Wednesday, August 10, 2011

REVIEW: Old Forester Bottles in Bonded

Hello Folks,

Here is my second review of a straight bourbon.  This one is real unique as it is a Bottles in Bonded (BiB) straight bourbon which means that all BiB rick houses only have one floor so that it can suck up the natural surroundings such as grass/weeds, sand/dirt, etc.  BiB's are some of the best straight bourbons ever produced and are highly coveted by myself and other bourbon experts.  It is aged between 4-6 years and can be 100 proof or higher, not to exceed 170 proof.

So here goes:

I pored this one in a sifter glass and it turned out to be a very smart thing to do because once I put my nose over the entry of the glass I took a big sniff and could actually taste the bourbon through my nose - this is known within the bourbon industry and among straight bourbon conniseaurs as ND or Nose Distillation due to the science behind what happens when such a thing occurs.  Please see below for explanation.*  This is something that is very rare to happen and when it does it usually means the bourbon is going to be spectacular. 

Anyway, back to my tasting notes.  The nose is incredible.  I sense tapioca, grass seed, anise, lemons, poh boy sandwich (weird, I know) and juniper. 

As I put this luscious liquid to my lips, I felt a tinge of bourbon on my upper lip and once I got this bourbon juice on my tongue, I could taste apricots, cookie dough, lemon zest, tangerine and turnips (the earthy flavor), hay and new england weed grass.

This bourbon is AMAZING and know wonder it gets such rave reviews and is unbeliebably loved by us (my bourbon conniseaur breatherans).

Rating Scale
50+ putrid
40-50 below average
30-40 average
20-30 good
10-20 very good
0-10 excellent

My Score:
3

*ND or Nose Distillation is very scientific and I could speak on it in great length but I would probably confuse the vast majority of leymen out there so I will abbreviate instead of digressing.  Simply put, when you breathe in (via the nostruls and not the mouth) a special science happens where the bourbon vapors turn into liquid and reach the pallet via the nose chamber.

3 comments:

  1. Brilliant! Oh, and the 100-to-0 scoring inversion is pure genius.

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  2. Excuse me... 50-to-0. LOL!

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  3. My late uncle left me a bottle of Old Forester, bottled in bond, 100 proof bourbon still sealed in an American guest decanter and original box. Oddly there is bourbon inside the glass and cork stopper above the cork. Is this bourbon likely to to still have likely maintained it's original flavor and quality today? It was acquired around 1946.

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