Before this review, I have to make a confession. When I first started getting into bourbon about 5 or 6 months ago, I picked up multiple bottles of Old Forester. I started with their Whiskey Row series and immediately became a HUGE fan of their line-up. I wasn’t familiar with their single barrel offering until I had a pour of a local bar barrel pick. That summed it up for me. OF became my favorite product. The OF Single Barrel program are all picks where stores/groups go to the distillery, taste and pick a barrel for bottling. So, the fact that I am an OF fanboy and this is a barrel pick of my favorite distillery, 9 on the that’s cool scale. I finally got my own bottle of the single barrel as a gift in a bourbon secret Santa. This is that bottle. Hope it doesn’t disappoint. For those that care, it was on the 7th floor of rickhouse J.
The nose comes in with some heavy caramel notes. I get a slight burn of alcohol, which is surprising given it is only 90 proof. Not heavy, mind you, but it is there. Typical vanilla thrown in there as well, but I also pick up some cotton candy and green apple. I actually really like the nose here.
The first sip brings the caramel right off the bat. A little on the thin side, the first sip brings that caramel that is immediately followed up with some nice oak notes. Some cinnamon and cloves round out the flavor. There is some “dryness” to the palate that really hits the inside of my cheeks. Additional sips really bring out the cinnamon. Not the kind of cinnamon that kills your mouth, but that nice, sweet heat. Very enjoyable flavors. Nothing to complex, but enough there to make me want to come back for more. This one is great, in my opinion, as a “second-step” bourbon. Gets above the 80 proof line, but not too much, but isn’t overly complex that it confuses your palate. I really like the flavor and how they progress.
Speaking of coming back for more, the finish on this one lingers nicely, much longer than expected for a 90-proofer. The cinnamon that came in hangs out but the cinnamon “burn” gives way to the sweetness. The oak comes back and some nice grain notes round out a very enjoyable finish. Would like to have last a bit longer, but it does make me want to reach for my glass again.
Overall, for the newer bourbon drinker, like myself, this is a solid pour the will allow you to take that next step in your bourbon journey. I have another OF single barrel coming in next month and will do a blind taste to see how they compare. One of the joys of a single barrel product is exactly that, it is a single barrel, so another barrel of the same product could be,and probably will be, entirely different. And THAT my friends is why we love bourbon.
Old Forester Single Barrel
8.6
This particular bottle is a great one. And as always (IMO), it’s even better in a glencairn!
I agree with the glencairn comment. I usually do my tastings in a glencairn, especially to get the full affect of the nose. I fell into the “My Old Forester rocks glass would make a great picture” trap. I probably missed out on some nose notes by tasting from a rocks glass.