The year 1870 and a review of Old Forester 1870 Original Batch

1870. Old Forester claims that George Garvin Brown started selling his Old Forester brand of whiskey in that year. And since renowned bourbon historian Michael Veach backs that up in his book Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey, I have no reason to suspect they are fibbing. In the story, Old Forester was the first bourbon sold exclusively in bottles. 

But 1870 is not a year that I, living in 2015, have thought too much about. And I’m going to guess that you, dear reader, haven’t either. So let’s learn a little bit about what was going on in the country in the year the bottled bourbon trend started.

  • Construction begins on the Brooklyn Bridge in January of that year. For many of us who have never been to New York City, it is one of the symbols that immediately comes to mind whenever the city is mentioned. 
  • African Americans technically gain the right to vote with the passage and ratification of the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution. It will actually be universally enforced almost 100 years later.
  • Reconstruction is ending in the former Confederate States of America as Virginia, Texas, Mississippi and Georgia become the last states readmitted to the Union.
  • If, like me, you are a Big Ten Football fan, you’ll be interested to know that the institution that would become the Ohio State University was founded in March of this year under the name the Ohio Agriculture and Mechanical College.
  • If you are, instead, an ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) fan you may be interested to know that Syracuse University was founded this year as well.
  • The US Department of Justice was founded in June of this year. I’m not making any comments…
  • Christmas becomes a federal holiday meaning that Congress gets one more day to officially not do their jobs. 
  • The first woman to legally cast a vote in the United States (since 1807…can you imagine the home life of the guys who voted to take away a woman’s right to vote???) does so in Wyoming in September.
  • The forerunner of the National Weather Service makes it’s first prediction. There is no mention of how accurate it was.

And of course the reason we are interested in 1870 today is that I recently bought a bottle of Old Forester 1870 “Original Batch.” The company says that George Garvin Brown—I wonder if we are allowed to say his name without the middle name, I never see him listed as George Brown—bought bourbon from three different distilleries to make Old Forester. So to honor that they chose bourbon from three different warehouses with three different entry proofs and ages. Sounds pretty cool, though it makes me wonder: just how many entry proofs does Brown Forman use?

Old Forester 1870 Original Batch

Purchase Info: $38.99, 750 mL. Total Wine, Burnsville, MN.

Details: 45% ABV

Nose: Floral apples, brown sugar and freshly painted walls

Mouth: The first sip is nice and spicy with cinnamon and cayenne. It’s sweet. Fruity pears and melon lurk underneath.

Finish: Decent length with lingering oak and more sweetness. 

A smiling face showing that I like this bourbon.

Thoughts: This is a really tasty bourbon. Is it twice as good as Old Forester 86 proof at $19.99? No. But bourbon math rarely works in such a linear fashion. It is too expensive for a regular purchase. I mean, it’s even more expensive that Woodford Reserve where I bought it. But I could see splurging now and again on this spicier and oakier expression of your typical Old Forester/Woodford flavor profile.

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Woodford Reserve Rye

Back in August 2012 I said the following: 

"Overall I liked this whiskey. I didn't care for the price. $100 is a lot for this, but the experience and the satiated curiosity were worth it, even if the whiskey was not. Based on this, if Woodford released a permanent rye in the price range of their original bourbon, I'd give it the occasional look."

I was talking about the Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection New and Aged Cask Ryes that were released in 2011 . I enjoyed the experience of trying the same juice aged in two different types of barrels and I enjoyed the whiskeys. So it was with some interest that I read that Brown Foreman was releasing that rye expression I had asked for. 

I read varying comments around the web at the time of the announcement. Most of them were...not positive. But I tried to remind people that Brown-Forman was the company that until recently was producing the very tasty Rittenhouse Rye for Heaven Hill. Even if nothing else about them making it was applicable, at least they knew how to handle rye in such a way it made a tasty whiskey. Didn't seem to help much.

I decided to just wait and see. I knew it would be some time before we got Woodford Rye here in Minnesota. Heck, we've just received the first release in the Old Forester Whiskey Row series (1870). Coincidentally, right around the time the second release hit the stores in Kentucky. 

My wait and see approach lasted until business happened to take my wife to Cincinnati. Flying into Cincinnati lands you in Kentucky. In Kentucky fairly close to the Party Source. So I told her that I would be happy to stay at home all alone while she had fun at a conference if she would bring me a few things back. One of those was the Woodford Reserve Rye.

This weekend we decided to taste it.

Woodford Reserve Rye

Purchase Info: $38.99, 750 mL. The Party Source, Bellevue, KY

Details: 45.2% ABV. Batch 002

Nose: Mint, cedar, honey sweetness, black tea

Mouth: Cinnamon and clove, mint, black tea, buckwheat honey.

Finish: Decent length. Cedar, mint, black tea.

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Thoughts: I’m very impressed with this rye. It has an interesting depth of flavor while still retaining the standard minty/spicy rye character. It’s tannic, but not overly so. Sweet, but not cloying. Spicy, but not overly hot. Black tea was a bit of a surprise note for me, but it seemed to work well. There are hints of the flavors of the bourbons produced by Old Forester/Woodford Reserve. I’m guessing that is coming from the yeast. Overall, I like this as much as I thought I would. It’s tasty.

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Old Forester Ready To Drink Mint Julep

It’s summer and to some of us in the bourbon world, that means it’s also Julep Season. My wife is a big fan of the mint julep. It carries all the lovely flavors of a good bourbon and adds in some sweetness and delicate mint. I normally take my julep without the mint, sugar, julep cup or most of the ice when I make one for her but I can be persuaded on a particularly hot day to partake.

But sometimes making a julep can be a bit too much for me. On a lazy Saturday afternoon? Sure. On that same Saturday when I’ve been working on the landscaping all day? Not a chance. I prefer my cocktail to be whiskey in a glass on a day like that. 

I saw somewhere that last Saturday was National Mint Julep Day. I have no idea if that is actually a thing or if it was just a random person on Twitter proclaiming their love for the julep, but it was enough to make my wife want one. The trouble was it was a Saturday that I spent all day shoveling a pickup-load of mulch into various places in my yard and I wasn’t in the mood for making one. So it was with no little interest that when we went to the liquor store for beer that evening that I noticed the Old Forester Ready-To-Drink Mint Julep. My wife seemed satisfied, so we picked it up. 

I was curious about just how “ready-to-drink” this was after my wife told me it was better on the rocks than just chilled. And so as a service to you, my dear reader, we took it upon ourselves to do a completely scientific (not at all scientific) discovery as to how ready to drink it really was. We tried it chilled in a Glencairn, 2 ounces made into a mint julep and then in desperation with an additional half ounce of good bourbon dumped in.

Old Forester Ready to Drink Mint Julep

Purchase Info: $24.99, 1 Liter. Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: 30% ABV, Caramel Colored

Nose: Heavy spearmint gum and something resembling whiskey

Mouth: Sugary sweet and thick. Spearmint gum and no hint of whiskey.

Finish: None to speak of. 

Thoughts (neat): Well this isn’t very good, but then it’s hardly a fair test, is it? Whether it says “ready to drink” or not, I doubt it was intended to be tasted out of a Glencairn glass. Let’s try it next in it something like it’s natural environment. Let’s make a mint julep out of it. It’s already sweet and minty so I’m just going to pour it over crushed ice in a julep cup and shove in a large sprig of mint:

Thoughts (in Julep): Wow, this is still way too sweet for me. My wife tells me it’s better, I’m starting to doubt her good sense. The overpowering mint has been cut some, but a medicinal bitterness remains. In desperation, I decide to mix in a half ounce of good bourbon.

Thoughts (in julep with additional bourbon): So this isn’t terrible and on a hot day, where I’m too tired to make a julep, it should do. In a pinch. If you are out of beer. And don’t have a car. And live too far away from the store to walk.

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Never mind, just shove a mint sprig in your bourbon and call it good. (Maybe even Old Forester.)

I do love the frost that collects on these cups though...

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What the Hell? (An exploration of the Craigslist secondary market)

Want a laugh? Go troll Craigslist looking for bourbon. You will find legitimate collectable items of both the liquid and memorabilia types. But mixed in among the legit collectables are those that people only wish were collectable. Folks looking to make a buck (or hundred) by preying on the unsuspecting and uninformed. 

A while back, I solicited people on twitter to send me some of their favorites. What follows are the ones I liked best out those submissions. Thanks to all who participated. 

St. Petersburg

Let's start with something that really is hard to find, But seriously? This is over a 300% markup. Glad to have paid gift shop prices for mine.

That's a little better. Only a 200% markup (roughly). It must be on sale though. I mean "Ther prise is Final !" after all.

"It may not have the same demand as (That which will not be named) but that won't stop me from charging the same price as it."

I was starting to worry that this guy wouldn't be able to feed his family after the last two which were listed at only a 200% markup. But here we are, back to 400% or so. whew!

Chicago/Illinois

I like the bourbon...but damn.

In case you were curious, you shouldn't drink this $100 bourbon. It's for display only.

