Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2017

Incredibly well sorted out. All butterscotch.

So I sampled this side by side with 2019 BB in what I called the "Battle of the Birthday Bourbons" after Thanksgiving Dinner. Where 2019 had cherry and vanilla on the nose, a spicy finish, and a welcomed bit of heat, 2017 was a bit of a polar opposite. I found the nose to have caramel and classic Old Forester green banana on the nose. It was a bit hard for me to find but I got there. The palate had vanilla caramels and a graham cracker crust. I like that alot. It was very traditional. The finish got a bit bitter after giving some oakiness and was short......not my cup of tea for a premium once per year release. Although some parts of this taste were really good, it fell short on others. I actually enjoyed 1920 better than 2017 BB. My guess is that the lack of abv robbed some of the richness. Overall: I prefered the 2019 over the 2017. The 2017 had no edge, where the 2019 was interesting and more complex, 2017 was Old Forester Birthday light in my opinion.

Nose - floral- leather - chocolate - excellent nose. Want to just keep smelling Taste / Finish - very nice finish- smooth- warm- would like a longer burn- but excellent. - orange leather - fruit - tobacco-