2007 OFBB released today/tomorrow?

[Sijan]

The info on the 2007 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is now up on the Old Forester website. They list the release date as Saturday, September 2, 2007, a date which does not exist according to my calendar. Not sure if they're releasing it a day before George Gavin Brown's Sept. 2 birthday (probably to avoid issues with releasing it on a Sunday) or if they just got the day of the week wrong.

In any event, here's the 2007 release:

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon®

Vintage 1994 Spring Season

• Release date: Saturday, September 2, 2007
  
• 96 proof
  
• Fewer than 8,500 bottles produced

This year marks the sixth release of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. This expression is chosen annually as a way of honoring the birthday of George Garvin Brown, a bourbon industry pioneer and our founder. Unique to any other release, this vintage strikes a balance between the previous two: 2005 was heavy in cinnamon spice while 2006 had a pronounced mint note. With the 2007 vintage, a mint note cools the warm cinnamon spice.

More info here: http://www.oldforester.com/better/birthday.asp

[BourbonJoe]

Great info. Can't wait.

Joe :usflag:

[HighTower]

I have never tried the OFBB, maybe it's about time I did.

Scott

[mozilla]

Have not had this one either. What is special about this label. OF 100 is really good...OF86 is pretty good...can't afford WR as a daily pour...though it is not without it's merrits. Where does the BB fit in to the mix?

Jeff Mo.

[BourbonJoe]

Where does the BB fit in to the mix?

Jeff Mo.

At the high end of the profile (and price). It's pretty good stuff.

Joe :usflag:

[mozilla]

Joe,

Is the BB a mix from different distilleries?

[BourbonJoe]

No. It's honey barrels from Brown Foreman. The last few were about 13 y/o. Yummy.

Joe :usflag:

[Sijan]

To my taste, it's definitely the best stuff that Brown-Forman makes. And I like OF 100 quite a bit.

OFBB is definitely worth trying if you've never had it. I'd avoid the 2004 bottling (distilled in 1995) for your first try, though. 2005 and 2006 are great, as were the previous years. I don't think 2004 was bad, it just wasn't as good as the other years I've had.

[Virus_Of_Life]

I have never tried the OFBB, maybe it's about time I did.

Scott

Scott I used to refuse to buy it because of that damn bottle shape, but after reading how good the last release was I gave in. I am glad I did, it truly is great stuff and reminds me of the OF BiB from the 70s I have found on dusty shelves. I'll buy at least one of every release I find.

[Sijan]

Yes, the bottle shape is annoying to store and I also think it tends to oxidize the whiskey more rapidly as well given the larger amount of air exposure.

[gblick]

I've seen a lot of the 1989/2002 bottling, is it good?

[nor02lei]

I've seen a lot of the 1989/2002 bottling, is it good?

Yes it is Gus! I have hade at least 1 bottle of each OFBB realise and I love them all with the sole exception of the fall 90- 93 that was to tranquil for my personal taste.

Leif

[luv2hunt]

Gus,

If you review posts from a couple years ago, someone did a comparison of the OFBB's and the consensus was that the 2002 was the best

Dawn

[gblick]

Thanks for the info, Dawn and Leif.

I've been finding some really good stuff lately for under $20, so it's hard to take the plunge on the 'not yet tasted' OFBB at it's much higher price, but maybe I'll give it a try at some point in the near future.

[cowdery]

The Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is a different approach to a limited edition, vintage bottling. Unlike Heaven Hill, which started vintage bourbons with the Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage series, Brown-Forman Master Distiller Chris Morris is not going for consistency. Instead, he's looking for something unusual and interesting with each release. The Birthday Bourbon barrel selections are made with the enthusiast in mind. You may not always like what he comes up with, but you'll usually say, "humm, that's interesting. I've never tasted anything quite like that before."

[bobbyc]

Instead, he's looking for something unusual and interesting with each release.

I look forward to them each year and had my first taste of 2002 OFBB on the porch at L&G with fellow SB.com members that I had met for the first time.

