Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2015

Nose: Candy shop sweet entrance with watermelon Jolly Ranchers, cherry pie and freshly finished furniture. Some sweet melon fruits – honey dew and cantaloupe. The nose is syrupy like a caramel glaze with moist brown sugars – more elegant than I anticipated considering the placement of these batched barrels and being bottled at 100p. Nosing a little deeper theres vanilla, sweet baking spices, some walnut and notes of wood that aren’t really your typical oak, they’re more sweet and really toasty. Banana, buttered croissants and sweet but very light acetone notes, maybe coming through from the furniture polish. Overall a very pleasant nose. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: The nose deceives you about the rest of this bourbon. A moment of sweetness from the nose teases but fades quickly as acetonic furniture and nail polish lead to bitter barrel char, tobacco spices and cigar smoke. I actually like all of these notes but the acetone is very dominant in an abrasive manner. The mouthfeel is surprisingly light and spice starts medium light about mid palate then everything turns dry which is nice. White and black cracked pepper, some grape juice and vanilla threads through the bitterness of barrel char and the acetone notes still persist through to the end. Black pepper spices don’t leave the tip of your tongue and the dryness turns menthol forming on the back end. Palate is medium in body at best and not oily with some interestingly robust and pronounced notes that are this expressions signature. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Thick, chewy and medium-long in length. Viscous caramel, vanilla, butterscotch and toffee like your tongue is drenched in it. Layers of warm spices cover every crevice of your mouth. Tobacco leaf, cigar and big smokey notes. Bitterness from the barrel is there but only as a fading memory. Sweet oak, dark chocolate, and black coffee round things out with a final reminder of the acetonic polish notes that accompanied you for the entire journey. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 89 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

I'm normally pretty in tune with the reviews on this site and the critical community, sometimes varying in ways that make sense given my distinct flavor preferences (Islay scotches are always going to get high marks in my book, compared to the general consensus). But every once in a while I encounter a whiskey that just completely mystifies me. In some cases, I can't figure out why it's rated so low compared to my assessment (such as Old Forester 1920 on this site, just to give one example). At other times, I can't figure out why people like a whiskey that much after I've tried it (sorry, Octomore line!). Old Forester Birthday falls in the latter camp for me. It's nearly universally praised, so I was excited to try a tasting flight of the 2015-2016-2017 editions. I left thinking, are we really all talking about the same bourbon? The distillery describes this bourbon as having "robust" or extreme oakiness thanks to its aging, and it's right on with that description -- although it ends up not being a good thing in my assessment. On the nose I immediately detect that resinous, bitter oak characteristic of heavily woody (or overly woody) bourbons, but balanced with a concentrated vanilla and butterscotch combination. Occasionally, some burnt brown sugar comes to the forefront. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience doesn’t come close to the aroma. The overpowering oak has neutralized a lot of the sweet, dessert flavors I associate with rich, well-aged bourbons. The right tasting note is almost “splinters” — it’s just a rough, heavy dose of oak that’s not in balance with the weaker, simple syrup-esque sweetness that struggles to make itself heard. On top of that, there was a raw rye flavor that I wasn’t loving without any accompanying fruit or caramel. That oakiness is the standout characteristic of the relatively quick finish as well, although I did enjoy some flavors reminiscent of cherry at the end. Sorry, I just am not seeing why this is so highly rated. I'd honestly rather drink Devil's Cut, which is woody as hell but also a quarter or less of the price.

I was excited about trying Old Forester Birthday Bourbon for the first time - after all, it's got LE sex appeal by the truckloads - maybe not as much as Buffalo Trace's limited editions, but you get the idea. There are definite cherry notes in this bourbon but I was stunned when I stuck my nose in the glass and was assaulted with powerful aromas of acetone. I let the bottle sit for a month and the acetone notes (on both the nose AND the palate) have subsided. It no longer tastes like cherry flavored paint-thinner. I will revisit this bourbon again down the line to see if it has improved, but thus far this has proved to be a huge (and pricey) disappointment. [Edit: bumped up to two stars... it's starting to taste like bourbon but whiskey is all about the journey so we'll see where this ends up].

This is a solid whiskey though, given the hype, I thought it would be more balanced. Too sweet but otherwise good. Nose: Roasted nuts, vanilla, heavy brown sugar, and leather. Flavor: Toasted pecans, more leather, heavy caramelized sugars to the point where it was a little too sweet, baking spices, heavy vanilla. This had an excellent oily mouth feel that I really liked. Given the proof this was very muted in terms of the alcohol bite. Finish: Spice and leather with some alcohol burn. Not as long as I'd expect but long enough. Oddly enough the finish was very dry after such a sweet nose and initial flavor. Overall I'd give this a shot if you can find a pour but I wouldn't spend more than MSRP on it if you can find it as I've seen bottles at secondary going for $300 or more.

Nose- Aged oak; vanilla; fresh herbs; caramel; maple syrup; dark cola; freshly ground pepper Palate- Cherry cola initially; sawdust; green apple; fresh herbs; caramel; bitter chocolate Finish- Long, chewy finish; caramel; root beer sweetness; fresh green herbs; nutty influence; caramel Mmm. Tasty stuff. The nose is quite powerful and bold for 100 proof, with a lovely fresh herb note. Tons of oak, a dark cola and maple syrup round it out. The palate is where this truly shines. Lovely cherry cola to start out with, which is quickly overtaken by green apples, moving to fresh herbs again with a deep caramel on the back end. The finish is long with a chewy mouthfeel, root beer sweetness comes out along with some more herbs, some nuts, and more caramel. Lovely, unique stuff

Had the opportunity this evening to try this '15 next to the' 16 version. Both were wonderful and, frankly, I went back and forth as to which I preferred. In the end, I pick this '15 by a nose. The aroma immediately hit me with Spearmint and then caramel apple, reminds me a little of the Aroma of an Amaro. Flavor fantastic. Deep caramel with slight banana Foster in the background. Honey late and I finally realized that I was tasting some tobacco. Single drop of water brought out some black pepper. I would not add a drop of water here (but do with the '16) A touch more complexity here and more depth of spice. Happy to have had the chance to try this.