Brian’s Old Forester Statesman Review
written on 16-May-2019
OLD FORESTER STATESMAN REVIEW:
Old Forester Statesman is a blossomed fruit tree treat. Its faint clove spiciness blends with cherry-vanilla pastry and a handful of caramel candy. It closes with a memory of warmth, old leather and smoky oak.
OLD FORESTER STATESMAN VITAL STATS:
– Category: Straight Bourbon
– Region: Kentucky, USA
– Company: Brown-Forman
– Distillery: Old Forester Distillery / Brown-Forman Distillers
– Mash Bill: 72% corn, 18% rye, 10% malted barley
– Barrel Char: #4
– Barrel entry proof: 125
– Age: 4 years (said to be a mingling of 4 to 6 year old barrels selected from warmer sections of the distillery’s heat-cycled rickhouses)
– ABV: 47.5% (95 Proof)
– Price: $54.95 USD in Idaho
No batch or bottle number identifiers
Learn more at https://brown-forman.com/
ENJOYMENT METHOD:
I drank this spirit neat, from a Glencairn glass with daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Hannah.
Check out her review of this bourbon here!
NOSE:
On the nose, Old Forester Statesman has at first a floral presence; fruit tree blossoms combine with new cut grains, red berries, fresh citrus, and bananas. Faint clove spiciness fades into orange sponge cake then on to banana bread and light vanilla custard. OF Statesman’s intense sweetness is like a handful of carameled candy corn and vanilla taffy. This bourbon has a pleasant mustiness which combines nicely with oak barrel spice and sinus clearing wood smoke.
PALATE:
The first sip is nice, and after a little burn, and another mouthful, the elixir coats with warm candied orange and cinnamon-sugar covered dark cherries. Statesman’s heat is a pleasent blend of pepper and baking spices which work well with its rich vanilla and woody caramel covered desert pastry sweetness. The mustiness sensed on the nose comes to the taste buds as buttery smooth old leather along with a peanuttiness which blends nicely with its seasoned oak barrel spice.
Balance, Body, Feel, and Look:
Old Forester Statesman is well blended and has a rich, oily mouthfeel. In the Glencairn thick wide-spaced legs drip down the inside of the glass to its mahogany and henna toned pool.
FINISH:
O.F. Statesman’s finish is long with a blend of seasoned oak, old smoke, brown sugar, pepper and fruit leather. The floral and herbal notes detected on nose come back as does the warmness felt in the mouth. When the dram is gone, a nice oak aroma remains in the glass.
MY RATING: 89/100
Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? Yes
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
Click 89/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To access other whiskies from this brand, click Old Forester.
WHISKEY TRAITS, FLAVOR WHEEL AND SPIDER GRAPH
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