Company: Buffalo Trace
Vol: 64.8%
Age: NAS
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Breakdown: Buffalo Trace mash bill #2 (10–15% rye)
Price: c. £85

History

Before Blanton’s there wasn’t a single barrel bourbon on the market. Just let that sink in for a second. Then let it sink in for a few more seconds because it’s big. Huge. Sure single barrels existed, if you happened to own a distillery, know Booker Noe and could pop along and get one, or just had enough money to buy a whole barrel yourself. However, for the general consumer, before 1984 you could not just pop out and buy an off the shelf single barrel.

Lee (Elmer T. Lee to give him his full name) is the man we have to thank for this. In fact, we have a lot more than just this one bourbon to thank him for. Why? Well listen closely…

At some point in the 70’s the world suffered a huge bump to the head and went mad. Stark raving mad.

No one was buying bourbon. Hard to believe in these times, but it had become an ‘old mans drink’ and the new trendy hip kids of the 70’s were no longer interested in their Grandads brown liquor. They were all about the ‘clear’ spirits like Vodka and Gin. Bourbon was fading fast and in trouble.

Then along comes Mr Lee. Well we say he came along, the truth is he had been working in the industry for Buffalo Trace since 1949 (so long ago in fact, it was still called George T. Stagg back then). It was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man.

One barrel. Such a simple idea, so simple that no one else thought of it. Instead of trying to compete with the clear liquid market and the trendy vodkas (light whiskey anyone?) Lee did the exact opposite. He doubled down on what makes bourbon so good in the first place - its flavour. He didn’t want to compete with vodka and hope people started mixing with bourbon instead. No, he wanted people to experience the taste and complexity of the bourbon, and for it to knock their socks off on it’s own.

Now fast forward 30 plus years, and you can’t swing a cat in a liquor store without hitting a single barrel (or getting paint thrown on you by PETA for cat abuse). The industry changed and started believing in the product again on its own merits. The rest, as they say, is history and we now have the vast and varied bourbon choices available to us today.

So next time you have a glass of your favourite bourbon, spare a thought for Elmer T. Lee, and pour an extra one in his honour.

The Review:

For this review we drank it neat in a Glencairn glass as usual.

Nose

What we got – Full of oak and barrel char, dark fruits, raisins, and a real fireside toasty warmth.. It is like Bonfire night in a glass. Could possibly be the finest Blanton’s nose of them all (Mav). Again Mr Pie finds it all a bit too much due too the high alcohol percentage

What they say we should get - Caramel popcorn, almost like a toasted nuts aroma. Cloves and sharp rye spices

Palate

What we got – Starts off delicately before it bursts into flavour. Very warm with mountains of oak, toffee and chewy caramel. Full of rich spice notes particularly black pepper. High viscosity and treacle like liquid perfection

What they say we should get - Viscous and oily. Baked apples, cherry syrup, pie crust, and a faint citrus lead to a powerful rye back highlighted by clove, tobacco and a smokey char

Finish

What we got – Loooooong, the liquid is all over the tongue and back of your throat and it simply doesn’t want to disappear. This is a damn good finish with those spicy notes lasting long into the night .

What they say we should get -  Long, nice dry finish

Summary

Bloody hell this is good. It’s like a party in your mouth and only really awesome people are invited.

Let’s stop this Blanton’s thing now. It worked earlier but it’s a lot of effort.

So what else can we say about it? Well how about the fact that until now Mav had been a disbeliever in how good Blanton’s actually was? Mr Pie had long been waving the flag for them and signing their praises, but Mav wasn’t convinced. This was the one that made a believer out of him though.

Blanton’s make a lot of single barrels, this one is the first (for Mav at least) that got that unique balance right between sweet and spice, between the corn and the rye. This is the one. From the first sniff to the first sip and then that super long finish it just oozes class. It’s complex, it’s beautiful, it’s rich, and it sticks around for so long that you can take your time in between each sip and just savour it.

If this doesn’t make you want to go out and find a bottle (although we know it’s not easy due to being an international markets only offering) then we don’t know what will. Maybe if we offer to refund you if you don’t like it*

Score

8 out of 10 - Mav

8 out of 10 – Mr. Pie

*We won’t actually do this.

Review Posted - April 2019

Company: Brown Forman
Vol: Old Forester 43% / Old Forester 1870 45%
Age: NAS
Classification: Kentucky, straight, bourbon whiskey
Breakdown: 72% corn, 18% rye, 10% malted barley
Price: Old Forester £30 / Old Forester 1870 £50

Showdown

So, why have we decided to change our usual format and review side by side two bourbons from the same distillery? Pure luck and a dose of stupidity are the honest answers folks.

