Old Forester Bonded
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Dusty; DSP-KY-414 circa 1980s
50% ABV
Market $ varies
Note the image above is not from the same bottle sampled, but has the same ‘dimples’ on the side.
What Gary Says
Nose: Spicy oak, caramel, butterscotch, tapioca, bit of dark fruits, raisins, chocolate, a hint of fennel.
Palate: Rich mouthfeel, sweet caramel, vanilla, nutty milk chocolate, touch of pepper; bit of water brings out the butterscotch and toffee.
Finish: Moderate in length, wet with caramel and pepper spice.
Comments: First, this is really dark in the glass. While ‘Bonded’ means it is at least 4 years old (along with a bunch of other requirements), coming from the 1980s this has older bourbon in the batch. I love these dusty Old Foresters – just delicious. Keep in mind this wasn’t a ‘super-premium’ pour back in the day, but also not a bottom shelfer by any stretch. I’ve seen bottles like this go for hundreds of dollars at auction, and while I really like it – I’d never pay that kinda money for it. If you have the chance to drink someone else’s though – I’d absolutely try it. In fact, when it comes to dusty whisk(e)y, I’d rarely turn down a chance to taste some history!
Hmmm.
‘Older bourbon in the batch’? Wouldn’t ALL be older (or not) if this is a BIB?
“One distiller, ONE SEASON, etc., etc.
??? …Or am I not understanding that correctly?
Nope – you’re spot on. To be “Bottled in Bond” it has to meet those additional requirements. So it wouldn’t be a batch of say 7 yr old barrels with some 4 yr olds. Poorly worded on my part, but the gist is that while typically a Bottled in Bond without an age statement implies 4 years old – my guess is that during this period they were bottling older than that, as they had older stocks that weren’t moving. Although it is only that (a guess). Could just be damn tasty 4 yr old bourbon!