Author: whiskeyfortheages

Old Forester 1910 Bourbon Review

Posted on by whiskeyfortheages

Hannah’s Old Forester 1910 Bourbon Review

Original review written March 16, 2021

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

This is unlike any other Brown-Forman product I have ever had, but 1910 easily skyrockets into one of my new favorite bourbons, and I look forward to having it again. 91/100

VITALS:

– Made In: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Brown-Forman Distillery
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
– Age: nas
– Mash Bill: Corn=72%; Rye=18%; Malted Barley=10%
– Casks: Char #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: 125
– ABV: 46.5% (93 proof)
– Price: $54.95 USD in Idaho

Visit brown-forman.com for more information

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I enjoyed the juice neat from a Glencairn with father and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Brian.

Check out his review for this bourbon here!

SETTING:

I’d love to take Old Forester 1910 with me into the mountains when I go fishing. There’s an essence of my favorite river in this bourbon, and sitting on the banks while the sun comes up, surrounded by bubbling water and animals waking up sounds picturesque with this bourbon. Consider it a new goal of mine!

Photo taken by WftA editor, Hannah Dawson

NOSE:

This has rich notes of earth, but especially vanilla on the first draws, with the whole sensation giving off an incredibly warm tone. Deep inhales make for a caramel, molasses, or maple candy treat, and perhaps a bit of pastry. There is not much in the way of fruit, though it’s possible that a dark stone fruit like figs or prunes is coming through a little. Not much spice, and certainly not a heavy alcohol presence either. The wood is old here, but it almost seems a bit like pine as opposed to oak. It’s as though I am in a pine forest, and there is a bit of smokiness from a nearby campfire – there is a definite smoky element here.

PALATE:

– Mouth Feel: VERY oily. It’s honestly such a joy to have at the tip of the tongue, I actually tend to forget that I need to swallow.
– Balance: Not necessarily complex, but definitely solid and just rich and deep. Never a bad thing.
– Visual: This is terracotta pot in color, and it’s a pot that has been certainly fired, as it is very brown in tint. The crown reminds me a lot of Roman arches, with evenly spaced, but thick legs dropping at a snail’s pace down the glass.

– Taste: The first sips don’t want to offer up any distinguishing flavors, but it is definitely rich and deep in body. It’s almost as though I’m eating a caramel dipped apple, but the apple is soft and offers mostly just a base for the caramel to take its leap. There is a bit of brown sugar, and maybe some maple, but I have to really be looking for these flavors. I think the pastry element from the nose is also present, and it acts like the oak in many other bourbons, meaning it seems to bind everything together very seamlessly.

Other fruit could be figs or dates, but they are dark and very subdued behind this sweet, (yet somehow, not surgary) profile. The alcohol is non-existent to an experienced whiskey drinker, but even as someone who enjoys high proof, I find this absolutely delectable.

A Kentucky chew kicks up the pastry and figs, and it’s just enjoyable overall.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Medium. There’s a bit of warmth, and a bit of a lingering flavor, but they aren’t ridiculously strong.
– Between Sips: The apple from that caramel apple makes a return between sips, along with a bit of pine and oak.

– No More: This stays quite consistent throughout the glass, and is really just such a sheer joy to drink and have just sit on the tongue. The depth and richness are such a highlight of this bourbon; I love it.

The empty Glencairn smells like pastry, chocolate, and figs. Very new aromas for an empty glass, but still very welcome and enjoyable.

WORTH THE PRICE?

Being 93 proof and only $5 cheaper than Old Forester 1920 (which is 115 proof), I can understand hesitation to pick up a bottle. However, this is incredibly enjoyable with rich, dark tones that I can see myself very easily reaching for this again. Definitely give it a try!

RATING: 91/100

Click to see Hannah’s rating process

Click 91/100 to access other whiskies with this rating.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Old Forester.

