Old Forester 100 Proof Bourbon
Since we are nearing Halloween, we created a spooky, if not mildly disturbing, video for the next subject of our reviews, the Old Forester 100 Proof Bourbon. This video is a bit different, and longer, than what we typically create so we hope you have as much fun with it as we had in its creation. Given that we spent a considerable amount of time on this little side project, I don’t think I need to provide a spoiler alert for you to guess that we really like this release from Old Forester, so consider this review more about the journey than the destination.
To date, I have done a couple of reviews of Old Forester bourbons, but thus far, I have focused on their more “premium” Whiskey Row Series including the old and new labeled 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon and the 1910 Old Fine Whisky as well as the Old Forester Rye, which I believed I described as a “mullet rye”. The Rye really isn’t “premium”, at least from a price point perspective, but I have found it harder to find these days and have actually had to put in orders with my local liquor store to find a few bottles from their distributor. The 1920 and 1910 releases are both wonderful bourbons, but they are also in the $60 range and not everyone wants to, or can, have a shelf-full of $60 whiskeys. So where does that leave us? In despair? No, because this same distillery also has more affordable options in the $20 - $30 range, which are quite tasty in their own right.
But before we get more into that, time for the tasting.
ABV: 50%
How it smells…honey, vanilla, oak, floral, a little bit of mustiness, like old books, but overall very subtle on the nose.
How it tastes…oak and vanilla sweetness up front followed quickly by cinnamon, cloves, allspice and peppery spiciness. The end has some caramel and malty cocoa while finishing with oak, baking spices and some bittersweet chocolate.
Price..$30
Rating...🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃
Final thoughts…This is a great bourbon. Hard stop. Is it the most interesting bourbon ever? No. Is it the cheapest good bourbon on the market? Probably not, but it’s close as there are some others in this general price range that are also quite nice (here, here, here, here, and here, hell, everywhere on my site!). Where the Old Forester 100 Proof really stands out is its versatility. It provides a classic bourbon flavor profile, albeit probably one more on the spicy side than the sweet side. At 100 proof (50% ABV), it’s a smooth and really easy sipping bourbon neat, but with the higher proof it also holds up if you prefer your bourbon with some ice, so you do not have to fear watering it down too much. While bourbon-forward, the spiciness also provides a flexibility if you are a rye person and want to try something of that flavor profile that isn’t a super sweet bourbon.
Finally, it’s a superb cocktail bourbon. Some folks like to describe certain brands as good “mixing bottles” for cocktails. This is the polite way of saying “this is shit liquor, but it’s cheap, so you won’t feel bad about using it in a cocktail.” The other end of the spectrum, which I personally get a kick out of, is when premium brands try to push their $100 bottle as something you should use as an ingredient in a cocktail. I fall somewhere in the middle of all this. While I do subscribe to the philosophy that good ingredients make good cocktails (or the opposite is probably more accurate: garbage in, garbage out), I’m also a practical person who isn’t going to put a $100 bottle of whiskey into a cocktail. The goal for me is to find great bottles (in this case whiskey) that aren't cost prohibitive but will also provide a positive contribution to the overall flavor. The Old Forester 100 does this in spades. I recently did a review on Buffalo Trace and while I do love this value bourbon, I don’t think it’s a great cocktail bourbon as it’s too delicate. If you put Buffalo Trace into a Boulevardier, the Campari and Sweet Vermouth would completely dominate the cocktail, but the Old Forester 100 Proof can hold its own in this cocktail, and others, particularly ones with amaros, which tend to have a very powerful flavor to them.
Rating wise, this is a no-brainer 5x 🥃. You have an approachable price point for a versatile and flavorful bourbon that can be enjoyably consumed either neat, on the rocks, or in cocktails. On the nose, it was rather delicate and it had a surprising mustiness to it. Not in a bad way, but in a way that you tend to get from well aged bourbons and I don’t suspect that this is a well aged bourbon. It’s a NAS Straight Bourbon so we know it’s at least 4 years old, but more likely in the 6 year range, if I were to guess. On the palate, it’s a pretty standard bourbon profile with vanilla, honey and oak while also a healthy amount of baking spices and pepperiness that gives it a nice kick. It was rather thin in the mouth when drinking, but at the same time it coats your mouth and stays around for quite a while on the finish.
I hope you enjoy our video on Old Forester 100 Proof, which we have titled “The Sipper: The Death of Value Bourbon”. It was quite a bit of fun to make, and as a bonus, I ended up with 6 bottles of Old Forester so I should be well stocked for a (little) while. As you go to your local liquor stores desperately searching for the allocated or limited release whiskeys this Fall, just remember that there’s plenty of OTHER good whiskey out there as well, ones that can be easily obtained and at a great value. To steal (and bastardize) a saying from our friends across the pond, value bourbon is dead! Long live value bourbon!
Nice Sipper Ratings Reminder…
All ratings are done on a scale between 1x 🥃 and 5x 🥃 according to the following criteria
1x 🥃 = I don't like this at all and/or not worth the cost by a mile.
2x 🥃🥃 = This is "meh" and/or slightly overpriced.
3x 🥃🥃🥃 = This is good stuff and/or the price is right.
4x 🥃🥃🥃🥃 = This is wonderful and I'm always keeping it in stock especially at this price.
5x 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃 = This is amazing and/or this is way underpriced for the quality of the experience.
Don’t forget to get your Library Pass to become a member and gain access to Exclusive Content!
The Library is our hidden corner of Nice Sipper where we taste and discuss the more exclusive bottles, whether they be at a higher price or something that is harder to find. This content is exclusive for members only so thank you for joining The Library.
Not ready to commit to the monthly Library Pass? Please feel free to provide donations to help Nice Sipper continue to provide new and interesting content. If there is a particular bottle you want us to check out on your behalf, please send an email to nicesipper@gmail.com.
