I’m taking a quick break from my High West series to very cheesily review Old Forester Birthday Bourbon for my birthday! This is another bottle I failed to hunt in 2018 but was thankfully able to enjoy at bars including a couple pours tonight.
Review
Age: 12 years
Abv: 101 proof
Color: Deep dark brown
Price: $20 for a 1.5 oz pour
Neat
Nose: Robust holiday spices and strong, sweet brown sugar. Very nice.
Taste: Even more brown sugar than the nose but the distinct holiday spice notes fade into more generic warm baking spice notes; on the plus side some pleasant oak notes are there as well.
Finish: Surprisingly short though the sweet and spice were well balanced with hints of oak and a little more heat than I like
Conclusion
I’ve had a few pours of this from a couple different bottles and each time I nose it I get really excited and then by the time I get to the finish I am a little let down. That said it is still an excellent bourbon especially if you like things a little hotter. Not worth hunting in my opinion but I would happily buy a bottle at retail.
2 Stars - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle