flahute Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 On this day of the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby we are drinking a product of the official race sponsor Brown Forman and secondary race sponsor Old Forester. Last year due to the scheduling delay brought on by covid I was able to pair Woodford Reserve with the delayed Derby. This year, boy how great it was to have normalcy with the race and to see all those fans in the stands and if you watched the race directly before the Derby - the one sponsored by Old Forester, then you saw a great race that finished in a dead heat due to the late burst by a horse that came from behind to force the tie. But enough about horse racing and onto the bourbon. Many of you will remember me talking about the 32 single barrel March Madness style taste off Old Fo Sib BP picks that I did back in Feb./Mar. That was an incredibly fun and insightful journey to taste through so many different barrels. (It was also palate fatiguing!) It kind of burned me out on OF products for a while which just reinforces the need for diversity in taste we all talk about here even as we all have our favorites. Because of that, today was my first Old Fo product in about 2 1/2 months. The one I'm drinking is the one I picked with my local early last year. That pick was supposed to happen in person at Old Fo but the early days of the pandemic forced this one to happen with samples. Though disappointing, we ended up with a clear winner. What amazes me about this bourbon is that Old Forester managed to coax an incredible amount of complexity and flavor out of a bourbon that is not even 5 years old. For all the talk about the various rapid aging processes out there that fail time and time again I have to say the Old Forester is onto something with their heat cycled warehouses. Is it the same as a properly long aged traditional bourbon? No. But it is miles ahead of any small barrel or wacky technological rapid aging process. They just get great flavors out of young bourbons. One thing I learned from the 32 barrel taste off is that there is a lot of diversity in these barrels. Some of them fall into the dark wood earthy complex flavor notes while others fall into the bright coconut and fruit sweeter notes. Overall, the majority of these barrels were great. Here's what I know. I will be seeking out as many of these barrels as I can get. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwg13013 Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 I have yet to try Old Forester. I think my first will be the 1920. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry in WashDC Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 (edited) THX, Steve. The part of your notes that caught my eye are about the "heated cycle warehouses". Makes me wonder if the master distiller/blenders at OF are not getting enough credit for deciding which of hundreds of barrels get dumped and mixed and which ones don't; like in the Prohibition Series. I have not been an OF fan although a couple of the Birthday bourbons, but not all, fit my tastes. More recently, the Prohibition series has, pretty much, been a safe place for me. In other words, I shall seek this out. If "they" are that good at deciding what gets mixed with what to turn out a consistently above average product at $50 or so, imagine what they do with SiBs. Edited May 3, 2021 by Harry in WashDC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven s Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 I had been looking for these for a bit, and a store in my "region" finally got a barrel. I like it. This particular barrel is as good as, or better than, the 1920 to me, with a little more cherry/fruit on the palate. I went back and bought 2 more, even at 79$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 I like a number of OF products. I have for a while now. One store near me did a 90 proof ps sb a while back that was fantastic. Over time, I bought darned near a case. Thankfully, I still have a few left. I reckon they’ll have to do because I have yet to see an OF sb bp. Biba! Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCwhammie Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 I acquired one of these over the weekend. It's 130 proof. I tried it neat then again proofed down to around 104. This one is much better proofed down. A few months ago I had a pour of a barrel picked by a local store. It much quite a bit better than the bottle I just got. My bottle is really hot. I will try these prior to buying a bottle. I prefer 1920 and Statesman to the bottle I have. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzhead Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 OF is a consistent favorite. I have three open bottles at the moment - a 1920, the Statesman I'm sipping right now, and an nineties-vintage dimple bottle Bonded (my last, sadly, of several I had bunkered for year). If I ever see the Barrel Proof, it will be an easy add. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 Just noticed this month's new thread. Very convenient, as I just recently picked up my first bottle of this. Now I have a real excuse to open it. Not tonight, but soon... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 On 5/23/2021 at 12:39 AM, Kepler said: Just noticed this month's new thread. Very convenient, as I just recently picked up my first bottle of this. Now I have a real excuse to open it. Not tonight, but soon... Well? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Not yet. Maybe next weekend. Something just leapt ahead of it in line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeTerp Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 just picked up a local pick of this today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 On 5/22/2021 at 11:39 PM, Kepler said: Just noticed this month's new thread. Very convenient, as I just recently picked up my first bottle of this. Now I have a real excuse to open it. Not tonight, but soon... On 5/30/2021 at 1:52 PM, Skinsfan1311 said: Well? Ok so maybe it wasn't "soon" after all. But I finally cracked it tonight. This one is 132 proof. First sip so far tastes like 132 proof Old Fo. Actually some similarities to Stagg Jr but without any oak notes (I never get any oakiness from any OF except the BB). Seems a bit dense with very strong dark fruit (almost cherry syrup) notes. I'll probably need to add some water or a cube to get much out of this. It needs some opening up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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