What Bourbon Are You Enjoying (Summer 2017)

[PaulO]

This WTKS has been quite a find for me.  I don't know if I just happened on a honey barrel.  It's taking a while to figure out.  One flavor I get is pink bubble gum.  I never noticed that in a WT product before - nice. 

[smokinjoe]

After a couple of years of falling out of love with Old Forester's Signature/100 pr offering, I decided to pick up a new bottle of this standard 100 pr today.  I have felt that the 100 pr brand had gone very thin and astringent, and seemed very young in a raw way.  If this new bottle is representative of what Briwn-Foreman is doing now, well, I'm happy to say they've turned things around.  Particularly, the startlingly explosive nose from the glass that is full of that Goetze's Caramel Cream flavor, with a goodly sense of rickhouse oak.  Nothing astringent, and nice body over the palate. Nothing game changing here, but more importantly, nothing that I had found offensive in previous iterations of this label.  It's simply...good.  Finish is such that I know the whiskey was there, and didn't fall off into oblivion.  Not a ton of complexity with this whiskey, but it is very solid, and tastes like a well made bourbon should taste.  The defects that I detected to my palate previously are gone.  We'll see how future tastings of it go just to see if this is simply a good palate night.  But, at first blush I'm happy with what I'm tasting, and more so, with what I'm smelling on the nose.  It is wonderful. It would be a nice thing to bring a B-F bourbon back to the fold of nice and inexpensive 100ish proofers along with HH, JB, Barton, WT, et al., on my bar.  

 

 

[MOwhisky4me]

1 hour ago, smokinjoe said:

After a couple of years of falling out of love with Old Forester's Signature/100 pr offering, I decided to pick up a new bottle of this standard 100 pr today.  I have felt that the 100 pr brand had gone very thin and astringent, and seemed very young in a raw way.  If this new bottle is representative of what Briwn-Foreman is doing now, well, I'm happy to say they've turned things around.  Particularly, the startlingly explosive nose from the glass that is full of that Goetze's Caramel Cream flavor, with a goodly sense of rickhouse oak.  Nothing astringent, and nice body over the palate. Nothing game changing here, but more importantly, nothing that I had found offensive in previous iterations of this label.  It's simply...good.  Finish is such that I know the whiskey was there, and didn't fall off into oblivion.  Not a ton of complexity with this whiskey, but it is very solid, and tastes like a well made bourbon should taste.  The defects that I detected to my palate previously are gone.  We'll see how future tastings of it go just to see if this is simply a good palate night.  But, at first blush I'm happy with what I'm tasting, and more so, with what I'm smelling on the nose.  It is wonderful. It would be a nice thing to bring a B-F bourbon back to the fold of nice and inexpensive 100ish proofers along with HH, JB, Barton, WT, et al., on my bar.  

 

 

 

I'm happy to hear someone else has had a similar experience with the new label OF100. I have had a couple bottles of the new label stuff and I am impressed with what B-F has given us here.

 

I recently posted about doing a SxSxS with OF100, OFSig, and OF1920... The OF1920 wins the shootout easily due to the thickness, mouth feel, depth of flavor, and finish but the OF100 is a younger first cousin that displays similar flavors and a very similar nose.

 

Being a long time Old Forester fan I am one happy fella about what we seem to have here with this OF100!

[Mako254]

Joe,  

thanks for the in depth post on OF sig. 750s are about $23 here, I'll snag one on friday.  

 

Tonight, I'm working on an 11 year OBSO that is a real treat. 

 

 

[Wedelstaedt]

4 hours ago, PaulO said:

This WTKS has been quite a find for me.  I don't know if I just happened on a honey barrel.  It's taking a while to figure out.  One flavor I get is pink bubble gum.  I never noticed that in a WT product before - nice. 

What year was your WTKS bottled?  Warehouse it was aged?

Look around you may find another. 

 

I am a fan of WTKS, it has potential to be spectacular for WT fans. 

 

Cheers

[musekatcher]

Trying to finish a bottle of Larceny.  Its ok.  Probably would have been more impressed at $5 less, but its ok. 

 

Looking fwd to a bottle of OF100.  Maybe this weekend..

[EarthQuake]

Out at a bar tonight, had a pour of Parker's Heritage 24 year old - this was one of the stranger whiskeys I've tried, light and with an overwhelming floral note. It was a weird one.

