Old Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon 1970s

Old Stagg was at one point the best selling bourbon brand in the US. An early convert to the 86 proof (as opposed to traditional 100) provided them with more available stock when supply was thin during the second world war, and a better taste as a straight whiskey than the competing blends.

This bottle was produced by Schenley in the 1970s at George T. Stagg distillery , better known today as Buffalo Trace.

A historic distillery, Buffalo Trace was built in 1812 Harrison Blanton. It was then purchased by the legendary Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr in 1870, who named it OFC (Old Fashioned Copper) and invested heavily in its modernisation. So much so in fact that he declared himself bankrupt after just seven years, and George T. Stagg stepped in to rescue it, becoming its owner in 1878. He ran the distillery until his retirement in the 1890s, and it was renamed in his honour in 1904. Having survived Prohibition, it was bought up by the Schenley company in 1933, who ran it as part of their extensive portfolio for the next fifty years, eventually selling it to Age International. The latter's new Japanese ownership in 1992 had no interest in it (only in its brands), and immediately sold it to the Sazerac company, who renamed it Buffalo Trace in 1999.