Apparently if you leave the city, the price drops. Those poor suckers in Champaign/Urbana. (shakes head) But if you want tasting notes with your gouging, this is your guy.

Missouri

$125 for a liter of "Poor Man's Pappy." Apparently the definition of poor is different in Missouri. Having traveled through much of it, I wouldn't have guessed that.

Dallas

It's Booker's! with keywords of Buffalo Trace, Angel's Envy and (That which will not be named).

New York

It's impossible to find as shown by all the Weller 12 listings we've found. Though by this point in the list, this asking price feels almost...reasonable.

Damn! Man! At least leave the store parking lot before you sell that collectible bit of HAZMAT!

Minneapolis

Can't leave my home town out, can I?

Feel like trading your Booker's 25th, Four Roses Limiteds, or Buffalo Trace Antique Collections for a bit of Old Weller Antique 107 proof? Yeah, me neither.

"The value is in the collectable (sic) container, its label, not contents inside." Finally one I agree with. The stuff inside is terrible. Though if you want, the container that bad I'll give you mine. I'll even throw in the last quarter bottle or so for good measure

Alaska

Nothing seems shady here. $75-$100 for an ounce and a half of liquid in an unmarked bottle? Or I can get all 12 and save $100!?! Where do I sign up?

Louisville

And before you think it's just folks who don't know bourbon, here's one from the heart of Bourbon Country.

I just want to know how much he's charging for that collectible mason jar filled with a "representation of a 50/50 mixture that has mingled for two weeks" in a mason jar. I mean, I'd also imagine it'd be delicious (if it were intended for consumption).

Rittenhouse Rye v. Rittenhouse Rye (DSP KY 354 v. DSP KY 1)

You don't need to be a bourbon fan for very long before you hear about the Heaven Hill fire. And for good reason, it took one of the biggest producers of Bourbon and almost knocked them out of the space. The fire destroyed warehouses and even the distillery. If you've seen it, you know that the footage is heartbreaking to watch. But the stories, the stories are just the opposite. They tell the uplifting tale of competitors coming together to help. Sure, it's possible that there may have been money involved. But in any other business, how many competitors would be willing to help out even with selling inventory or renting time on machines, etc. Most of them would be happier to help out by picking up the customer base instead.

One of the legacies of the Heaven Hill fire is that for many years Brown-Forman was the contract producer of Heaven Hill's Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond Rye. We know this because of one of the benefits of buying bottled-in-bond whiskey. You need to have the actual distillery on the label. You'll find it listed as D.S.P. (Distilled Spirits Plant) a couple of letters and a number. In the case of Rittenhouse, up until recently it said D.S.P KY 354. Brown-Forman. Within the last year or so, the label changed and it now says D.S.P. KY 1, the Bernheim distillery owned by Heaven Hill.

Since the source of the whiskey has switched, and I had recently finished a bottle of the old and opened a bottle of the new, I figured it was time to do a blind head-to-head comparison. 

Rittenhouse (D.S.P. KY 354) vs. Rittenhouse (D.S.P. KY 1)

Purchase info: 354 at Blue Max, Burnsville, MN. 1 at Cellars Wine and Spirits, Eagan, MN

Details: each 50% ABV, 354 produced at Brown-Forman distillery, Louisville, KY, 1 produced at Bernheim distillery, Louisville, KY. 

Rye A:

Nose: Big hit of alcohol initially. After that settles down it’s muted. Sweet toffee, cinnamon and ginger predominate. Grassy. Rye Bread.

Mouth: Cinnamon, brown sugar, oak tannins, cayenne, citrus and rye bread

Finish: long and warm. As the warmth fades it is replaced by a lingering sweetness.

Thoughts: Meh. This is hot, as is to be expected from a 100 proof whiskey, but the flavor and nose seem sort of muted. Especially when compared to Rye B. Hopefully A is the old one…

Rye B: 

Nose: Savory. Cilantro, wet rock, caramel and bubblegum.

Mouth: Sweet caramel/toffee, savory grassiness, slight smokiness.

Finish: Medium finish. Sweet. Cinnamon and other baking spices linger.

Thoughts: This is a rye that mimics a bourbon. As it is assumed to be a barely legal rye, that is to be expected. It’s full flavored and round in the mouth. Sweet. Not too hot even with water. I like it. It's certainly the nicer of the two.

Comparison thoughts: 

So it turns out that rye A was the new Heaven Hill produced Rittenhouse and that Rye B was the Brown-Forman version. As such, I plan to see if I can find an old bottle of the BF version still hanging around somewhere. It’s a whiskey that has a nice enough mouthfeel that it is suitable for drinking neat. Though in past reviews of it, I’ve recommended saving it for cocktails so there is that.

