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

Better than the 2016.