Today, I continue my new release reviews with Old Forester's 2013 Birthday Bourbon. Unlike many distilleries, Brown Forman's Shively distillery pretty much eschews special release. Actually, they pretty much eschew quality in general. The Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is their loan gift to whiskey geeks, but while there have definitely been some good ones, I found the last one I reviewed (the 2011 Birthday Bourbon) disappointing. Still, people always seem excited when it comes out and this year's has received some positive reviews, so I thought I'd check it out.
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2013,12 yo, 48.5% abv ($55)
This has a very nice nose with big oak notes, honey, bay and tobacco, a very promising beginning. The palate falls apart almost immediately. There's a brief sweetness which fades quickly and the it's somehow sour and bitter at the same time. The finish is medicinal and bitter, really, really bitter.
This is just really unpleasant stuff. Sadly, this series seems to get worse every year.
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24 comments:
I had a similar experience with Monkey Shoulder. There doesn't seem to be much quality control in the spirit business these days. (I hope that it's not something cynical like sending their best product to big name reviewers and sending crap to the market.) Thanks very much for your review.
Randy Perrelet
Interesting counterpoint to Jason Pyle's review in which he thought it was outstanding. I know the brown-foreman flavor profile is not everyone's cup of tea but your review is way different. It almost makes me wonder if your bottle was somehow tainted.
Tip for prospective OFBB buyers: go too the bourbon section of your lowest-end local liquor store, close your eyes, turn around three times, kneel to the bottome shelf and blindly grab a bourbon... any bourbon. Doesn't matter which bcz it's all better than OFBB.
Maybe Jason's was tainted...in a good way.
This wouldn't be the first time Jason and I have had diverging reviews. Sometimes our tastes, line up, other times they don't.
Sku, what are the chances that you and Jason are both right? That is, lack of quality control from barrel to barrel, batch to batch driving the conflicting results? Or as Justin wonders, a corked or otherwise tainted bottle?
Thank you for an honest review. I am tired of all of the band wagon jumpers who read a few known bloggers post and claim to have the exact same extradinory sensations from this bottling...
Josh
Or maybe they really just liked it? My bottle was fantastic to me and gone in a week. Did you try it Josh and was your impression closer to sku's, I take it?
To respond to some of the issues raised here:
Taint. It didn't seem tainted to me. I got a sample from a friend who seemed to think it was fine. It's always possible, but I'd say very unlikely.
Batch Variation. I didn't think the OFBB was done in batches. I don't believe there are batch numbers on the bottle, but it's possible.
Choice bottles for big name reviewers. Again, I didn't think there were batches. Also, with regard to Jason at least, he - like me- does not usually get free sample bottles.
Sku,
Given your expressed feelings about Brown-Forman products, is it possible for you review this whiskey objectively? Your review has such a negative bias that I would take it with a grain of salt. I can allow for differences in individual preferences; however, when John Hansell calls it the best OFBBB in years and Jason Pyle gives it a 9.5 out of 10, your characterizing it as swill doesn't pass the smell test.
Carlton Welch
I haven't tried this one yet, but if it has the same taste as the rest of the family line I think I have to agree with Sku here. I've tasted many OFBB vintages and all have that BF funk going for them, even the very highly regarded like (I believe it was) the 07.
The fact of the matter is that everyone's tastes are different. Therefore, no review(er) is right or wrong.
I'll taste this if I get a chance, but I've been very impressed with whiskeys others have lambasted and not impressed with others that have been praised. It's the world we live in.
Carlton,
I don't think that Sku is making this up. There is some substandard product out there that never should have been bottled. And I am not slamming big name reviewers. They review a ton of product each year and rely on samples. But they have to believe that what they are being sent is legit. I'm not so sure.
Randy Perrelet
I had the 2012 version and it was just awful! Shades of nail polish remover! And I like Woodford Reserve. Avoid at all costs!
Richnimrod said;
In General: WOW! Is there a more polarizing Bourbon out there? ...or one as apparently varied as to opinion of profile and/or quality? I've found the 'sometimes harshly woody' and often over-the-top nose of many of the annual offerings of this brand to be (mostly) lovely. But, that is just one man's opinion. I look forward to trying this yaer's as soon as I can get ahold of a taste.
