Nose- caramel, vanilla, and just a puff of smokiness. This is traditional Old Forester, but without the green banana, and has a bit more depth. Taste- the taste is big, and rich. Caramel and vanilla are the main players, but there is a woodiness in the background. It's not old, rich oak wood, but more like a dustier wood shop. The traditional Old Forester 100 is in there, this in no way has any desire to abandon its roots- rightfully so! But there is a different woodier layer. Finish- finish is dare I say "smooth?" Not without taste, but perhaps one note- vanilla. The initial hit is big, but then fades for me all too quickly. It seems that those that find the smooth finish of a Tennessee Whiskey like JD will really like this, as it seems the rough edges are sanded off. Those that don't mind a bit of "talk back" in the finish, might find a flaw here. It's all matter of preference. Overall- I liked it, but it's not transforming Old Forester 100 by any means. It does exactly as it intends- adds a layer, but that is mostly wood. It also kind of lacks in the finish. If you find this bottle "in the wild" and at its msrp, it's a worthy addition to your shelf, and a really good riff on traditional Old Forester. I wouldn't seek it beyond that though, as it didn't wow me. Cheers!
Old Forester King Ranch Edition (2022 Release)
About this bottle
This limited edition release is the first collaboration between Old Forester and King Ranch, one of the largest ranches in the world encompassing 825,000 acres in South Texas. Together these two brands have over 300 years of American history. The bourbon is made using heavily-charred barrels and is finished through mesquite charcoal made from mesquite trees harvested from King Ranch. Bottled at 105 proof, it launched on November 1, 2022 as an exclusive release for Texas. (SRP $69.99)
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 18 parsed reviews.
Tried this neat in a glencairn glass. The nose for me is smoky, caramel and lightly sweet. I enjoy the nose quite a bit. For the palate I'm getting more wood, like a campfire taste, with cherry flavors. Then the finish just continues with the smoky wood through and through. The more I drink it the better the palate is and the smokier the finish is. I bet this would be lighter on the smoke side with ice…tried it with ice and I much prefer this neat. Definitely recommend for $69.
Complex aromas. We came up with chocolate, honey, and apple. I picked up some floral and a wood flavor as well. Getting honey, slight chocolate and apple, finishing with a little floral on the taste.
Nose: charred oak, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon and just a hint of mesquite. Sweet on the palate with a little more mesquite and spice, caramel, pecan pie and cinnamon. Long spicy finish. With @twostal
Tried neat at gold fish with @Looneyhead On the nares I get wood.. not much mesquite as I wish I would get. Notes of oak, caramel. Smooth on the palate but honestly I’m disappointed
Heacy smoke nose, popcorn, caramel Palette: typical OF progile with some added char, not too sweet, sloght bitterness.
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Tastes like this
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