Old Forester Single Barrel Bourbon Barrel Strength

Drinking this neat, second pour. This is a store pick, warehouse H, floor 3, 124.7 proof. This one was one of those ones I didn’t know how lucky I was until I got my hands on it. S/O to my local honey hole. I had a jump on this one and immediately poured one out. Alas, I’m reviewing after bottle has been open for a couple weeks. It doesn’t disappoint. This one hits you with aromatics like licorice. There is a fantastic sweetness here like confectioners sugar or taffy. Behind the sugar you may get some nuttiness but it is no profound. The vanilla comes in layered with caramel. Finish is buttery with a long burn. You get the oak and leather at this point but trails off into plum or even cherry notes. The cherry hangs around until the burn dissipates they builds again. This is a solid bottle. Embarrassingly, I haven’t tried all the OFs, but this drinks well above the 1890 and Statesman. I plan on comparing side by side with 1910 but the fact this is full proof might give it an edge.

Nice. A bit strong for me.

Nose is sweet and maybe a little fruity, possibly apple? The palate has a strong cherry flavor up front, possibly with an oak flavor. The finish is definitely long and hot, leaving a tingling feeling from your lips to your tongue and down your throat. There is a distinct pepper and rich caramel flavor to go with it.

Neat. Neck pour. Gallenstein Selection 12, 128.1 proof Warehouse K, floor 3. This is leaping out of the glass immediately. Excited to try one of these. Love Old Forester products from 1920, 1910, Rye, Signature, Birthday. Love what they are doing and love that they made their picks Barrel Proof and not 90 proof. Banana foster on this is intense. Almost Jack Daniel barrel proof intense. I’ve gotten banana on Old Forester before but this is over the top. There is some fun stuff around it though. Powdered sugar and elephant ears fried dough. Really nice cherry. The caramel is super rich too. It’s a nice nose, plenty to pick apart but I wouldn’t call it a great nose. Syrupy as can be and initially so dark and bitter. Wasn’t ready for that. But when the sweetness comes, it comes hard. Alright, I’ll try to break this ride down. On the tongue, dark and bitter. Oak and bitter chocolate maybe. Transitions to the banana foster and once the sweetness hits it heightens all the way to the finish and keeps rising until the legs subside. Leaves with a banana aftertaste. I am getting a slight hint of the powder sugar, elephant ear on the mid palate but it’s a minor aside. The banana foster is the whole show. As I sip more, it does grow more bitter and drying too. Whomp whomp. So it’s yummy, but also lacking. I don’t like how it begins bitter and grows more bitter on the finish the more I sip it. Banana foster is one hell of a good dessert though. I’ll have to head to head this against 1920 at some point. Top of mind it’s below 1920 and 1910 if I rank the Old Forester main stays. I like it better than any OF single barrel I had before though, so the move to barrel strength is still very appreciative. Glad I got this retail as it’s definitely not worth secondary. Be patient if you are hunting this and don’t overspend.

Raised my sights on this one after it has had some air time. Truly a nice, solid, traditional bourbon. After it has been allowed to get some air and I am now about half through, the bitterness and excess heat is gone. I am now left with chewy coconut dusted caramel, some cinnamon, and a smidge of coffee bean. I have really warmed up to this one. First impressions are not always the best impressions. Fine sip here. Still not sure the price for a NAS is worth it, but this is unabashedly bold and beautiful