A number of our bourbon tastings and subsequent review tasting notes have been gathered over the telephone or facetime calls. This has in the past proved to be a successful way of quickly reviewing bourbons in our busy lives, and then taking it in turns writing up each review. For the first time though, after deliberating and eloquently discussing the intricacies of our precise and accurate tasting notes (otherwise known as inane ramblings of madmen), we stumbled across the fact that we were in fact reviewing different bourbons!

Mr Pie was nostrils deep into the regular Old Forester 86 proof bourbon, and Mav was lovingly lip smacking the Old Forester 1870 Original Batch. Now we could have of course swept this under the carpet and started again, but as our tasting notes were so very similar we thought it was an interesting thing to look at and see if there is actually much difference between these two bourbons. Thus you are now reading our first (and most likely last) showdown review, as we have decided to call it for marketing reasons, so we hope you enjoy it...

History

We’ve touched previously on the history of the Old Forester brand with our Old Forester Statesman review - which you can read here. All the giants of bourbon make their claims on record breaking, history making, facts and figures and Old Forester is no exception. Many claims are dubious eye brow raising, chin scratching, truth stretching yarns, but these facts have officially passed the Bourbon Gents meticulous investigative process, and received the highly sought after BG stamp of approval (Google may or may not have been used in this research). From the longest running bourbon brand on the market today, to being the first ever bourbon to be sold in sealed glass bottles, and remarkably it is also the only bourbon continually distilled and marketed by the founding family before, during and after Prohibition. These are pretty awesome achievements for the brand and a legacy to be proud of.

The whiskey brand, initially known as Old Forrester (later changed to Forester), was also very much ahead of its time by choosing to purchase whiskeys from other distillery’s to use for blending, and to achieve consistency in their whiskey output. You will also note from the photographs that this is one of the few types of bourbon out there where the whisky is spelt without the ‘e’.

The regular Old Forester is now a commonplace whisky which can found in many UK supermarkets and is never really missing from the Gents cabinets. It is promoted as a genuine bourbon experience, with rich, full flavour and a smooth character that is ideal for sipping neat, on the rocks, with a splash of water, or in a classic cocktail.

This regular bourbon contrasts significantly when compared with the 1870 Original Batch which is not particularly easy to get your hands on in the land of knights and dragons. The origins of the 1870 are a nod towards George Garvin Brown’s original batching process of that year. Barrels are selected from 3 different warehouses each barrel from a different day of production, with a different entry proof and a different age profile. The 1870 Original Batch is the first expression of the Old Forester Whiskey Row Series.

The Review:

For these reviews we drank them neat in a Glencairn glass.

Regular Old Forester

Nose

What we got – Delicate notes of oak from the offset alongside heaps of fruit with apple being the predominate one. There is a little cinnamon at the back end. Its high rye content is disguised with sweet floral notes.

What they say we should get – Top notes of orange blossom and cedar. Soon develops the classic rye bread warmth and a lingering waft of buttered pancakes

Old Forester 1870

Nose

What we got – A minty and menthol nose which we can identify with high rye bourbons. Fruity, floral perfume. For Mav the perfume could be a little too pronounced and is very close to the edge of liking the nose or not

What they say we should get - Clove notes spice up a medley of citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, blood orange), all softened with a delicate, sweet, floral honeysuckle character

Regular Old Forester

Palate

What we got – A little firecracker of oak on the first taste with again lots of fruit. Super sweet caramel sugars. Not at all what we would be expecting from a mash containing 18% rye.

What they say we should get - Starts quite sweet with caramel and maple syrup, though swiftly develops intense oak-y elements and hints of pine resin. Sweetness returns slightly on the mid-palate

Old Forester 1870

Palate

What we got – Tastes exactly how it noses. Tons of fruit and really enjoyable oaky notes alongside smaller bursts of cinnamon spice

What they say we should get – Baking spices (clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg) flow into a citrus-fruit mix and shortbread sweetness

Regular Old Forester

Finish

What we got – So it’s a 1, 2, 3 for the oak, from the nose to the palate and through to the finish. Disappointingly short, thin and weak finish though which is a shame

What they say we should get - Juicy orange and spicy oak continue on the finish

Old Forester 1870

What we got – Citrus soft fruits with linger long whilst waiting for the next sip

What they say we should get – Soft, with lingering fruit and spice character

Summary

So now for our first side by side review summary. How do these Old Forester bourbons compare? Is the 1870 Original Batch worth the extra mula?

