Bourbon HTX

Beautiful pour by Old Elk courtesy of The Whiskey - Ft. Collins.

Saturday Vieux Carre

1oz 14yr Cognac
1oz Rare Breed Rye
1/4oz Benedictine
3/4oz Sweet Vermouth
Dash Peychauds and Angostura

Cheers Y’all!

Old Forester (Spec’s HTX 131 proof) = JDSBBP in Disguise

OVERALL: This is certainly an “off profile” OFSBBS, which is interesting in its own right but may disappoint those expecting what you might usually find in an OldFo pick. A couple drops of water helped the cardamom, sandalwood and clove notes emerge, which are flavors I love in a bourbon.

BACKGROUND: Each year Spec’s, one of Texas’s largest liquor stores, does a massive bourbon drop. Folks get in line days in advance to secure the highly allocated limited release and barrel pick bottles. This Old Forester was one of Spec’s “Bourbon Day” releases.

DETAILS: Warehouse I, Rick 2, 131.6 proof

NOSE: Strong backbone of wood and rye accentuated by pepper and allspice. Occasional notes of Jiffy cornbread and deep deep toffee.

PALATE: This is as proofy as you would expect with the Brown-Forman wood note front and center (and middle…and back). Absent is the bananas foster note commonly found in Old Forester but it still had that Brown-Forman funk which makes this a dead ringer for a Jack Daniels Single Barrel. At first crack this bottle was a little confused and the flavors seemed to disappear on the palate but this improved as the bottle opened. Eventually, a very subtle exotic spice note emerged (cardamom and clove). As you approach the finish hints of citrus and burnt sugar / heavy char crème brûlée appear.

FINISH: At first the finish was a bit disappointing, but it improved (mildly) over time settling into what I would call medium. It’s not so much that the juice was thin on the palate as much as the proof seemed to overwhelm any other flavor and lingered in a sometimes chalky-like sensation in the back of the throat. Proofing it down with a few drops of water seemed to add some length and brought forward some clove and sandalwood.