Distillery: Old Forester Distilling Co.
Proof: 124.9
Age: NAS
Mashbill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
BACKGROUND: Old Forester makes some very tasty whiskey with multiple releases. They have a single barrel program where barrels can be selected and are bottled either at barrel strength (blue label) or 100 proof (black label). The barrel strengths are highly sought after and for good reason as their other high proof or barrel strength offerings, 1920 and the 150th Anniversary.
NOSE: Oh wow, this is one hell of a nose. Rich and complex notes immediately jump out in the form of caramel, vanilla, cherry, and smooth rye spice. There are also some notes of oak and a nice burn that isn’t too much (24/25)
PALATE: Rye spice sits tingles on the front of the tongue and then bold notes of oak, caramel, roasted nuts, and dried fruits. It is a chewy palate but my knock is that all the flavors are competing and are not balanced (33/40)
FINISH: Loads of rye spice, pecans, cracked pepper, and charred oak. There is a bitterness on the finish that wasn’t on the palate that we don’t enjoy (21/25)
VALUE: At an SRP $80 this is a decent buy. We think it should be priced at around $65 (8/10)
Overall: 86/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall this is a bold whiskey that has some rich notes but has a bitter finish. These are highly sought after and people pay way above SRP for them. Your best bet is to enjoy OF 1920 which is readily available at $60
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Elijah Craig Batch Proof C919
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Old Ezra 7
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Wild Turkey Rare Breed
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away
