Review #179 - Old Forester 1910 — Me, My Wife & Whisky

Named for the famous fire on Old Forester's bottling line, which took place in 1910, this bourbon is one of the core components of Old Forester's range. The selling point for the 1910 Old Fine Whisky is the double-oaking process - after spending time aging in new charred oak barrels, the whisky is then re-casked into another new charred oak barrel, imparting a much stronger wood flavor in the spirit.

This was done out of necessity during the aforementioned fire, when bourbon had already been dumped for bottling, but needed to be stored while the fire was put out and repairs were made to Old Forester's facilities. Interestingly, before entering the second barrel, this bourbon is proofed down to 50% ABV (100 proof) - the distillery expects this to pull out more subtle, sweet flavors.

Like most of Old Forester's whiskies, there's no age statement to be seen, but we do get this at a strength of 46.5% ABV (93 proof), which at least elevates it above some of the typical 40% to 45% ABV entry-level bourbons. Price isn't quite entry level at $50 to $60 around us, but that's the ballpark for a lot of double-oaked bourbons now.

Old Forester 1910

USA - Bourbon

Price Paid: USD 55 (2022)

Current Locally Available Price: USD 52 (2023)

Age Statement: NAS

Strength: 46.5% ABV

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 5 times over 9 months; bottles at 100%, 80% (blind tasting), 70% (blind tasting), 60% (blind tasting), and 50% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Rich and quite sweet - lots of baked dessert notes. Banana bread, salted caramel, fruitcake, and Luxardo cherries; maple syrup on pancakes, clove, and coffee cake. There's a decent amount of oak, and later, the dark cherries turn slightly medicinal.

Palate: Lots of dark, sweet flavors again - molasses and slightly spicy oak to start. The mouthfeel has a medium thickness at most, but there are some syrupy brown sugar notes to compensate, and some hints of ripe fruit. A little more spicy than the nose, too: clove, tannins, and a sharp burnt sugar all come to mind.

Finish: Medium length, oaky, and lots of dark spice notes. Hints of spicy rye grain, caramel, rum cake, and cinnamon are strong; subtle notes of white pepper and nutmeg linger in the aftertaste.

Final Note: Fantastic nose, but the palate can't quite live up to it - this needs just a bit more in the way of bottling strength. Still, this was nice to sip on, and it changed a bit in every tasting, offering different sweet flavors. It also gradually improved with time in an open bottle - the final rating was our highest. Value is good - when this bottle runs out, we wouldn't hesitate to pick another up for the $52 asking price near us.

Our Average Rating: 6.8 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 7.24