I carefully measured out the whisky and appropriate water amount, thinking I might be able to do this as a blind side-by-side-by-side. It was clear that I’d have to actually be blind to not tell the difference, as visually the differences were stark. The above image doesn’t quite do it justice, but is close. What you’re seeing above from left to right is The Macallan Cask Strength (60.1% originally), The Macallan 12 yr (40%), and The Macallan Classic Cut 2018 (51.2% originally). After bringing the outside ones down to 40%, it was clear that the Cask Strength likely has older whisky than 12 yrs, while the Classic Cut likely has younger whisky. Age and color aren’t linear, and there are some light colored whiskies that are amazing – so let’s not dwell on the color. The picture doesn’t show how much the Classic Cut clouded up (much more so than the Cask Strength).
The Macallan 12yr Sherry Oak
40% ABV (same as bottled strength) Color: Amber, crisp & coppery. Nose: Dark fruit, plums, raisins, musky oak. Palate: Sherried fruit, slight pepper spice with some savory herbal notes in the back. Finish: Moderate in length, drying with dark fruit and trailing pepper spice. Comments: A perfectly fine single malt, and a great baseline of comparison for other Macallan expressions.
The Macallan Classic Cut 2018
40% ABV (brought down from bottled strength of 51.2% ABV) Color: Yellow, natural honey; quite cloudy. Nose: Fruity, with apricots and figs, little oak and orange candies. Palate: Less sweet, more herbal with toned down stewed dark fruit. Finish: Shorter, with trailing spice notes. Comments: At 40%, this is pretty disappointing. My guess is that this is much younger than 12 yrs old, or aged in different wood, or aged in much different areas of the rickhouse. That said, you can’t take Macallan 12 and ‘up the proof’ – or said another way, the whisky in this bottle wasn’t necessarily intended to shine at this proof.
The Macallan Classic Cask Strength
40% ABV (brought down from bottled strength of 60.1% ABV) Color: Still dark, brown brick with deep red tones, cloudy. Nose: Rich, dark fruits with tobacco and hints of leather (like Macallan 12 but turned up another notch or three). Palate: Sherried fruit, oak, pepper spice with smoke. Finish: Moderate to long with drying cigar paper and hints of raisins. Comments: While this had the most water added, it remained the darkest (although didn’t cloud up as much as the Classic Cut, which I found interesting). This was the one I enjoyed the most at this proof, although I won’t dilute what I have left of this lovely whisky to 40% (I enjoy it more at something closer to the bottle strength). It remains rich and complex, with depth and balance that sets it apart from the other two. I would conclude that this is a older than the 12 yr, and possibly matured differently (either different locations or different wood). Either way, it is freaking delicious.
From time to time, the TTB (or Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau within the Department of the Treasury) proposes rule changes, and they’ll post these on-line and allow a period of public comment. I’ll be the first to admit that searching out proposed changes to government regulation isn’t what I enjoy doing with my spare time. Thankfully the fine folks at WhiskeyCast did a great summary on a recent proposed change that did catch my attention – which is the proposed change to eliminate all but the minimum and maximum standards for containers sizes for distilled spirits.
When I first discovered Scotch and gained an appreciation for this concept of ‘independent bottlers’, I was immediately energized by the possibilities. These small companies (ok, some not so small) can purchase barrels of whisky, do what they want with it (including unique finishes, etc), and bottle it – sometimes mentioning the source distillery, sometimes having to imply the source. As a consumer, it opens up a huge world of different options. If your’e unfamiliar with this concept, let me give you an example:
Let’s say your favorite single malt is Laphroaig. You’ve tried most of their lineup and have enjoyed most of what you’ve tried. In the US, you’re limited to a handful of options (10 yr, 10 yr Cask Strength, 18 yr, Lore, Select, Quarter Cask, Cairdeas and a few others). Now picture this . . . someone asks if you’ve ever wanted to try Laphroaig with a sherry cask finish? Or maybe a port cask finish? Oh – and picture that it will be non-chill filtered, natural color, and at cask strength? All of these are possibilities thanks to independent bottlers, who can take a chance on a single cask with doing something unique/different. Don’t get me wrong – these are exceptions (there are plenty of independent bottlings that are along the lines of “Laphroaig 13 yr, 46%, NCF” – although you might get that for barely more than the 10yr (as the independent bottlers don’t have the same marketing overhead, etc).
My excitement over this ‘discovery’ (as in, discover for me; this is hardly new and has been a practice in the UK for generations) was almost as quickly squashed when I learned how few of those ever make it to the United States due to our regulations regarding “standards of fill”.
