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James E Pepper, Bombergers 2025, Russell Reserve......YUM.............

It’s Kentucky Derby time! Woodford Reserve is the “official” bourbon of the Derby, but its fellow Brown-Forman brand Old Forester is a secondary sponsor of the race. To shake things up for this month’s BotM, I’d like to discuss a rye – Old Forester rye! The Basics Distillery: Old Forester Brand Owner: Brown-Forman Mash Bill: 65% rye, 20% malted barley, 15% corn Proof: 100 Age: NAS (at least four years old) MSRP: $28 Expression introduced: 2019 Last time as BotM: First time Distillery Tasting Notes Aroma/Nose: Rich brown sugar and magnolia blossom, with hints of soft sassafras and candied lemon. Taste/Palate: Spice awakens immediately leading with sharp black pepper and cinnamon stick, rounding out with notes of dried dill and baked apple. Finish: Allspice and peppercorn introduce a loyal and dry finish which ignites with pine, anise, and bright lemon zest. My Thoughts Old Forester is one of American whiskey’s most historic brands, with it being the only bourbon continuously sold before, during, and after Prohibition. For all of that time, Old Forester was made from a single bourbon mash bill, so it was fairly significant when Brown-Forman decided to try a new mash bill and bring the brand into the rye whiskey space. “Crafted” by Chris Miller and Jackie Zykan and first released in 2019, the Old Forester rye mash bill was “inspired” by the recipe for Normandy rye, a brand that Owsley Brown acquired in 1940. It has been a while since I last tasted this one, but my impressions were that this is a versatile and good value rye whiskey. The flavor, for me, was somewhere between a typical Kentucky “barely legal” style rye and an MGP 95/5 rye. The higher rye content gives me mint and dill notes, but not nearly as strongly as in some MGP ryes. I also get some of those nice citrus notes, along with some rye spice. The smaller proportion of corn does lend some sweetness, creating a really nicely balanced whiskey. The proof and price points make it perfect for cocktails, but this is definitely a rye I could drink neat and be perfectly happy. Old Forester rye is also released in a single barrel, barrel proof expression, looking similar to its barrel proof bourbon pick equivalent, albeit with a green label instead of blue. Old Forester recently released a bottled in bond rye in its Old Forester 117 Series, with the whiskey clocking in at 9 years old. On the horizon are President’s Choice rye single barrels, which at least initially will be in a similar age range to that 117 Series release. I have tasted barrel proof Old Forester rye with some good age on it and it is incredible. I’m looking forward to Brown-Forman really showing what it can do with its Old Forester rye, as the whiskey is great, but the price points and availability may be issues as they still are for a lot of special releases. Every time we pick at Old Forester, my group loves to harangue our friends at Brown-Forman about getting to do a rye barrel pick, but so far, no luck. I’m very hopeful that one day we will succeed, as Old Forester makes some great rye! So, Straight Bourbon, what do you have to say about Old Forester rye?

Long live the flock!

WTKS for the evening nightcap. Long live the flock!

No worries about any stones lol. I'm with you - KC12 is one of my absolute favorites.

I’m having a couple of pours of ER this evening. One for a friend.

Sorry - my bad!

I have some hesitation saying this to someone from Kentucky (i.e. I went to college in Tenn.). That comment is a nugget of bourbon wisdom Kepler.

lots of good stuff as usual in this stream above. Here's my latest contribution. Couple of good ones. My last PHC, along with my next-to- last OGD 114. Pat

No big deal. Made my heart skip a beat though... I do enjoy WTKS.

True that. I wasn't thinking of them as wheated. I was thinking of what you called hyper aged juice that i have had and not what mash bill it is. Thanks for correcting me.

In for a glass of BBC D7 tonight to kick the evening off.

Well, the Old Fitz are wheated bourbons and wheated bourbons generally handle extra aging a lot better than standard rye-based bourbons. So to answer your question, no, I don't have the same aversion to the Old Fitz line that I do to most HH bourbons.

Correct. Sagamore makes a lot of different finished ryes, but they say "Finish" right on the bottle. If it it doesn't say it, assume it's just a straight rye. The Double Oak is finished in a second toasted barrel, so I consider that a finished rye as well. Btw, I think Sagamore does finishing very well. I'm a huge fan of their Port and Sherry finished ryes. Highly recommended. Keep in the mind the Port one is rare and only comes out once per year I think. But the Sherry finished one is very good and much more readily available.

Do you feel that way about Old Fitzgerald bibs? I absolutely loved the 15yr( owned and consumed this btl) and the 19yr?( i think that is what I had at the distillery). I wish I could get the opportunity to purchase more of these special yearly releases.

I actually think most of us agree that KC12 is the sweet spot for Knob Creek. But it's so difficult to get an 18 year bourbon right, when it happens, it justifiably gets a lot of kudos when it does. KC18 is one that absolutely gets it right. Unfortunately, for my palate EC18 does not. I'm not a fan of hyper aged Heaven Hill products in general. I really enjoy Heaven Hill bourbons but 12 years is about as aged as I'll go with those.

Interesting. I have only had a few 15ish+yr old bourbons. EC is one of them. I really loved the 1st couple pours out of 1 of the btls a couple yrs ago. After that, I wasn't that impressed. Not sure if it was my palate or what "changes" the air may have done to the flavor or as you said, I may need to learn more about myself and what my mind and palate want to drink on a particular night. I do find that my palate really enjoys the neck pour of most btls. Maybe that is the excitement of opening a btl or does it just taste better fresh from the btl rather than the subsequent pours. Idk. One of the other 18yr old bourbons I have had is the KC 18yr. It is very good but I prefer the 12yr over it and the 15. I know, I know that that goes against the popular grain here but it is my opinion. Please dont stone me. I feel the 12yr is the sweet spot for KC. Or is it that I don't know what I don't know about myself.

I believe I confused myself more than anything. I have had only the cask Sagamore. Which I believe is just a rye whiskey. Sagamore has done some finished ryes but I have not had any of those. They also have some age stated whiskey that I would like to try. The price of some of their other offerings has been the reason for me not to try. I am struggling to keep my spending down on my whiskey purchases. It is easier for me to not spend money on btls I have not had. If I have had it and liked it, it is coming home if it is at what I considered a fair price. My apologies for my blathering. This was more for me to clear my thoughts and try to get my mind right.

Good feedback. But I would add that most of us are not always in the mood for a 18 year whiskey (of any kind). That doesn't mean that KC18 isn't one of the very best hyper aged bourbons available at any price. For me, any 18 yr bourbon is a mood pour.

Yesterday I ran around to a couple party stores. I was surprised at what I found on the shelf. I picked up a btl of Michter's 10yr bourbon, EC 18yr and Pikesville Rye. All at a fair price. I was happy to pay 160+ for the Michter's, 133+- for the EC and 53+ for the Pikesville.

Recent pickup. I've heard a lot of good things so thought I'd give it a try and the price was right. First taste feedback is that it lives up to the positive reviews. Kinda reminds me of Port Charlotte 10. Excellent.

You definitely forgot the TW Samuels BiB.

Another 2015 bites the dust. This one hurts. Handy is still pretty good In its current form, but these older releases were special.

I might have been tempted at a Blanton's Gold pick at 185. That's not even full secondary, much less +. The last one I got was in the 170 range. My last WFP pick purchase was in the 70 range.