Old Forester 1870 Original Batch

I feel like it's been a while since I've reviewed anything here. Part of that is, post holidays, I'm drinking a little less. It's not a New Year's Resolution or anything. Just a predilection post holiday. There's lot of drinking going on Christmas season, Thanksgiving holiday, football season in general. I try to make up for it now. Last Friday I dropped by the liquor store just to see what was on the shelves, and they had a $6.00 off coupon for the Old Forester Whisky Row whiskies, but the only one on the shelf was this, the 1870. Now, naturally, I peeled off more than one coupon, figuring I'd keep them in my wallet and keep an eye out for the other three they sell in my region. But I've only had the 1870 once, about a half-decade ago, and I like what OF puts out. Their 100 Proof Rye and Bourbon are both solid shelf stockers, and the 1920 is a great sub-$60 high proof high rye bourbon. Old Forester 86 was my go-to, too, when I first started off with bourbon, and while my return to that reinforced the idea that it doesn't really do it for me anymore, this tasting of 1870 proves a lot better. Granted, the first time I had 1870, my baseline for OF was the 86 proof, so when I tasted the 1870, not having tasted any other higher quality bourbons, it was pretty much the best thing I'd ever had. I'd secured it on clearance for something like $25, and I loved the design of the bottle, which at the time had the 1870 stamped on a slant on the label. Picking it up now was more a curiosity. Having had the 1920, my acting presumption was that I wouldn't be quite as impressed with 1870 this time, and yet, sometimes you don't want a 115 proofer, sometimes a 90 proof bourbon hits the spot. And this does hit the spot. It's not insanely complex. In fact, it's not what I'd call complex at all. On the nose, you get vanilla, oak and cherry. The palate is, guess what, the same. The finish is short and mainly baking spice. But you know what? For $39.99 SRP (with a $6.00 off coupon bringing it down to $34.99), you can do much worse. Now I'm not sure I'd buy again without the coupon, and as I've said, the other coupons I tore off I'm planning to use for the Whisky Row joints I haven't had (1897, 1910) and maybe another bottle of 1920. But I certainly don't regret this. It's not a bad Friday night, home from the snow day sledding with kids, wife in the kitchen cooking up paninis for dinner, roaring fire going kind of sipper. Sometimes, too, context is everything.

Old Forester is often overlooked in the Brown-Forman portfolio. I really enjoyed the rye, and now I’m making it a priority to tackle their bourbon lineup. Up first is this 1870 Original Batch, which, as the name suggests, is their imitation of the distillery’s original recipe. Note: This bottle is from before OF changed the label. It’s the one with the diagonal print, meaning it was bottled a couple years ago at the very least. Nose: Lots of cocoa, black pepper, black tea, and pipe tobacco. Toasted almond, macadamia, and walnut. Apple cider. Cola. Rye spice, cinnamon, white pepper, and oak. Palate: Caramel, vanilla, and gala apple. Brown sugar and toffee. A big dried apricot note. Golden raisin. Black cherry. Plain glazed doughnut. Finish: Brown sugar. Apple cider. Toasted almond and macadamia. Black cherry and dried apricot. Black tea and tobacco. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, white pepper, and oak. length. Moderate length finish, maybe even slightly above, which is respectable at 45% ABV. I’m off to a good start with the Old Forester line. Admittedly, this isn’t the most complex bourbon, but it’s also far from boring. There are some unique notes, and this is a well-rounded, easy-going sipper. I think it’s a good place to start with this line. At $48, this was a solid VFM purchase. I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the line has to offer, especially consider the intensity ramps up pretty steadily from here. As for this one, 4/5 even.

I was excited to try this being the last bottle of the whiskey row series. My initial taste was unimpressive very thin with not a ton of flavor. I have had it open for several weeks and I am going back for a taste. On the nose I get oak, cinnamon, brown sugar, green apple, and a hint of banana. On the palate this one opens kind of flat, the mid plate brings spice and oak and not a much else. The finish reminds me of a scotch with a touch of ginger and cereal grains. Just not my jam, I feel this falls flat compared to the other whiskey row releases.

Nose: Grapes, pear, and other fruits, caramel, some baking spices Palate: Vanilla takes center stage along with baking spices Finish: Short, with more baking spices and some mint A frutier, sweeter take on Old Forester. Just as light in body as the 86 and 100 proof varities but for me a more refined easy sipper and a clear step above the entry level varities.

Really not my favorite. Might try it in an old fashioned. The description actually said it was better for mixing on this app. Nose: light. Fruity. Oak. Palate: syrupy. Tastes fruity. I dont get really any oak or any burn at all. Finish: no burn literally at all. Water?: no. mellows it out even more.

Give this a try, perhaps wait for it to go on sale (I did). Pretty darn good. Mix of "best" barrels of Old Forester, creates a nice surprise. Brown sugar, vanilla, black cherry with a nice spice from the rye. Cheapest of their "special editions". Price below was not the "sale price".