First of all, we guess it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that this whiskey (err, sorry whisky), is the same stuff. Batching and blending bourbon whisky’s from different warehouses is not unique, but whether the whisky barrels used for the 1870 are older than the regular is open to debate. The story of the 1870 whisky and how it is blended shows an appreciative and respectful endearment towards the company forefathers and has opened up perfectly an avenue of recreating whiskies from different eras.

Taste wise they are, as you can imagine, very similar but there are certainly subtle differences with the citrus fruits and a slightly more refined finish in the 1870 Original Batch. If you are a bourbon fan that uses mixes and enjoys cocktails then the regular offering is the perfect choice. In our opinion though, £30 is a little on the steep side and it would sit better in the £20 - £25 range.

For those of you who prefer your bourbon neat or with an ice cube or two, then the 1870 Original Batch is without doubt a better choice. The extra 4% proof just gives it that extra kick and the proof range of 90 – 100 definitely hits the spot for the Gents.

Score

Regular Old Forester

6 out of 10 – Mav

6 out of 10 – Mr. Pie

Old Forester 1870

7 out of 10 – Mav

7 out of 10 – Mr. Pie

Review Posted - April 2019

Company: Maker’s Mark
Vol: 47%
Age: NAS
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky (without the ‘e’, as the Maker’s Mark creator used the spelling in honour of his Scottish ancestry)
Breakdown: 70% corn, 16% wheat, 14% malted barley
Price: c. £40

History

The Maker’s Mark distillery sits on Hardin Creek, near Loretto, Kentucky, USA. The location has a long history of distilling and was the original site for the Burks’ distillery which was built in 1889. The site is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places and the US National Historic Landmark (the first to be recognised where distilling is still taking place). Modern history dates from 1953 when Taylor William Samuels Sr bought the distillery, the first bottle of Maker’s Mark was bottled in 1958 and featured the trademarked and now iconic dipped red wax seal.

Maker’s 46 was released in 2010 and was the first new expression from Maker’s Mark since the 1950’s. It is essentially the same as Maker’s Mark in terms of mash bill, but it is finished in barrels containing seared French oak staves which are then returned back to the coolest part of the warehouse for only around 10 weeks and the process occurs over the winter months. The intention of this extra step is to create a more complex whiskey with greater character and enhanced notes of caramel and vanilla. The term 46 comes not from the ABV strength achieved (as the naive Mav thought), but from the profile number of the many different experiments undertaken to achieve the perfect result.

The Review

For this review we drank it neat in a shot glass (don’t ask!)

Nose

What we got - Sweet, lemon (Mr Pie), nuts (Mav), very soft and delicate on the nose, Caramac (Old English chocolate bar)

What they say we should get - Hints of wood staves, caramel and sweetness

Palate

What we got - Smooth at first, glides over the tongue, then gives way to a large hit of pepper & spice (The Gents are now coining this phrase as - Speppery©) and wood. Very pleasant, dark chocolate (Mav)

What they say we should get – Very intense flavours: a big crescendo of wood blending perfectly with deep, complex and rich notes of vanilla and caramel

Finish

What we got – Long and Speppery©

What they say we should get – Smooth and subtle

Summary

Not sure if this can be classified as a finished bourbon or not? If it is, it’s the first one the Gents have reviewed. The concept is now becoming more widely used, as distilleries try to explore new avenues, test their own creative abilities, and ultimately test the market demand for different expressions. It took Maker’s Mark over 50 years to make the call and invest the time and money to try this. It is said that Bill Samuels Jnr (son of William) was not a great believer in line extensions. The term “If it ain’t broke, don't fix it?” comes to mind.

We know you didn’t ask, but the reason we reviewed this in shot glasses was because we were in a hotel in York, England (before the @adramaday charity auction event). We’re calling this out because even though the nose did provide us with interesting aromas we couldn’t find any hints of wood staves (tasting notes taken from Maker’s Mark, I guess they would say that). The intensity of pepper and spice is something we have only previously associated with the high rye bourbons, but this is only the 3rd wheated bourbon we’ve tried so far (others being regular Maker’s Mark and Larceny).

Overall this is a bigger, bolder, smoother and sweeter whisky than the original. Is it worth the extra £15? Well we guess that is your call, but for us it most definitely is. Make it a pay day treat, you know you’re worth it!
 

Score

7 out of 10 - Mav

7 out of 10 – Mr. Pie