I am diligently trying to stay current with each years bottling of this, Stagg and EWSB. Other bottlings such as the rest of the Antique Collection and the Experimentals I'm staying out of.So someone else here gets my share of those, enjoy.

[Sijan]

Who else has tried the 2007 OFBB?

Here are my tasting notes from last night:

Had a great nose - very sweet, molasses/brown sugar notes. But was a little disappointing on the palate - a bit more acidic and astringent than the nose promised, also lighter than expected and a bit woody. But then the finish was very nice, with nice minty notes. I think I like the 2005 and 2006 releases better, but might prefer the 2007 to the 2004. Of course, this is all from vague memories - would really have to do a head-to-head to know for sure.

[jburlowski]

Who else has tried the 2007 OFBB?

Here are my tasting notes from last night:

Had a great nose - very sweet, molasses/brown sugar notes. But was a little disappointing on the palate - a bit more acidic and astringent than the nose promised, also lighter than expected and a bit woody. But then the finish was very nice, with nice minty notes. I think I like the 2005 and 2006 releases better, but might prefer the 2007 to the 2004. Of course, this is all from vague memories - would really have to do a head-to-head to know for sure.

For the most part, I concur. the finish is probably the best feature. Not, IMHO, as good as last year's. But, as always, interesting.

[mgilbertva]

I started a brief thread on OFBB '07 - I should have just posted it here, but overlooked it somehow.

I like it quite a bit, although I fully understand Sijan's complaint:

I tend to agree with your tasting notes although I found the disconnect between the nose and the palate to be somewhat off-putting. The nose promised a sweet, heavy bourbon but, as you note, it was light and dry.

The nose does promise a sweet, full, intense experience, but the delivery is something else: dry and light. I found that to be more of a positive surprise than a disappointment.

On a slightly different note, I found the '07 to be a very nice compliment to George Dickel Barrel Select. I started with the OF and then switched to GD. I've noticed some bourbons tend to follow another bourbon well, or not-so-well at times. These two make a good pairing.

[doubleblank]

John Hansell with The Malt Advocate awarded the 2007 Birthday Bourbon the American Whiskey of the Year award.

Randy

[BourbonJoe]

I actually cannot argue with that. It is very unique.

Joe :usflag:

[Sijan]

John Hansell with The Malt Advocate awarded the 2007 Birthday Bourbon the American Whiskey of the Year award.

Randy

Last year this same award went to Woodford Reserve Four Grain...

http://www.maltadvocate.com/awards.asp

[LarryG]

I've a basic question that may cause some of you to snicker, but hey, that's how you learn.

Being a newbie, I've been researching my purchases here on SB.com carefully before going shopping. On my last trip to the ABC store, after I'd grabbed what I went after (EC12, and my near-staple WT101), I spotted two bottles of OFBB semi-hiding between some more ordinary brands. This was a surprise since OFBB is not on the ABC price list anywhere that I can find. I made a mental note to read up on OFBB and possibly go back and buy a bottle before they disappear.

Looking at the OF web site, I see that the Birthday Bourbon labels and seals are different colors for 2006 and 2007. Beyond these obvious clues, how do you tell when a given bourbon was distilled and bottled? Are the dates plainly stated somewhere on the bottle, or are there production codes that must be deciphered?

Thanks,

Larry

[luv2hunt]

Dates are plainly stated on the Neck/Top of the bottle. Plus, each one is a different color.

[Sijan]

What Dawn said.

Larry, you owe it to yourself to pick up a bottle of OFBB. I'd recommend the 2005 and 2006 bottlings in particular. There were two different bottling in 2003; I like the Fall 1990, haven't tried the Spring 1990 yet. The 2002 is also very highly regarded and won the poll on this a few years back (before the 2005, 2006, 2007 OFBBs were released).

2004 and 2007 are not bad, but are not as good as the others IMO.

Maybe time for a new poll on this?