 

Also had Elijah Craig 18 year, which I prefer to EC NAC and ECBP, but I would say is very, very similar to Barterhouse but not quite as enjoyable to me (Barterhouse is one of my favorites). Good for sure but not worth the price to me.

 

Good to cross these off the "might pay exorbitant prices for" list.

Edited August 24, 2017 by EarthQuake

[MTNBourbon]

12 hours ago, MOwhisky4me said:

 

I'm happy to hear someone else has had a similar experience with the new label OF100. I have had a couple bottles of the new label stuff and I am impressed with what B-F has given us here.

 

I recently posted about doing a SxSxS with OF100, OFSig, and OF1920... The OF1920 wins the shootout easily due to the thickness, mouth feel, depth of flavor, and finish but the OF100 is a younger first cousin that displays similar flavors and a very similar nose.

 

Being a long time Old Forester fan I am one happy fella about what we seem to have here with this OF100!

Nice to know. We do not get that one around here, but I'm sure I can get it on-line.

[hn4bourbon]

had a good sized pour of OF1920 with a little ice. Emptied this bottle quickly after finding that I really enjoy this with a little bit of ice.

[BourbonDude]

On 8/23/2017 at 5:43 PM, PaulO said:

This WTKS has been quite a find for me.  I don't know if I just happened on a honey barrel.  It's taking a while to figure out.  One flavor I get is pink bubble gum.  I never noticed that in a WT product before - nice. 

Cool. Not a very common flavor in alcoholic beverages but another place a bubble gum like flavor sometimes crops up in is some Belgian ales.

 

I do like the WTKS a lot too. It was one of the first super-premium priced bourbons I bought many years ago and I was skeptical, being perfectly happy with the cheaper WTRB at the time, but it won me over after just a few sips.

Edited August 24, 2017 by BourbonDude

[LCWoody]

Having some SAOS 7y tonight. good pour.

[fishnbowljoe]

On August 23, 2017 at 6:02 PM, smokinjoe said:

After a couple of years of falling out of love with Old Forester's Signature/100 pr offering, I decided to pick up a new bottle of this standard 100 pr today.  I have felt that the 100 pr brand had gone very thin and astringent, and seemed very young in a raw way.  If this new bottle is representative of what Briwn-Foreman is doing now, well, I'm happy to say they've turned things around.  Particularly, the startlingly explosive nose from the glass that is full of that Goetze's Caramel Cream flavor, with a goodly sense of rickhouse oak.  Nothing astringent, and nice body over the palate. Nothing game changing here, but more importantly, nothing that I had found offensive in previous iterations of this label.  It's simply...good.  Finish is such that I know the whiskey was there, and didn't fall off into oblivion.  Not a ton of complexity with this whiskey, but it is very solid, and tastes like a well made bourbon should taste.  The defects that I detected to my palate previously are gone.  We'll see how future tastings of it go just to see if this is simply a good palate night.  But, at first blush I'm happy with what I'm tasting, and more so, with what I'm smelling on the nose.  It is wonderful. It would be a nice thing to bring a B-F bourbon back to the fold of nice and inexpensive 100ish proofers along with HH, JB, Barton, WT, et al., on my bar.  

22 hours ago, MOwhisky4me said:

 

I'm happy to hear someone else has had a similar experience with the new label OF100. I have had a couple bottles of the new label stuff and I am impressed with what B-F has given us here.

 

I recently posted about doing a SxSxS with OF100, OFSig, and OF1920... The OF1920 wins the shootout easily due to the thickness, mouth feel, depth of flavor, and finish but the OF100 is a younger first cousin that displays similar flavors and a very similar nose.

 

Being a long time Old Forester fan I am one happy fella about what we seem to have here with this OF100!

Thanks for posting this guys. I'm also a fan of OF BIB. When the OF Signature came out, I bought a couple of bottles, and wasn't impresssed. Actually, I was disappointed. While it didn't suck, I couldn't help but feel it didn't have much in common with it's predecessor. I reckon I'll have to buy a bottle and possibly jump back on the band wagon. If you don't mind me asking, what did you guys pay for your bottles, and was it about the same as the OF Signature?