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Whiskey Reviews

Old Forester 1910 Bourbon

Posted on by whiskeyfortheages

Brian’s Old Forester 1910 Bourbon Review:

16-March-2021

OLD FORESTER 1910 BOURBON REVIEW:

Old Forester 1910 Bourbon as its name suggests, is “Old Fine Whiskey”. While only a few elements of fruit or spice come through on each sip, 1910 is sweet, but not in the sugary sense. It’s more of a dark sweetness, which for me is about perfect. I found this bourbon is easy to hold in my mouth and after several Kentucky Chews, I had to remind myself to swallow so I could savor the taste. For people who like a smoky oak barrel bomb: buy, Buy, BUY! (And pick up another bottle for the bunker as well.)

OLD FORESTER 1910 VITAL STATS:
Old Forester 1910 Bourbon

Category: Straight Bourbon
Region: Kentucky, USA
Company: Brown-Forman
Distillery: Brown-Forman Shively Distillery
Mash Bill: 72% corn, 18% rye, 10% malted barley
Barrel Char: #4
Barrel entry proof: 125
Second Barreling Proof: 100
Age: nas
ABV: 46.5% (93 Proof)
Purchase Price: $54.95 USD (2020 – Idaho)

Read the full story at 1910 Old Fine Whisky.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

For the evaluation, I enjoyed a neat pour in a Glencairn from a newly opened bottle with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

OLD FORESTER 1910 BOURBON NOSE:

When first I popped the Old Forester 1910 cork, I got a faint hit of citrus but little if any alcohol to offend the nose. Upon taking the first sniff, my nose picked up that faint but now bitter citrus along with a trace of herbalness. I also got another fruit; faint, like a scrap of raisin stuck to the inside of an empty SUN-MAID snack box. The spices are scant as well, just a bit of clove and rye.

1910’s sweetness is of simple caramelized sugar, and nearly burnt dark molasses. But in this nectar, it’s the second barreling which shines. Heavy, old oak, hazy toasted wood, and sweet smoky barrel char abound. As I breath in, I am reminded of oak charcoal smoke, like one might get when opening the door of a smoker or smokehouse well into its duties. 1910’s smoky darkness melds into musty leather as a slight peatiness springs from the Glencairn. 1910 just smells good.

OLD FORESTER 1910 BOURBON PALATE:

As on the nose Old Forester 1910’s 46.5% ABV does not assert in the mouth. This is sippin’ whiskey at its finest. It warms and the herbal aroma comes through as taste buds detect faint apple enriched pipe tobacco. And while faint, figs and dates are mix with warm spices of clove, ginger, pepper and rye. Just like on the nose, the sweetness here is tempered, like faint chocolate cream and burnt dark molasses rather than sugary. After each sip I had to remind myself to swallow so I could sense and enjoy each muted flavor. In the mouth, woodiness mirrors the old oak aromatics of hazy, toasted wood, and the smoky sweet barrel char balances with musty and earthy leather. This is a good bourbon.

Old Forester 1910 Bourbon

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
The fist sip of Old Forester 1910 is nearly perfect. I love its rich smoothness and viscous oiliness. 1910 is easy to hold and visually, it is just as thick in the Glencairn. Fat legs return the liquid to the dark burnt amber pool leaving a lingering and evenly spaced inverted crown.

OLD FORESTER 1910 BOURBON FINISH:

If there is fault with Old Forester 1910, it would be in its short finish; although each waft and sip begs another. As I reflect, my throat is warmed with memories of tobacco, rye, dark sweets and heavy oak, hazy, toasted wood, and smoky sweet barrel char. And when the glass is emptied (all too soon I might add), the scent of a working smokehouse remains.

MY OLD FORESTER 1910 BOURBON RATING: 91/100

Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
When I want earthy depth and sweet smoke in a bourbon, I’ll be reaching for 1910.
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

Click 91/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Old Forester.

OLD FORESTER 1910 BOURBON TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
Old Forester 1910 Bourbon
Old Forester 1910 Bourbon

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Individual Reviews

Baker’s Single Barrel Bourbon Review

Posted on by whiskeyfortheages

Hannah’s Baker’s Single Barrel Bourbon Review

Original review written on March 9, 2021

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Baker’s Single Barrel Bourbon Review: A very well-blended Jim Beam product that is full of wood flavor, so if that is your type, definitely give this one a try. Proves to be deep, but I wouldn’t necessarily say complex. 87/100

Baker's Single Barrel Bourbon Review
VITALS:

