Old Forester "75th Anniversary of Repeal" gift set

December 3, 2015 Eric Burke

Seventy-second Congress of the United States of America
At the Second Session,

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the fifth
day of December, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-two.

Joint Resolution
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States

Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is hereby proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the several States:

“Article

“Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

“Sec. 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

“Sec. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.”

On December 5th, 1933 Utah voted to pass the 21st Amendment, becoming the 36th and deciding state to do so. On that day the Prohibition was officially ended.

75 years later, the Brown-Forman company put out a special gift set of Old Forester to commemorate the passage of the 21st Amendment. Included in the box was a bottle of 100 proof Old Forester in 375 mL flask shaped bottle with an old timey looking label design, an etched Glencairn glass and a replica of the 21st Amendment.

7 years later, I picked up the gift set at a charity auction during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival for roughly $90. If I was just buying bourbon, I would have horribly over paid. It’s not very old or special, but I was supporting a museum I really enjoy attending (that doesn’t charge people to get in) with my purchase. I paid a relatively low sum to help keep the doors open and the lights on while getting a tiny piece of history back in return. Seems like a fair deal.

Old Forester 100° (circa 2008) “75th Anniversary of Repeal” gift set

Purchase info: ~$90 at the Master Distiller’s Auction to support the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, Bardstown, KY.

Details: 50% ABV

Nose: Sweet and fruity with brown sugar and apricot layered over the top of the typical “Brown Forman” latex paint note.

Mouth: Spicy with a nice tingle to the mouth. Ginger, oak, vanilla and caramel.

Finish: warm ginger and molasses linger.

Thoughts: I like it. But I’m a fan of Old Forester so that doesn’t surprise me. But there is something that does surprise me. I used to love the Old Forester Signature (100 proof). I recommended it to everyone. But then about a year and a half ago, after not buying it for a while, I got around to reviewing it and found it immensely bitter. This made me sad. So now, I get to taste something from seven years ago and I didn’t find that bitterness. In fact, it tastes just like I remember. So somewhere along the way something happened to Old Forester’s 100 proof expression and like most things in whiskey these days, it wasn’t for the better. Which is too bad.

Anyway, this is what I’ll be celebrating Repeal Day with on Saturday, hope you have something just as fun.

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Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof

December 1, 2015 Eric Burke

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. It's the stereotypical favorite whiskey of motorcycle gang toughs doing shots in a dusty roadside joint and the on-stage bottle for the manliest of the rock & roll set. Still, it’s a gentle whiskey. A gentle whiskey with a pop culture presence that most brands would kill for. It’s the largest selling American Whiskey in the world. And…

And it’s not very good. Is it terrible? No. I’ve had much worse. But it isn’t good by a long stretch.

One thing it does have going for it, if you are into this sort of thing, is that mixes well with cola. I think that might be one of the reasons it’s in every bar in North America. It’s easier to say a “Jack and Coke” than “whiskey and Coke” or “bourbon and Coke.” When people specify a brand of liquor, bars tend to keep it on hand. Even if it’s just so they can upcharge them for it.

A couple of years ago when I reviewed Jack Daniel’s I found it disappointing. It was gentle and sweet. But that’s all it was. At the time I wondered to myself what it might be like if it were a little less gentle. As it stands, there is more water in a bottle of Jack Daniel’s than there is whiskey. What might it be like if there were less water? Or none at all?

Well Brown-Foreman, producers of Jack Daniel’s, must have read my mind because a few months ago they released a Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof brand extension. I’d had my eye on it for a while and finally decided to pull the trigger.

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof

Purchase info: $55.99, 750 mL bottle. Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 65.05% ABV. Rick No: R-32. Barrel No: 15-4923. Bottling Date: 9-9-15.

Nose: Dusty oak, cinnamon and raw almond with a bit of fruitiness underneath.

Mouth: Sweet, hot and spicy. Cinnamon, cloves, maple and brown sugar play nicely with a tasty nuttiness.

Finish: Very long and warm. lingering heat and sweet maple nuttiness.

With water: Not as hot, sweeter and more pronounced fruitiness.