 

Thanks. Joe

 

 

[Jackinbox]

I don't know whether it's just the fact that it's a store pick or my palate has changed since I last had Blanton's (2 years ago or so), but this bottle is amazing.  Did a SBS with a pour of ETL and there is simply no comparison. 

 

 

[MOwhisky4me]

1 hour ago, fishnbowljoe said:

 

 

Joe, the prices I've seen on the OF100 have been right in line with what Signature was running... Around $20-25 a fifth and if I remember the price correctly I picked up a handle in KY this summer for $45ish.

 

This is honestly the best "standard" offering Old Forester I've had since they moved away from the paper labels and the old BiB years ago. I'd love to try it next to the old BiB... Not sure it could best it but it'd sure be an interesting and enjoyable SxS!

[Kepler]

WT Kentucky Spirit, 2007 vintage.

[LongGone]

Tonight for me - about a 2:1 pour of BT and OGD BiB - good one.

[PaulO]

On 8/23/2017 at 7:02 PM, smokinjoe said:

After a couple of years of falling out of love with Old Forester's Signature/100 pr offering, I decided to pick up a new bottle of this standard 100 pr today.  I have felt that the 100 pr brand had gone very thin and astringent, and seemed very young in a raw way.  If this new bottle is representative of what Briwn-Foreman is doing now, well, I'm happy to say they've turned things around.  Particularly, the startlingly explosive nose from the glass that is full of that Goetze's Caramel Cream flavor, with a goodly sense of rickhouse oak.  Nothing astringent, and nice body over the palate. Nothing game changing here, but more importantly, nothing that I had found offensive in previous iterations of this label.  It's simply...good.  Finish is such that I know the whiskey was there, and didn't fall off into oblivion.  Not a ton of complexity with this whiskey, but it is very solid, and tastes like a well made bourbon should taste.  The defects that I detected to my palate previously are gone.  We'll see how future tastings of it go just to see if this is simply a good palate night.  But, at first blush I'm happy with what I'm tasting, and more so, with what I'm smelling on the nose.  It is wonderful. It would be a nice thing to bring a B-F bourbon back to the fold of nice and inexpensive 100ish proofers along with HH, JB, Barton, WT, et al., on my bar.  

 

 

Joe, this is good news to me.  I believe our tastes as far as what we like to be similar.  I'm a fan of the OF house style.  So it was a disappointment when I thought it was going down hill.  I have a little collection of OF dusties.  Also I was on a mission to find some older inventory in stores off the beaten path.  That means the ghetto.  I got some good leads from another SB member.  Thanks again Nik.

  Anyway, I confirmed what I thought.  OF Sig from a few years ago are really good.  It seems that the ones with the neck hang tag are the best.

I will leave the more modern ones with the clear label and big block letters on the shelf.  I'll try the latest paper label version; and maybe wear my OF ball cap and shirt in public.

[Mako254]

This Elijah Craig barrel proof B517 gets better and better. Gonna try and scrounge another bottle tomorrow. 

[Jackinbox]

I'm a little confused regarding OF.  What's the difference between OF100 and OFSig? 

[PaulO]

It looks like the word "Signature" is not on the newer label.

[jshleffar]

OF1920 tonight

[Insanityabounds]

This one had been sitting about half full for about a year. My brother and I had a couple glasses each. Oxidation in the bottle has made it more aromatic and spicier to my taste. Has not changed much past that surprisingly. We dont get much of this round here so it gets consumed slowly, till about this time of year. Itll be gone after second Alabama game. Cheers. 

[PaulO]

On 8/23/2017 at 10:37 PM, Wedelstaedt said:

What year was your WTKS bottled?  Warehouse it was aged?

Look around you may find another. 

 

I am a fan of WTKS, it has potential to be spectacular for WT fans. 

 

Cheers

It was bottled on 3-28-17, from warehouse B.

[Vosgar]

Living large on a beautiful Friday afternoon with some HHSS SB#2. Absolutely wonderful whiskey, plus it pairs nicely with an AB Prensado. 

 

Perfect way to end the work week

[Kane]

Working on my CEHT BP. It's been less than a month, and the palate of this bottle has changed considerably. It's all about a very distinct orange taste now, acidic orange juice with more orange zest on the finish. I'm not sure I'm liking the direction this is going, very different from other BT distilled juice I've had.