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Monday, August 10, 2015

Old Forester 1897


Old Forester 1897 is a new Bottled in Bond expression from Brown Forman, part of their Whiskey Row series.

Old Forester 1897, BIB, 50% abv ($50)

The nose is dry with straw and some soapy notes. The palate is grassy/grainy with spicy notes of clove and ginger, showing more rye than most Old Forester does. The finish is the first time there is much sweetness in the whiskey with some gentle sugar on the tongue surrounded by spice.

As regular readers know, I don't generally have much good to say about Brown Forman products, but this is the best Old Forester I've had in quite a while. It's dry and complex without the bitter, off notes that have dragged down some of their past whiskeys.  It's really quite nice.

Thanks to John Burlowski for the sample.

 
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8 comments:

  1. risencAugust 10, 2015 at 9:34 AM

    Totally agree, Steve. The 1870 release was pretty boring, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

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  2. tanstaafl2August 10, 2015 at 2:52 PM

    Just goes to show what I know I suppose! Or at least that my palate is a tad different. Did a blind SBS of the 1897 with a standard off the shelf bottle of OF Signature and it wasn't even close. I liked the Signature better. And I wasn't alone as several others also doing this tasting at the same time felt the same. only real difference is that the Signature had been open for awhile while the 1897 was newly opened. Hmmmm.

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  3. CurtAugust 10, 2015 at 3:08 PM

    tanstaafl2,
    I had a somewhat similar experience. My first bottle of Old Forester went from barely tolerable to decent after letting it breathe.

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  4. skuAugust 10, 2015 at 3:14 PM

    I haven't tried the Signature in a long while. Maybe I'll pick one up and give it a go.

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  5. AnonymousAugust 10, 2015 at 7:29 PM

    I know this is going to sound silly, (and, yes, juvenile) but is there any chance at all, as in ANY chance, that we, as purchases, can send an affective message by not buying such a bourbon, that seems to be priced at $15 to $20 dollars too high, and letting it just sit there on the shelf, and thereby send a message that distilleries need to give more thought to pricing? I know the comments that will come. Prices will just be going up and up, and bourbons of tomorrow will sell for $50 with no problem. But, is the taste really worth that much more? I know. I am not asking for a debate on each person's definition of quality. But it really seems that at some point we all should be asking, is the emperor wearing cloths?

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  6. AnonymousAugust 11, 2015 at 7:52 AM

    @Anon: No. There is zero chance.
    Firstly, people are free to buy whatever they like and free to say whatever they like about it.
    That out of the way; you can rest assured our benevolent dictators (whiskey producers) don't give a micro-shit how Sku, you, or anyone else feels about their pricing or quality. As you well know, it's a seller's market.
    And that "some point" of wardrobe awareness, that was years ago. The precise definition of "years" depends who you ask and when they got started.

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  7. AnonymousAugust 11, 2015 at 7:56 AM

    In other words: welcome to the club, Anon 7:29. The emperor is a shameless nudist.

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  8. snakemanAugust 13, 2015 at 7:13 PM

    This is the best Brown-Forman juice I ever had. First bottle lasted about 10 days.(fast for me) Found some more and bought 2 bottles. Put one back in the bunker, just in case they drop support for it. But, I agree the price point is a bit much, but I did buy it again. What do I know?

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