– Made in: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Jim Beam Distillery
– Classification: Single Barrel Bourbon
– Age: 8 yrs. 1 mo.
– Mash Bill: Corn=77%; Rye=13%; Malted Barley=10%
– Casks: Char #4
– Barrel Entry Proof: unpublished
– Warehouse: CL-Z
– Barrel Serial Number: #000330410
– Barrel Date: 12-2011
– Non-Chill Filtered
– ABV: 53.3% (107 proof)
– Price: $59.95 USD in Idaho in 2020

Visit bakersbourbon.com for more information and click here to check out your barrel’s journey: bakersbourbon.com/single-barrel-journey

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I enjoyed the juice neat from a Glencairn with father and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Brian.

Check out his review of this bourbon here!

SETTING:

This would be a great bourbon to sit and just… think with. Stare into a fish bowl and watch the fish wander around their little enclosure and get enraptured in their colors and brightness with Baker’s Single Barrel Bourbon in hand. The bourbon will bring you back to earth with its woody flavors while you get caught up in the watery dream of the fish’s world.

Photo by kazuend on Unsplash

NOSE:

I get roasted corn, subtle cloves, and prunes on the first nosing, though the aromas blend so well together, it is hard to tease them apart. Deep draws coax out more baking spices, like nutmeg and dark brown sugar. There also seems to be some molasses, caramel, and a nut of some kind. Mixed with these darker tones, is a dominant barrel char that really marries the flavors together so seamlessly. There may be some sawdust with it, but it flits in and out with the other scents.

The alcohol isn’t overly aggressive, though it is impossible to deny its presence. Overall, every time I reach to look for another aroma, I keep wanting to take a sip, because the pull on this nose is quite strong, and it certainly makes my mouth water in anticipation.

PALATE:
Baker's Single Barrel Bourbon Review

– Mouth Feel: Smooth until the very back of the sip, where there is a slight tickle that could scratch at the throat if I’m not careful.
– Balance: Very well blended, but it is obvious that the oak is the hero here and doesn’t particularly want to give other flavors the opportunity to shine too brightly.
– Visual: Honey in color, there is a distinct crown with slow-dropping, thick legs that start as clinging droplets.

– Taste: Rye, roasted corn, barrel char. They punch hard on the first sip even, and are very hard for me to miss or ignore. I can get an earth/grass element as well that makes these initial flavors have another dimension. There isn’t a lot for sweetness, beyond perhaps a woody caramel and fruit leather or raisins that are gently seasoned with allspice.

The alcohol is there, but it isn’t particularly strong, and I can hold it for an extended period of time without feeling any kind of burn. I can tell very clearly in any case that this is a Jim Beam product… It comes across as a luxury, more aged, richer version of Jim Beam Devil’s Cut, with the strong oak presence being the root of both (let it be known, I like this quite a lot more than Devil’s Cut). The wood in both seems naturally chewy, as though the chips were soaked in water and have become soft.

When I partake in the Kentucky chew, white pepper, figs, and leather suddenly burst forth, with the oak tying them all together quite well.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Medium. The throat feels warm, and there is some flavor that lingers in the finish also.
– Between Sips: After the Kentucky chew, there is a strange aftertaste, though it is certainly still rooted in wood. It almost seems a little herbal, but it is not very aggressive. Without the chew, that space between sips consists of just wood chips without the herb quality.

– No More: This gets better the further into the glass I get, a dark fruit beginning to emerge – maybe the raisins. I feel as though the mouth feel improves too, which isn’t something I usually note. Where it had started as being smooth, it almost feels velvety now, as though I can go against the grain with it and find a deeper wood.

The empty Glencairn is as expected – strong oak notes that pair nicely with what was offered in the palate.

WORTH THE PRICE?

At $60, this isn’t a bad value, and I look forward to reaching for it on the shelf again. Would I spend another $60 to replace it after it’s gone? Perhaps not, as I do think there are better $60 offerings on the market. If this was $10 cheaper, I think I’d be more likely to buy again. If you like wood-forward bourbons, definitely reach for this one – it’ll be right up your alley!

RATING: 87/100

Click to see Hannah’s rating process

To access other whiskies with this rating, click 87/100.
Click to see other Baker’s whiskies.

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