The Heaven Hill version tastes more of the rye than the Brown-Forman version, but it is hot. Very hot. It’s a rye that I’ve been happy enough with in cocktails, but wouldn’t want in a glencairn again.

One thing that I did realize after this head to head is that Brown-Forman can make a decent rye. It kinda makes me excited to see what the upcoming Woodford Rye will be like even though it will probably be an entirely different mashbill.

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Looking at Old Forester (86 proof)

Old Forester is getting quite the love from producer Brown-Forman these days. It started a few years ago when the labels got a branding refresh. This past fall, when visiting the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, I noticed that the "Woodford Reserve Booth" at the Sampler was now double-branded, sharing equal billing with Old Forester. Then there is the planned Whiskey Row distillery/visitor space in Louisville. And of course, how could we forget the Whiskey Row series of bourbons? The Original Batch 1870 is already out and the Bottled in Bond 1897 has had a label approval. I even saw an Old Forester branded ready-to-drink cocktail while trolling the COLA site. This one for a Mint Julep.

So with all this love for the brand and all the new products on the horizon, it is only fitting that we would want to take a look back at what's already out. Make sure we are up to date on where we're at before we move into the brave new future.

Brown-Forman has been making Old Forester for about 140 years now. It's gone though numerous expressions before settling in at an entry-level expression of 86 proof, a 100 proof  "Signature" expression, a single barrel program, and the yearly Birthday Bourbon release (some would toss the Woodford Reserve expression in there as well since they share a mash bill and at least a partial distillation site) before adding the brand extensions listed above. 

The 100 proof is described by the company website as "spicier and more robust." I described it as "hot and bitter." The single barrels I've had have all been good, but wildly different. Some being fruity and others spicy. This year's Birthday Bourbon was something special being fruity, spicy, and creamy all at the same time. But what about the 86 proof? Let's find out. 

Old Forester (86 proof)

Purchase info: $19.99 for 750 mL at Ace Spirits, Hopkins MN

Details: 43% ABV

Nose: A delicate collection of the typical bourbon notes of vanilla, caramel, and oak. Plus some floral green apple, and allspice.

Mouth: Delicate and floral. Brown sugar, honey, nutmeg, and hints of oak.

Finish: Baking spices and floral notes linger with a gentle heat.

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Thoughts: This is a well put-together bourbon. It is delicate, but tasty, with just enough heat. A good value as an everyday sipper. My wife claims this is one of her favorite bourbons to nose because it has all the notes she looks for but it doesn’t overpower with alcohol. 

So far, the evidence I've tasted has led me to the conclusion that in general, I like Old Forester/Woodford Reserve at less than 100 proof. I like the 86 quite a bit as a everyday bourbon that you don't need to feel bad about using up too quickly. I liked the Single Barrels at  their 90 proof. I seem to remember liking Woodford at just over 90 and I really liked the 97 proof Birthday Bourbon this year. The 100 proof Signature is the outlier. 

So even though Old Forester is an old brand, the future looks bright. I'm excited to try the 90 proof 1870 when I can get my hands on it and the Bottled-in-Bond 1897 when it appears.

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Woodford Reserve Master's Collection, Sonoma-Cutrer Finish, Pinot Noir Barrel

I tend to like bourbons that have been finished in some way. Cognac barrel? Port barrel? Yes and yes. Beer barrel? Sure. Second barrels that never contained anything else? Indeed! Staves of other types of wood? Yes sir! Bourbon where they just poured some brandy in? Not bad at all. Not that they are my favorites, but I tend to like them.

Contrary to many opinions out there, I also tend to like Woodford Reserve. It was one of the first bourbons I bought and the first major distillery I visited. It’s pricier than I like, but occasionally I go back to it as I have a bit of a soft spot for it. I especially like to see what they are doing with their yearly Master’s Collection experiments. Even if they aren’t always that good, it’s nice to see people try things. 

Based on the above, I was pretty stoked to hear about this year’s version of the Master’s Collection. Pinot Noir casks. At first, it sounded weird to me. Then I noticed the Angel’s Envy in my glass at that very moment. It’s a port (fortified wine) finished bourbon. I remembered that sherry and port are used in finishing many types of whisky all over the world. It seemed less weird after thinking about it. And It had to be better than the Malt whiskeys they released last year…right?

RIGHT?

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection, Sonoma-Cutrer finish, Pinot Noir Barrel

Purchase Info: $84.99 for a 750 mL at Zipps Liquor, Minneapolis, MN

Details: 45.2% ABV, Bourbon finished in Pinot Noir wine barrels

Nose: An earthy funk, herbal with a hint of smoke, dates and corn silage.

Mouth: Warm. Brown sugar sweetness with an earthy funk that follows the nose by bringing herbal flavors and a hint of corn.

Finish: Some warmth that fades fairly quickly and is replaced by oak and sour cherries.

Thoughts: I’m not a fan. Unlike some of the finished bourbons I’ve had where you barely know they’ve been finished, the wine certainly shows its influence here. The problem is that it basically takes over. There is very little bourbon influence other than heat and proof. It’s interesting, but I wish I had purchased a glass of it instead of a bottle.

As an experiment to minimize the wine influence, I mixed it half and half with some of the Old Forester Birthday Bourbon I had on the shelf. I’d have tried a Regular Woodford or a Double Oaked, but I didn’t have any on hand. It brought back some of the bourbon influence and actually made an enjoyable drink. On a whim, I also tried it half and half with some cheap brandy. This was also better than the Woodford straight, bringing body and sweetness to what was otherwise a brandy that tasted heavily of raisins. In other words, if the Kentucky Bourbon industry wasn’t so afraid of the word blend, they might have been able to release a drinkable product. As it is, I’ll probably buy a bottle of Old Forester Signature and use that $20 bottle to “fix” the $85 one. 

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2014

Old Forester bourbon was first bottled in 1870. That’s a pretty small statement for somthing that had as large of an impact as this did so let me repeat it. Old Forester was first bottled in 1870. And in doing so it became the first brand to be exclusively available in that packaging. You couldn’t get it in a barrel. You had to buy it in a bottle. 

Doesn’t seem that odd today. Even if you buy a barrel of something, you can still only get it delivered to your local liquor store as a bunch of bottles. (Unless you have all the proper licensure, of course.) But pre-Prohibition, this wasn’t the case. And why would it be? The bourbon is already in the perfect container for transport. Why would anyone want to spend the money to take it out of it’s already perfect container just to put it into an expensive bottle? A glass bottle? That might break? And cost money?

But that container isn’t actually perfect, is it? It’s got one major flaw. It can’t be sealed and made “tamper-proof.” It might leave the producer as Straight Bourbon Whiskey. But by the time it ends up in the consumer’s mouth it might have had any number of foul additives introduced to it. And since most medical professionals of the time agreed with today’s connoisseurs that whiskey is a healthful product, foul additives might just put a damper on things.

Enter George Garvin Brown, who seems to have noticed that there was a distinct lack of trust for the consistent availability of quality whiskey amongst the medical professionals. He decided to market a sealed whiskey exclusively to doctors. It was only available in a sealed bottle thereby assuring everyone of the unadulterated product inside. He named it after a local doctor, one Doctor Forrester. (After the good doctor passed away, that extra r was dropped.) The company he founded went on to become today’s Brown-Foreman producers of many things, but most notably for this site, Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester.

In 2002, Brown-Foreman decided to honor their founder by releasing a yearly limited 12 year old bourbon called Birthday Bourbon. It is announced on, or around, the September 2 birthday of Brown. It is released sometime after that. The batch is taken from a single day’s production.

I first noticed Birthday Bourbon in the fall of 2011. The bottle that my liquor store had was from the year before. I noticed it because it was barreled in 1997, the year I was married. I was looking for something special for my wife and I to share since both our birthdays and our wedding anniversary take place all within the same week. Coincidentally in September. It made a fun treat. Released near our birthday and barreled the year we were married. Not too shabby.

Of course since then, it has become impossible to find. Luckily we’ve normally had the chance to at least taste it. This year with a new national-chain liquor store showing up in town, I was able to finally get my hands on another bottle.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, 2014

Purchase info: $39.99 for 750mL at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN (yes, that is about $20 below the average price).

Details: Barreled 2002. Bottled 2014. 12 years old. 48.5% ABV

Nose: Brown sugar, caramel apple and latex paint

Mouth: Creamy mouthfeel. Spicy and sweet with cinnamon, maple and apple.

Finish: Lingering warmth with spicy latex paint and ripe fruit.

Thoughts: I like this whiskey very much. Spicy and fruity with a creamy mouthfeel and a nice finish.

It’s taken me a long time to place that “Brown-Foreman” nose that both Old Forester and Woodford Reserve have. In this one I finally figured it out. It’s a fruity latex paint. This sounds awful but isn’t (much like Scotch lovers will describe the wax or band-aid scent of certain drams and not mean it in a bad way.) I’ll admit, I actually rather like it.