is a low-rye, not a high-rye, mash bill). The whiskey is aged in new charred American oak and reported at roughly 8 to 9 years in the distillery's Kentucky rickhouses; it carries no official age statement. It is bottled uncut at 129.2 proof (64.6% ABV) and non-chill-filtered, so the natural barrel oils and esters stay in the bottle, which is what gives the batch its thick, chewy texture and concentrated dark-fruit and molasses character.

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What is Stagg Batch 25D, and when was it released?

Batch 25D is the fourth and final 2025 release of Stagg, Buffalo Trace's barrel-proof bourbon, bottled uncut and unfiltered at 129.2 proof (64.6% ABV) in a 750 mL bottle. It arrived in late 2025 as a limited, allocated release; Buffalo Trace issues two to three Stagg batches a year, named by the two-digit year plus a letter.

What is the mash bill, and how old is the whiskey?

Stagg uses Buffalo Trace's low-rye Mash Bill #1 — the same recipe behind George T. Stagg and Eagle Rare — though the distillery does not publish exact grain percentages. There is no official age statement; the barrels for Batch 25D are reported at roughly 8 to 9 years, matured in new charred American oak.