Tag: Old Forester

Old Forester 1910

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Maker: Brown-Forman, Louisville, Kentucky, USAwp-1578702014650.jpg

Style: Barrel-finished straight bourbon whiskey.

Age: NAS

Proof: 93 (46.5% ABV)

Michigan State Minimum: $55

Appearance: Chestnut.

Nose: Light oak, ghost pepper, toasted pecan.

Palate: Full-bodied. Brown Sugar and then burn. With water: Pralines, plum, cocoa.

Finish: Long. Maple candy, then alcohol and bubble gum.

Parting words: This is the fourth and final entry in Old Forester’s superb Whiskey Row series of historically inspired bourbons. I’ve liked every single one and I like this one too. The first two, 1870 and 1897, were better (probably older) versions of their two standard expressions the 86 proof and 100 proof (fka Signature) Old Foresters. The third (my favorite) was the 114 proof 1920.

Brown-Forman went in a different direction for 1910, jumping backward ten years to replicate an alleged incident when a fire on the bottling line forced the distillery to store bourbon in a second barrel for some reason. The whole thing sounds a bit dubious to me, but, historicity aside, this is a very good bourbon. The second barrel (new I believe) rounds out OF’s usually sharp edges to give it decadent candy flavors without becoming overly sweet. Depite the relatively low (93) proof for serious bourbon people like you and me, OF 1910 benefits from a few drops of water.

1910 is cheaper than 1920, but much harder to find in my experience. $55 may seem like a lot for a 93 proof NAS bourbon from a big distillery, but it’s well worth it in this case. It’s an excellent capstone to the Whiskey Row series. Old Forester 1910 is highly recommended.

 

Old Forester: The Statesman

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Maker: Brown-Forman, Louisville, Kentucky, USA20181221_182753.jpg

Age: NAS

Proof: 95 (47.5% ABV)

Michigan state minimum: $55

Appearance: Medium copper.

Nose: Peanut brittle, toffee, tarragon.

Palate: Caramel, date, fig, five spice powder.

Finish: Hot and sweet with tarragon.

Parting words: The Statesman was intended to be a limited release to promote the film The Kingsmen: The Golden Circle in 2017. The movie got mixed reviews, but the bourbon was popular so they kept it around.

It’s richer and spicier than the 86 and 100 proof Old Forester expressions and it occupies a place at the top of the price range of the main Old Forester line, ten dollars above Old Forester Single Barrel. It pushes a bit on its $55 price, but it’s full-flavored and good for sipping or high-end mixing with nothing unpleasant at all. It does get a little thin if it hangs around too long in the bottle, but drink it before it gets to that point and it’s not a problem. Old Forester: The Statesman is recommended.

Old Forester Single Barrel, The Party Source selection

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Maker: Brown-Forman, Shively, Kentucky, USA20180126_190314.jpg

Age:NAS

Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

Barrel: The Party Source #3521. Warehouse G, floor 5.

Price: $40 (The Party Source, obviously).

Appearance: Medium copper.

Nose: Alcohol, leather, almond extract, plum, cracked pink peppercorns, tarragon.

Palate: Plantain, strawberry jam, cinnamon, oak.

Finish: Fairly hot, fades into fruit and leather (not to be confused with fruit leather).

Mixed: Made great Manhattans and Boulevardiers.

Parting words: I thought I had reviewed the last Old Forester Single Barrel I purchased from The Party Source (TPS) but I haven’t been able to find that review so I’ll just have to go by memory. That bottle was the fruitiest bourbon I can remember having. It was jammy with a touch of oak, like a Michigan Pinot Noir. This bottle is much more balanced, and even more enjoyable. It’s fruit-forward, but backed up with power, spice and oak. It’s a good example of why one should never turn up one’s nose at a big store retailer pick, especially not a big store in Kentucky. Old Forester Single Barrel, TPS pick is highly recommended,

Old Forester 1920

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Maker: Brown-Forman, Louisville, Kentucky, USA20170106_195909.jpg

Age: NAS

Proof: 115 (57.5% ABV)

Michigan state minimum: $60

Appearance: Bright chestnut with a clingy robe.

Nose: Crushed walnut, bubblegum, caramel, allspice, dried Cayenne. With water the Cayenne turns to sweet cinnamon.

Palate: Medium bodied. Caramel on entry, then burn. Turns chewy and spicy with water.

Finish: Grape  bubblegum, alcohol. Water brings out the oak, but doesn’t turn down the heat.

Parting words: Old Forester 1920 is the third installment in the Old Forester Whiskey Row Series. The first, Old Forester 1870 (in honor of the founding of the company), was released in 2014, 1897 (in honor of the Bottled-in-Bond act) was released in 2015. This one, released in 2016, was named in honor of the fact that Brown-Forman was one of the handful of Kentucky distillers that received a license from the US government to distill spirits for medicinal purposes. So it was actually possible to get Old Forester during Prohibition, with a prescription. It is 115 proof, not because that was the proof at which OF was sold in those days but because that was a common proof at which Old Forester came out of the barrel at the time.

All three Old Forester Whiskey Row bourbons have been good. This one is the best. It is what we OF fans have been waiting for. It does an excellent job of balancing the spice and oak of older OF with the fruity roundness of younger OF. It does this without falling into the weird plastic aromas and unbalanced oak that can come into some of the Old Forester Birthday Bourbon vintages. 1920 is both elegantly balanced and powerful, like a JS Bach organ composition or a Brahms symphony. This is the Old Forester I had hoped B-F was capable of producing all these years but thought I would never see. Now all I can think about is the next installment. Single barrel? True barrel proof? Distillate of DSP KY 414, the old Old Forester plant? I can hardly wait. Old Forester 1920 is highly recommended.

Old Forester 1897

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Maker: Brown-Forman, Louisville, Kentucky, USA2016-02-18-11.58.26.jpg.jpeg

Age: NAS (at least 4 y/o)

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)

Michigan state minimum: $50

Appearance: Dark copper

Nose: Dates, alcohol, dried figs, leather.

Palate: Medium bodied and medium sweet. Cinnamon, mincemeat pie, sugar plums, caramel, oak.

Finish: Hot and leathery, like me in my senior year of high school.

Parting words: Old Forester 1897 is the latest entry in OF’s Whiskey Row series. I reviewed the first one, 1870, here. Old Forester is a great old bourbon brand. I won’t recount its long history here. Google it if you’re interested. This iteration is named in honor of the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond act that established the BiB designation for spirits (not just whiskey) and other quality controls. Bottled-in-Bottle aged spirits are at least four years old, the product of one distiller at one distillery from one distilling season, and bottled at 100 proof. The distillery must be identified on the label as well as the bottler, if bottled at a different facility than the one at which it was distilled. Old Forester BiB was in production for decades (maybe even a century) until it was replaced by Old Forester Signature. Signature is 100 proof but not technically a BiB presumably because it is not taken from one distilling “season”.

1897 is bottled in bond and it’s very good. While I like OF Signature, 1897 is superior. It’s much more complex and fruitier than its dry, spicy sibling. It’s creamy and fruity and a joy to drink. $50 is much higher than most BiBs are priced these days, but this is not Jim Beam bonded or J.T.S. Brown. This is a complex, flavorful bourbon worth sipping alongside Blanton’s or Rock Hill Farms. Old Forester 1897 is recommended.