The nose is grain and barrel forward; the former light, citrusy, spicy and a little candied; the latter toasty and lightly charred with some smoldering campfire. It’s really pleasant to sniff and suss out new aromas.
Doubtless, some will like these gentle sippers, but they’re too gentle for my preference. They lack the backbone a barrel can provide and the magical flavors great oxidization deliver to dazzle.
Old Forester’s longstanding mashbill is 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malted barley. But the mashbill chosen for 1924 is 79% corn, 11% rye and 10% malted barley. It also was fermented with a unique yeast strain.
What’s most intriguing about this bourbon is its lack of sweetness. A glance at the mash bill shows it’s limited to 51% corn, which explains a lot of it since it’s roughly 25% lower than most bourbons on the market. I can’t decide whether I like that reduced sweetness, but it’s got my attention.
This is a nice tequila for the price and arguably the best liquid from Impulsora Rombo.
I’ve never been a fan of the children’s vitamin note common to whiskeys made there, and I assumed this would bring more of the same. It didn’t. This is a delicious whiskey with unique virtues appreciated in its aromas and flavors.
Perhaps the big question for most is whether the whiskey is noticeably influenced by its journey to and rest in England. For me, at least, the answer is no. It tastes like a 6-year-old bourbon should–like any bourbon aged here for six years would taste.
The nose leads with sorghum molasses, raspberry tart, dark fired tobacco, glove leather, creamed corn, soda bread, macadamia nuts, chocolate graham cracker. Yeah, all that and more.
A single sip shows off its super-soft mouthfeel, and as always, this whiskey is precision balanced with no single flavor rushing to the fore. Soon enough, though, toasted oak emerges arm and arm with candied cherry, sugar maple candy and graham cracker.
