bigwhitemike
Old Forester 1910 Old Fine Whisky
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
January 15, 2019 (edited August 29, 2020)
Verdict: A unique and incredible bourbon. Overwhelmingly sweet while also wholly defined by pervasive and astringent barrel char. Jekyll and Hyde. Underwhelming nose. Definitely a "must try" but won't be for everybody. A tad pricey.
A dark, rich amber. Oily with slow legs. Spiced cherry, vanillin, unripened fruit, and a gentle but persistent wood char on the nose. Burnt sugar and cream with a subdued mint and some medicinal notes. Complex, but not quite alluring. The sweetness requires teasing out from behind the stronger, semi-acrid scents.
Where the nose earns mixed reviews, the palate wows with sweetness. An immediate rush of toffee and sweetened black tea. Creme brulee. Blackened mashmallow. Caramel swirled with cinnamon. The rush of sweet fades slowly into very strong barrel notes, somewhat bitter with char and cinnamon candy spice. The drying astringency lasts forever on the finish, hardly fading before the next taste.
55.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington I could see that. Definitely not all bourbons do “oak” right, but this and some of those stellar HMK10 bottles do. If there is a lot of wood it just has to stay balanced and the results can be pretty impressive.
This comes across as EHT Woodford Double Oaked should have been, or at least the palate and finish. The marshmallow char on the nose screams barrel finished but the layers of nuts and spice on the tongue are more rewarding than Woodford. In some ways it reminds me of good McKenna BiB bottles, but memories lie.
@BDanner I was never the biggest fan of Woodford (harsh to me) and low end OF (signature, have a 90 proof store pick single barrel) is just okay with lots of spiced cherry, but I’d say they are putting pretty great stuff into 1920 and 1910. Haven’t had the other whiskey row offerings but I’d drink these two any time.
@bigwhitemike I need to try the 1920. I look at it every time I go to the store, but OF & Woodford have (so far) not been in my wheelhouse.
@bigwhitemike cheers for the context. @PBMichiganWolverine based on how consistent the 1920 has been I am more optimistic than you are! I thought for sure the quality would suffer but all batches I have tried have been excellent.
@bigwhitemike I’m afraid batch 2 won’t live up to the quality of batch 1. Generally that’s the case with these batch release...they want to make the first one a home run, and the second is a money grab
@PBMichiganWolverine @dubz480 I love 1920. Fabulous bourbon and one of my top 5 (haven’t had many unicorns, granted). I’m not taken by 1910 in the same way, it’s a bit more polarizing. Definitely a dessert (maybe sweeter than any non-finished bourbon I’ve had), but the char is so prevalent it’s a bit discordant. Different than peat smoke in scotch. Granted this was my 1st taste, preferences could change. Agree with @BDanner, it should be a regular release but the distillery is plum out of it until the next batch (2nd half of this year maybe?). Distributors may have more still. I didn’t especially care for Woodford Double Oaked and hesitated on this, but finally bit since I figured I may not get the chance for a while and it was starting to dry up around me (KC). I’d happily drink it again. But for $5 more I’ve got a bottle of 1920, and for the moment, faced with that choice, I’ll leave the 1910 for everybody else. A few folks on forums have been advocating 50-50 mixes of the two. Might try that someday.
The 1910 is going to be a regular release as part of their Distiller's Row Series. It never made it to NC. I hope it eventually gets here. I'm intrigued by the second barreling in barrels that are charred to the point of disintegration.
@PBMichiganWolverine Nice! I have and really enjoy the 1920. Will be interesting to hear your thoughts on this one if/when you get around to it!
@dubz480 I have a bottle, but didn’t get a chance to open it yet. I got this along with the 1920.
@PBMichiganWolverine I read the same thing. Assuming they will release a second batch soon. You have this yet?
@dubz480 they’re sold out i think of the 1910. Although 1920 Prohibition was better from what I gather
Nice review! Sad I missed out on this one. Hopefully OF drops a new batch sooner rather than later. I remember it was the same when they first released 1920.