Brian’s Old Forester 86 Bourbon Review:
20-October-2020
OLD FORESTER 86 BOURBON REVIEW:
I’ve been on reviewing easier to find bourbons off and on for a while now and Old Forester 86 Bourbon is next up – In fact the bottle has been in the bunker for several months now. On the the review …
When the cap of Old Forester 86 Bourbon was first twisted off, gentle candy sweet aromas wafted from the bottle. In my mouth, an essence of minty freshness mixes with dark fruits and the finish grows as the pour is enjoyed.
OLD FORESTER 86 BOURBON VITAL STATS:
– Category: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
– Region: Louisville, KY, USA
– Distillery: Brown-Forman
– Mash Bill: 72% corn, 18% rye, 10% malted barley
– Barrel Char: #4
– Barrel entry proof: 125
– Age: nas (unpublished)
– ABV: 43% (86 Proof)
– Price: ($19.95 2020 – Idaho)
Learn more at https://www.oldforester.com/.
ENJOYMENT METHOD:
For the evaluation, I shared the juice neat from Glencairn glasses with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.
Check out her review for this bourbon here!
NOSE:
Old Forester 86 is quite aromatic upon twisting open the cap. When the whiskey is brought to the nose the soft alcohol fades to light fruit tree blossoms and mint. Tart apple and maraschino cherries blend with spices of nutmeg, white pepper and rye and sweet aromas of orange sponge cake, vanilla custard. Additional candy sweets of vanilla taffy, circus peanuts, butterscotch, and caramel corn blended with hints of cashews and light oak. To my nose, the aromas are quite gentle.
PALATE:
The soft alcohol sensed on the nose is warm and passes to the palate. Roasted corn and dusty grain mix with mint giving Old Forester 86 a certain freshness yet I also taste dark fruits of currants and fig and the sensation of ark dried fruit leather on my tongue. Spices of dark cinnamon, black pepper and rye counter sweets of orange sponge cake, burnt sugar, burnt caramel, dark molasses, and a hint of honeycomb. The is also a trace bitter walnut to go with dry, seasoned oak, and barrel flavors of toasted wood and char. A solid Kentucky Chew is not going to hurt seasoned bourbon drinkers and as I drank my pour I noted the palate is much darker than the nose.
Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
The nose and palate of Old Forester 86 are disjointed; light versus dark yet this is a simple and light bourbon that is a bit watery and at the same time smooth. In the Glencairn a nice crown of clinging droplets gives way to long evenly spaced clinging legs which drop into the russet colored bowl.
FINISH:
The medium long finish of Old Forester 86 lengthens the more I drink. It is a soft alcohol, dry and warm and the dusty grain comes through. The finish is a bit bitter – maybe citrus zest, which is a nice balance to the black pepper and rye. The sweets are gone as dry oak, toasted wood, and barrel char leave a woody aftertaste blending with sensations of leather. When the whiskey is gone, the empty Glencairn presents with sweet woody caramel.
MY RATING: 84/100
Will I buy this whiskey again? NO
While this bourbon is in my wheelhouse and the price point is GREAT, I prefer so many others.
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
Click 84/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Old Forester.
WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
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