I don’t know why this particular bourbon had never made it to my lips, but it’s true. Until tonight I’d never had it. As a matter of fact, I’d never tried any of the Old Forester brands of bourbon. I’ve visited the distillery’s gift shop and I own a couple of them, but until tonight I’d never popped the cork on one. I’m glad I fixed that tonight!
This is one of the very few bourbons that seems to hold its traits from the nose, through the palette and into the finish. It’s complex. There’s a lot going on.
On the nose I detected oak, cinnamon, and pepper. It’s certainly a spicy one, nose-wise. Oddly, my nose did not warn me of the 115 proof dram I was about to sample.
On the palette, that 115 proof made itself known, but it didn’t do it to the detriment of the pour. What I caught on the nose stuck with me in its flavor profile; oak, pepper, toffee, cinnamon, pepper, and even some butterscotch.
I added a little water for another taste and found that it changed very little, especially in the cinnamon, toffee and oak notes.
Lastly, I added an ice sphere and pleasantly found all the notes still in tact. Really no changes in the complexity of the bourbon, no matter what I threw at it.
The finish was long and pleasant, riding those oak tones and the toffee and caramel notes.
This is one of the best bourbons I’ve tasted; complex, flavorful, smooth. There’s almost nothing you can do to it to change the flavor profile, but I will say that this is one I prefer neat over adding ice or water.
This one’s a little more pricey, but at $59.99 (Ohio MSRP) it’s worth every penny.
“¡Salúd!” 🥃