Old Forester Rye
Old Forester Rye 100 Proof the “Mullet Rye”
Old Forester Rye is one of my go-to bottles whenever I can find it. Unfortunately, the key part of that sentence is the latter end of it. It’s become one of those bottles that sporadically hits the shelves and I’m not sure if it’s because it doesn’t sell much or if it’s because it sells too quickly. Either way, when I see it, I buy it…for this last batch of bottles that I picked up, one of my local stores placed an order and got me two 1L bottles pretty quickly (thanks @popsfinewine).
The mash bill (per the website) is 65% Rye, 20% Malted Barley, 15% Corn.
ABV….50%
How it smells….maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, caramel.
How it tastes….starts with that dry rye spiciness which reminds me of haystacks followed by some cinnamon and ending with sweet vanilla and a hint of cherry. The finish has some caramel and chocolate malt on the linger.
Price….$25-$27 (the 1L bottle cost me $35!)
Rating….🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃
Final thoughts….I love this bottle, and if you haven’t picked up on it yet, I tend to like a lot of what Old Forester puts out there (see here or here). Since I bought my first bottle of Old Forester Rye, I have always referred to it as a “Mullet Rye”. It always tasted like a rye at the start (business up front) and then transitioned into more familiar bourbon-forward flavors towards the finish (party in the back). So I was pleasantly surprised to find out the actual mash bill after I did this tasting. As a “Mullet Rye” I thought it skated by the rye regulations with a very low 50% rye content, maybe 51%-55%, and then a pretty high corn component with the traditional 5%-10% malted barley. My mind was blown when I found out that it was a decently high rye followed by malted barley and corn as the most junior partner. Given the flavor, the unexpected surprise, and the price point, a 5x 🥃 is a no-brainer.
In retrospect, the higher-than-normal malt-to-corn ratio explains why some of those chocolate and caramel notes come in at the end, but I’m still a bit perplexed as to how the bourbon-centric notes ring through at the end. Would love to hear your comments and thoughts on this.
