Old Fourth Distillery Bottled in Bond Straight Bourbon

BACKGROUND: Atlanta’s Old Fourth Distillery is named after the “Old Fourth Ward,” a former political district and current trendy neighborhood that encompasses many of the city’s most historic sites. Among the landmarks located within the Old Fourth Ward are Martin Luther King’s Boyhood Home, the Ebenezer Baptist Church where King and his father pastored, the King Center and burial site, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, and the Edgewood Avenue nightlife district. Founded via a Kickstarter campaign by two brothers, Old Fourth Distillery initially produced gin and a lemon-flavored sugar cane vodka onsite. They later expanded into bourbon. Old Fourth Distillery is very opaque and misleading, however, about the fact that its bourbon is sourced. The front of the bottle reads that the bourbon is “Produced by Old Fourth Distillery” - not “Distilled by” or “Bottled by” - but the back has an artist’s etching of a barn that carries a distillery licensing number above the door. If traced, you find that the number belongs to MGP of Indiana, and it offers the only clue on the bottle that the bourbon is sourced. The company apparently purchased 75 barrels of “new-make” bourbon from MGP in 2015, transported it to Georgia, and aged it for four years in a federally-bonded warehouse in order to meet the bottled in bond requirements. Another 120 barrels will be released at some point in 2020. Before reviewing the bourbon inside, it is important to note that the bottle is one of the most beautiful and well-designed that I have ever seen. The front includes a gorgeous, art-deco metal inlay of the distillery along with a metal neck ring and metal topper. The print on the front and the trolley barn depicted on the back are etched directly into the bottle. A small, handwritten label denotes the bottle and barrel numbers. Altogether, the bottle design screams style and elegance. Made from a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley, the bottle I purchased retailed for just under $45. NOSE: The nose is dominated by fresh, hot, buttered cornbread and smoky oak that allows you to smell the actual char, which likely results from the fact that the bourbon is unfiltered but does flow through a single cotton screen that removes solid pieces of barrel and char before bottling. Sweet fruit lingers in the background. It is a thoroughly delightful and appealing nose, and it was difficult to quit sniffing the bourbon long enough to taste it. An apt, one-word description of the nose would be “fantastic.” PALATE: The palate offers a combination of creamed corn sweetness, caramel cream pie, and smokiness. While those flavors, upon reading the description at first glance, would not seem to mingle well, they combine into a decadently rich, sweet, and satisfying palate. FINISH: The long finish consists almost entirely of smoky oak char and some bitter, though not unpleasant, lemon peel that lingers. There is the touch of an alcohol hug on the back end. FINAL ASSESSMENT: The bourbon boom has produced a number of hastily thrown together storefronts that claim to be “craft” distilleries, and they, more often than not, care more about chasing a dollar than producing a good product. Those overnight storefront setups often rush to bottle bourbon that is much too young and tastes like you are chewing on a mouthful of newly-mown grass. Old Fourth Distillery is the exception to that unsavory trend. Their Bottled In Bond Straight Bourbon would be an outstanding product even for a large-scale, already-established distillery, much less a small craft house based in Georgia. It comes as no surprise that this bourbon won a a double gold medal at the 2019 World Spirits Competition in San Francisco. I plan to purchase a few more bottles on my next trip through the Peach State.

Barrel 38 for the 2020 release Sample: Rested open bottle below neck pour. (double) Nose: Rich brown sugar is the opener, a bit of candy oranges and corn, very burn and ethanol free for 100 proof. Really nothing but the sweet notes and just a hint of tell tale vanilin making it a very rum like nose. It's no surprise at all the front is loaded with the brown sugar, very strong, the vanilla crosses over to the ethanol and certainly a noticeable burn nothing bad nothing harsh again absolutely nothing you wouldnt fully expect at 100 proof in the way of heat. That heat tails into a nice red hots cinnamon finish, fairly pleasant. The trailer also includes a hint of leather and old spice and wood nibs, just enough to remind you this is indeed a mid aged not a well aged product. It would be interesting to see what a 2nd finish adding an additional 2 -4 years of age would bring, I can imagine that being a really special dram. The bottle is certainly a gaudy work of art, not bad looking at all but a bit too "art deco" for my own personal taste, this clearly has nothing to do with the contents and would only really matter for collectors. I like what Old Fourth has done with the barrels they procured from MGP and as Swahillie reminded me not a lot of startups bother to take the time and care to go full Bottle and Bond on their maiden outing. It's easy to see why some folks from Georgia might over value this but all the same it's a nice bottle that isn't terribly unaffordable and useful for a number of occasions,

First of all, this bottle is one of the prettiest I’ve seen. Even if it’s not the best bourbon I’ve had (it’s pretty good), the bottle alone would have me put it on display. I’m writing my review based on a second try with this bourbon. Appearance: honey. It looks exactly like honey. Nose: no ethanol at all- surprising for the age and proof. A little floral, actually. Very light vanilla. First sip neat: vanilla again, mild and unassuming, with caramel creeping in, and then an unexpected cinnamon spice kick at the end. With water: more caramel, with some floral notes appearing. Cinnamon fire is gone, leaving some baking spices with no tongue-tingling. I really like this. With ice: kind of a bitter/sweet combo, like coffee ice cream with a little caramel syrup drizzled on top. Finish: long. I’m still breathing the tasting notes after half a minute. Some vanilla and black tea. All in all, I liked this even more the second time I tried it. It’s best (IMO) with a little water added. I’m actually going to change my rating- I enjoyed it that much more this second time around. I’d even say I’d be happy to display it for both bottle and content. For a young 4-year-old, that’s pretty impressive!

Taste: Neat in glen cairn, 1 oz., then with drop or two of water. Nose: (4.5) Warm cornbread and butter are front and center. Sweet and fragrant with some strawberry jam. Intense and distinct with very little detectable ethanol. Palate: (4.75) Super rich and decadent. The jam is more pronounced and then gives way to thick banana pudding drizzled with caramel. Heat comes in at the back end with smokiness. Flavors are wonderful for a 4 yr. old and will be better if they reserved some stock to age longer. Cant wait to try this if gets to 6-7 years. Finish (4.75) Loooooong pleasant one here, oak, candy corn, buttery pancakes with syrup that gradually fades to burnt brown sugar making me want more. Overall: Craft whisky is usually crap whisky. Too young, too similar to everybody else, and underwhelming. Not this one. This is a hit. I will be watching and waiting for more of this one.

From the Inman Park neighborhood comes O4W; sourced from MGP. This is their first try at whiskey after having made gin and vodka for a few years. Nose: A very fruity bourbon. Mostly oranges along with brown sugar. Seeing as this is bottled at 100 proof ethanol is also present on the nose. Palate: Notes of vanilla and corn at first. Next is leather and oak. The alcohol is also more present on the palate than other BiB bourbons I have had. Finish: The oak hangs around for a little, but that’s about all. It’s very ok. The fruitiness on the nose is a standout feature of the bourbon, but the rest of it is very average. Hits the traditional bourbon notes but shows it’s youth in how hard hitting those ethanol notes are even at 100 proof. Very interested to see how their stock ages though. Cheers!

ATL comes through with some mighty fine juice—the first of its kind since prohibition! The higher proof is hard to detect on the nose which is sweet cereal, apple, vanilla, and caramel. Palate comes in with a brown sugar sweetness, a little caramel apple, slight charred oak, and buttery biscuit with a touch of honey. Think if they made an apple flavored werthers hard candy? Medium long finish with more sweetness and a touch of wood and dryness.