Reply to Anon @ September 16, 2013 at 5:43 PM
No, I actually haven't tried this version yet. I just think that it's comical, maybe human nature, or the art of persuasion that a few bourbon blogs (2 in particular) that I follow and really enjoy their reviews and insight have the power to put out a review whether it be good or bad and 98% of the people that comment feel the same way. I just wonder what the people commenting would have the same thoughts if they had never read a review and tried it on their own first. Would they still have the same enthusiast opinions, probably not. I really don't care either way, it is just an observation. I think the 2013 OFBB is probably overhyped, even heard some say now, Bourbon of the Year category on SB.com. On the other end Stagg Jr had one "stay away" review and the majority say its a let down. Come on now, did you really think it was going to be as good as Stagg, Sr with half the age and 40% cheaper. This one I have tried and it was pretty much what I expected, worth every bit of $46 for an uncut, unfiltered 8-9 year old barrel proofer and assuming a relatively Small Batch. Yes, a bit HOT on the palate but nothing a little spring water can't fix and you are still sipping a 110 proof bruiser. Unlike anon who drank his entire 2013 OFBB in less than a week, I actually sat with my Stagg, Jr pour for 45 minutes and there is no way I will be finishing this bottle in 1 week, more like over the span of 1 year as I prefer non-simple bourbons and I have a feeling the OFBB will be somewhat one dimensional and easy drinking. It hasn't showed up yet in my state, but with the opportunity, I will give it a try.
Josh
Josh aren't you basically doing what you're accusing others of? I mean you haven't even tried it yet you're praising the honesty of this review. Meanwhile those that come closer to agreeing with the positive reviews well, it must be the power of persuasion! Just seems odd to me is all.
Sean
Sean,
No, I feel that Sku's impressions are unbiased and not swayed by others. And yes, I am sure that JH and JP can persuade people to run out and buy a case of Boubon X before even trying a single pour. Not a knock on them, once again I just get a kick out of reading peoples responses with overwhelming agreeability. JP has to be the only person in the world that can pick up so many tasting notes, I am jealous!
Please keep drinking your OFBB. My original post was not a knock on the bourbon, rather how quickly the hoopla can spread and become ingrained. It's kind of nice to see a differing opinion ever now and then.
Josh
No worries. FTR I just found it to be quite solidly good, and was one of the people on SB laughing at those calling it bourbon of the year. I did enjoy it though. Enough to buy a second bottle,but not a case. ;)
Sean
Robert summed it up best: nail polish remover. 2010 OFBB tasted like acetone smells. But the most offensive aspect of OFBB is the price.
I actually very much appreciate someone who can taste a bourbon and give his or her honest opinion and not feel like they have to cowtow to a big name distillery who sent them a free bottle. I often wonder what John Hansel would say about some of these $$$$$$$$$$$ whiskies he is sent for free if he had to part with his own hard earned cash to taste them. Chuck cowdery rightly says "the best whiskey is free whiskey".
I look foreword to trying this bourbon and form my own opinions. That way I can better determine where my palatte lines up with the big boys.
Sku, it's your policy to disclose when you review a complimentary sample. Would you consider disclosing also when you review a sample from a friend or received in an exchange? You buy a lot of bottles, and to my mind I put more weight on a review based on your own bottle, that was under your control, and that you had the time (and liquid) to assess over time and under different conditions. For example, when you get a sample in an exchange, you don't know where the bottle comes from, how it was stored, how long it was opened, and under what conditions, etc. For example, the OFBB 2013 has not been around for too long to oxidize, but it does have an unusually wide base that would promote oxidation if left, say at 1/3 level for a long time. Two nights ago whiskies that I knew that I liked tasted both sour and bitter at the same time, and just unpleasant.
I don't mean to question your review, it's just that I'd find this additional piece of information helpful - it's a suggestion.
@Robert
hahaha Woodford Reserve. I agree on that chemical, maybe nail polish remover quality. For some reason I also enjoy it!
Really Florin? 2 days air time and a whiskey you enjoy turns sour?
You know what's going to change more than the whiskey itself with 2 days of a bit of air time? Your palate. You were probably just having an off night.
But, even if you follow the premise that a whiskey could turn sour in 2 days time without filling the bottle with gas or some other headache of a measure, the fact remains: I don't want to spend hard earned money on a whiskey that "goes bad" in 2 days time. American Whiskey is not supposed to be that fragile a spirit.
Ryan, that was indeed my point - the palate changes from day to day. When you taste a sample it's harder to tell (despite palate calibration, etc.) if you had an off night or if the whisky was bad.
The whisky going bad in the bottle is a separate issue - incidentally, more likely in a sample bottle than in a regular bottle, due to the larger surface/volume ratio.
Wow what a thread of comments. I'm just catching up fortunately or unfortunately. One of the biggest puzzlers for me is so many go crazy when a reviewer posts something contrary to their own belief or to what they read from others. It's certainly just about taste and that is absolutely subjective. You've been busy on this thread Sku!
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