Old Forester Rye Review

Here lately Old Forester seems to be a brand that is on the rise. While I don't see them ever getting the same kind of silly overhyped attention as a distillery like Buffalo Trace, they have had a steady trend of well received releases that seem to be produced with enthusiasts in mind. As a whole, I generally like their products - Signature is decent for the price, 1910 was an interesting change of pace, and 1920 is a terrific all around bourbon that I regularly buy at least a few times a year. They really only have one product I don't care for and that is the limited edition Birthday Bourbon. After trying at least a dozen vintages, I've given up on ever liking it as all I ever taste is bitter acetone. 

So here today we have another newish product released by them in early 2019 in the form of a rye whiskey. It didn't take long for it to start generating a good bit of low level praise, so based on that and the other positive trends I was seeing for Old Forester releases I figured it was worth picking up. While there is no age statement, 100 proof is very modest and there wasn't much risk considering the low asking price. Also of note is the rather unusual mashbill here: 65% rye, 20% barley, 15% corn. That's a little bit higher rye than your typical barely legal 51% Kentucky ryes but the more interesting part is the large percentage of barley which may lend to some cereal note characteristics.

Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey; No Age Statement; 50% ABV; $25

Nose: Zesty rye notes like pine, clove, and eucalyptus. Some light florals and a sweetness that has minty bubblegum coming to mind. Definitely breathes like a highish rye influenced whiskey. There is a decent amount of oaky wood influence here and not a lot of overpowering grainy new make notes.

Taste: Upfront starts with your typical woody sweets which then transitions into a rye prominence of baking spices/clove. In the finish the wood sweets transform into a darker cocoa vibe and the spice remains though it's not overpowering. Throughout all are the tell-tale banana notes that I get in every Brown Forman whiskey I've ever had which at this point I think has to be due to their yeast. It drinks pretty easy for 100 proof. I would guess this is a little older than the bare minimum of four years for no age statement, maybe 6ish years.

Thoughts: I like this. It's not going to blow you away as an intensely spicy rye nor is the the most nuanced whiskey but it's good as an affordable daily sipper and it works really well in cocktails. For the longest time Rittenhouse was my cocktail rye of choice back when it was still being contract distilled at Brown Forman but these days the Heaven Hill version tastes young and green/earthy to me. This product is considerably better than that and as a bonus, it's cheaper. Hats off to Old Forester for knocking another one out of the park.

Rating: B-/C+

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Old Forester 1910 Review

I'm not the biggest fan of Brown-Forman whiskeys. Out of about ten vintages of Birthday Bourbon I've tried, I've yet to have one that didn't make me want to gag from bitter varnish notes. As for their non limited edition releases, I find a common banana note in most all of them that just doesn't sit well with me. Granted, Old Forester 1920 from the Whiskey Row series is pretty good - it's easily their best product and the only one that I've ever bought more than once. Here today we have 1920's followup and what is supposedly the last product in the series. The schtick here is it's a bourbon that was rebarreled and then aged in fresh, lightly toasted, heavily charred barrels. Rebarreling can be a slippery slope, as my recent experience with Knob Creek's Twice Barreled Rye didn't turn out so well. I'm not exactly optimistic but I am hopeful Old Forester has a better showing coming on the heels of something as good as 1920. 

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; No Age Statement; 46.5% ABV; $60

Color: I don't usually remark on color but this stuff is noticeably dark. It has the deep brown of bourbons in the 12-15 year old category.

Nose: Smells like a rather mature bourbon. That familiar Forman banana note is definitely here - it smells like banana creme brûlée. 

Taste: A lot more of the same from the nose. It drinks like a very mature bourbon with a lot of wood notes yet still has a lot of sweetness to prevent it from being overly bitter. The banana notes are fairly heavy handed. Again, this tastes like some sort of banana caramel dessert. If you take the wheated aspect out of the picture, in a lot of ways the profile here reminds me of Weller 12.

Thoughts: This is pretty good. I don't really have any major faults with it other than being a little boring and the banana notes being a bit pervasive. Unlike in other Forman whiskies where that banana note is younger / more green, the maturity of the profile here actually makes it kind of nice. This still isn't as good as 1920 but I do think this is my second favorite Forman product.

Rating: B- / B

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating

Old Forester 1920 Review

In general, Brown-Forman whiskies don't do much for me. Woodford Reserve is very meh and their special editions are the epitome of shelf turdz. Jack Daniels tastes like overly ripe bananas. Old Forester Signature 100 is decent enough as a budget pour but the Birthday Bourbon series is a bitter acetone bomb to me. Because of that, I've steered clear of the Old Forester Whiskey Row series up to this point. Recently though there was some chatter on social media that the latest 1920 release was really good, perhaps better than Birthday Bourbon. Those statements and the proof convinced me it was worth taking a chance on it.

No Age Statement; 57.5% ABV; $60

Nose: Rye spice, bubble yum gum, molasses, leather, and a decent amount of oak. Smells like a classic, rye based, moderately aged bourbon. With 30 minutes of airtime it's not that hot considering the high-ish proof. 

Taste: Mostly the same notes from the nose. There's a nice upfront sweetness, a good amount of oak depth in the middle, and a spicy finish. The sweets have touches of youth to them with some fruity banana bubble gum. That fruitiness carries through to the finish which when combined with the spice ends up something like warm cherry Dr. Pepper. I'm guessing this averages about 7-8 years old with some slightly younger and a bit of older whiskey in the mix. 