Thoughts: This is really good. Much more so than I would have expected. I think this is well worth the $55 I paid for it. Especially at barrel strength. I’m loving this one.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, 2015

October 15, 2015 Eric Burke

2015 Limited Release of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon

There is a strange phenomenon I’ve noticed when I discuss tasting notes with people. We will often use the most awful sounding descriptors to mean the most pleasant things. I’m reminded of a tasting that I and a few brand new friends of mine had in my hotel room while I was in Toronto last. The statement of “this reminds me of candle wax, terrific!” was heard. We were drinking some good single malt (yes, even for me such things pop up now and then). I thought it odd, but since I had less enthusiastically decided on band-aids to describe the same note I didn’t feel I should judge. Since that time, I’ve kept my eyes and ears open while on blogs and in discussions and again and again, this same thing happens.

I say that by way of introducing this year’s Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. I’ve read a lot of descriptions of Old Forester and Woodford Reserve that talk about a “plastic” note or an “artificial” note. They don’t tend to mean this in a good way. Others call it apples, pears, floral or fruity. These are obviously more complementary. It took me until last year to accurately describe what I was sensing. To me it seems like the smell of freshly painted latex paint. And thinking back to that Toronto hotel room, I mean it in a complementary way. Like a freshly painted room can smell fresh and clean, so does Old Forester to me.

In any case, think about this as you read the notes below. I really like this bourbon, but as you read the notes, you might not realize that.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, 2015 release.

Purchase info: Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN. 750 mL bottle for $74.99.

Details: 50% ABV. 12 year age stated

Nose: Strong latex paint (or whatever you call the typical Brown Forman note) along with some vanilla, mixed berries, caramel and brown sugar.

Mouth: Syrupy mouthfeel. Caramel, brown sugar, baking spices.

Finish: Sweet with lingering heat, latex paint and fruitiness.

Thoughts: If you are an Old Forester fan, Birthday Bourbon seldom disappoints. Its got all the same notes as any Brown Forman bourbon. They are just stronger and more concentrated and it’s older so there is typically more oak. This release is no exception. It’s Old Forester, just more so. I would say that though I think I liked last year’s better, this is still a solid pick should you find it.

Old Forester 1897 - Bottled in Bond

October 6, 2015 Eric Burke

1897 was a momentous year in the history of bourbon. In March of that year, Congress under pressure from the famed Col. E. H. Taylor passed what would come to be known as the Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897. If you want to learn more about it, Brian over at Sipp'n Corn has a great write-up of the act and it's significance. I suggest you read it. Go ahead, I'll wait. (Interested in reading the act itself? Click the button below to download a pdf.)

Download the Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897

A few months ago, as part of their Whiskey Row series of Old Forester labels, Brown-Forman released a bottled in bond bourbon named Old Forester 1897 to honor the year that the regulation was passed. As I've a stated fondness for many Old Forester bourbons, I picked it up when I saw it at the liquor store.

Old Forester 1897, Bottled in Bond

Purchase info: $48.99, 750 mL. Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: As required if labeled Bottled in Bond: Distilled by Brown-Forman Distillers Company, Louisville, KY, DSP KY 354. Bottled by DSP KY 52. 50% ABV.

Nose: Cinnamon, cloves and allspice lead the way followed by brown sugar, apples and a nice floral note.

Mouth: The interesting thing here is that the notes are inverted from the nose. Caramel apples and floral notes lead the way and are followed by baking spices. There is a nice bit of heat to go with the spice.

Finish: Warm but a bit on the shorter side with floral notes fading to a pleasant bitterness.

Thoughts: I think this might be my favorite product released under the Old Forester name. Until the finish, there is little of the typical Brown-Forman "plastic/paint/chemical" flavors that people often complain about. And even then there are only hints of it that present as more floral than chemical.

It is the most expensive regular release in the Old Forester line. Is it worth it? For the price I paid, yes. I really like it. I like it much more than the 1870 and am willing to pay an extra $10 to get this over that. I found it much more complex than either the 86 proof or the Signature. So, yeah, I'm already planning to buy a second bottle.

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

July 23, 2015 Eric Burke

A close up of the label of a bottle 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.

Woodford Reserve Rye

July 2, 2015 Eric Burke

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.

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.

Old Forester Ready To Drink Mint Julep

June 4, 2015 Eric Burke

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.

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...

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

March 3, 2015 Eric Burke

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).

Blog

Old Forester 100° (circa 2008) “75th Anniversary of Repeal” gift set

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, 2015 release.

Old Forester 1897, Bottled in Bond

Old Forester 1870 Original Batch

Woodford Reserve Rye

Old Forester Ready to Drink Mint Julep

St. Petersburg

Chicago/Illinois

Missouri

Dallas

New York

Minneapolis

Alaska

Louisville