Thoughts: I went into this with low expectations but it really surprised me. This is without a doubt my favorite Brown-Forman bourbon ever. Granted, that's a low bar but there's a lot to like here. It's a tasty balance of sweet and spicy, the proof is respectable, it's not overly young, and it should be relatively easy to find. At this price point it's not something you would buy as an everyday sipper nor is it really bunker quality but it's worth buying at least once for something different. 

Rating: B

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Imaginary Internet Friends Blind Tasting #13: Anything Goes

Here’s another rundown from a blind tasting with our local whiskey group the “Imaginary Internet Friends”. You can read more of the backstory on our group and our previous tastings here if you are curious. The theme for this tasting was a group favorite “anything goes” with no constraints on whiskey type, price, proof, or age. Special thanks to /u/tvraisedme for being our blind impartial who selected a great lineup.

 

These are my blind notes, in order of how I ranked them:

1. Sample E: The nose was a fairly average but classic with medium woodiness and also a nice fruitiness. The taste was spicy with lots of mint and was a bit warm. I guessed it was a Four Roses around 105-110 proof with my alternate guess being Smooth Ambler Old Scout. Reveal: Four Roses /r/bourbon OBSF
2. Sample A: The nose was very woody and gave off an impression of being fairly old. The taste was rich, sweet, and a tad spicy. Very good and only a slight notch below my first pick. My guess was this was a higher rye bourbon around 100 proof, possibly Smooth Ambler. Reveal: Weller 12
3. Sample B: Overall, this one smelled and tasted the youngest of the group. The nose was spicy but also had a lot of youthful banana notes. The taste continued the young trend with green apple notes as well as more spice. Because of the young age and spice I suspected this was my submission (WTRB). Reveal: Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled in Bond
4. Sample C: Again pretty young, the second youngest in the group. The nose was very spicy with slight off-putting chemical notes. The taste was slightly more mature but very spicy. I guessed it was a barely legal rye or high rye bourbon around 100-110 proof. Reveal: Wild Turkey Rare Breed WT-03RB
5. Sample D: The nose was awesome on the first pass. It smelled old with a deep woodiness. On a second pass things took a horrible turn towards the bitter side along with very pronounced old musty wood notes. The taste was more of the same - way too bitter and funky in a bad way. I guessed this was an Orphan Barrel other than Barterhouse. Reveal: 2013 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon

Well, no real surprises here for me as this is exactly how I would have ranked these non-blind. As always, the Four Roses was easy to peg. I’m most disappointed I missed the Weller 12 but I didn’t get the classic cinnamon zip I typically get in BT wheated products though it goes to show that wheated bourbons have a spiciness all of their own that can be hard to differentiate from rye spice. The biggest surprise here for me is just how young the McKenna tasted - I would have guessed this was a 6-ish year old bourbon. Definitely the worst McKenna 10 year I’ve had and reinforces variability of single barrel products. Last but not least, I’m well on record as saying I really dislike the OFBB line and I believe this is the second blind tasting where I’ve placed it last.

As for the group rankings:

1. Four Roses /r/bourbon OBSF with 22 points via /u/dannyg483
2. Weller 12 with 17 points via /u/Imcoolerthanu50
3. Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled in Bond with 15 points via /u/pennbarts
4. 2013 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon with 11 points via /u/helios7
5. Wild Turkey Rare Breed WT-03RB with 10 points via /u/signde

No surprises here as it seems to line-up pretty well with the consensus of the community. The most interesting thing to note is this the 5th tasting where Four Roses has been entered and the 4th time It has taken first place. The fifth time was one of the controversial Q recipes that finished last (though I rated it first, haha). Above all else, this tasting only further solidifies the fact that Four Roses really is the best modern day bourbon you can buy off the shelf.

Old Forester Signature Review

Outside of their limited edition Birthday Bourbon, I don’t have a lot of experience with Old Forester products. Given that the Birthday Bourbon is supposed to be the flagship of the line and I don’t particularly care for it, I’ve never really felt much need to explore the rest of their products. However, in an effort to cover all of the major distilleries in our community reviews over on /r/bourbon, Old Forester Signature was chosen as the representative of the brand for our next group review so I was obligated to give it a shot. While this isn’t supposed to be a particularly hard to find Bourbon, I actually had some difficulty in sourcing a bottle. I had to call at least a dozen stores that had other items such as the 86 proof Old Forester and newer 1870 releases before I was able to track down a bottle of this. I suspect it’s just not a popular product here so most of my local stores don’t carry it. As best I can tell there isn’t much interesting backstory behind this bottle, it’s just plain old no frills Bourbon which is kind of welcoming.

No Age Statement; 50% ABV; $23

Nose: The nose is mostly oak and caramel/vanilla wood sugars with a little banana taffy which is an indicator of slight youngness to me.

Taste: The upfront taste is like the nose with more wood and some burnt caramel. The sweet taffy is still present initially but soon fades behind darker, more complex oak notes. The mid palate starts to bring on some acidic citrus zip that eventually leads to a spicy rye finish. Along with the spice at the end there are some nice dark chocolate and green apple flavors.

Thoughts: I expected to hate this given my opinion of Birthday Bourbon but I was pleasantly surprised. This reminds me a lot of Heaven Hill’s 6 year Bottled in Bond that I reviewed a while back. I think they share a lot of similarities as they are both a mid-level rye Bourbons and I would guess the Signature is a blend of aged whiskey that averages out to about the same 6 year age or a little less. There isn’t really anything standout here but there’s also nothing to complain about. It’s just a standard, classic Bourbon at a nice proof and even better it comes at an affordable price. Outside of Bottled in Bond Bourbons that are hard to find in a lot of markets, I can’t think of many bottles that are better than this one at this price point.

Rating: B-