Today in the United States, distilled spirits can only be packaged in specific size containers (50 mL, 100 mL, 200 mL, 375 mL, 750mL, 1 liter, and 1.75 liters). I wasn’t aware of other container sizes until touring Jim Beam many years ago and seeing the ‘quality control’ stock area which included 4.5 liter bottles (the tour guide explained that some export markets allowed larger and different sized bottles). After trying some single malt Scotch that was independently bottled and sold overseas, I was disappointed that I may never have the opportunity to try some of these gems. Why? The similar standards for the European market (and really for most if not all of the rest of the world) are different – where the ‘standard’ bottle there is 700 ml vs our 750 ml.
Why don’t they just bottle in 750 ml? I mean – they can, and some certainly do. But it is a production burden to have one size for one market. If you’re moving products through the rest of the world, why go through the trouble of buying bottles and making new labels for one market like the United States? (the answer for some is that we’re a fairly large market, and have a lot more disposable income than others)
I did write my Congressman when I learned of this injustice, and got the prompt “Thank you for your letter, your concerns are really important to me . . . ” form response letter, and just wrote this off as one of those disappointing realities. While the lifting of such restrictions would potentially be great for me as a whisk(e)y geek, I get it that these were offering some ‘protection’ to domestic producers (although it isn’t like anyone in the US can make Scotch, or anyone in Scotch can make Bourbon . . . so I never fully bought that argument – at least when it came to whisk(e)y).
“So this is awesome news, right? No downside, right?”
Well . . . not exactly. There is absolutely a risk that domestic producers like Jim Beam, Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, etc will decide “Good – let’s scrap these 750 mL bottles and just do everything as 700 mL without changing the prices from the 750 mL!” Let’s face it – they’re selling their products overseas, and having to have different setups for the bottle sizes, so this creates an opportunity for efficiency – and I ABSOLUTELY expect that they’ll change to 700 mL. What I don’t know is whether they will give American consumers the benefit of being good at math (in their defense, there’s a lot of evidence that we’re not so great at math collectively, or rather that we don’t apply it when purchasing whisk(e)y) and reduce their prices by the 9% of whisk(e)y they’d be shorting us if they bottle at 700 mL but still sell at the 750 mL price.
Let me be clear – this is NOT just up to the producers. There are distributors and resellers (because of some OTHER goofy regulations requiring this three-tiered system we have – another soapbox for another day) in the mix. A reseller may decide to just pocket any cost savings and not reprice a damn thing. Prices have been going up pretty much across the board when it comes to bourbon and rye; some more than others.
My thoughts? I’d prefer to have the opportunity to buy a wider variety of spirits that this change would enable. If local producers take advantage, maybe I’ll buy more Scotch and bourbon. At the end of the day, competition will address that – or it won’t. But as a lover of variety, I’m in favor of the change.
I’ve toured all of the major distilleries in Kentucky that offer public tours (many of which aren’t right by a major city), so was excited when Brown-Forman opened the Old Forester Distillery in downtown Louisville in June 2018. No, this isn’t where all of the Old Forester on the shelves is being made, but it is much more than a micro-still.
They offer many different tours, although I have to admit I was disappointed when reviewing them on their website. I would have loved to have done their ‘Taste Through History’ tour – except when looking at availability – there were only four days (yes, FOUR) in the remainder of 2019 when it was being offered – and we weren’t going to be in Louisville on those days. (NOTE: a month after our visit, I had the opportunity to attend a ‘Taste Through History‘ event in Atlanta with Master Taster Jackie Zykan – and that was all it was cracked up to be! While she couldn’t facilitate these on a regular basis at the distillery, I hope they consider having alternatives offer this more frequently there!)
They also offered a ‘119 Tour’ . . . or at least talk about it on their website (there are no upcoming dates as of this writing, and were none a month earlier when I was booking my tour). All of that disappointment aside, we made reservations (which they strongly encourage) for the basic ‘Old Forester Distillery Tour’. These tours are offered every 15 minutes during the available hours (last tour begins an hour before they close). The price is $16 per person on Tues-Sat, and $12 per on Sunday and Monday ($4 off for minors, active duty military, and vets; $2 off for seniors).
I booked for a 4:15pm tour on a Friday in late April for my father and I. This was to be our last stop after doing three tours earlier (some actual distillery tours, some ‘experience’ tours; will share details later). We’d been on our feet since 9:30am, aside from some drive time and sitting. All that said, we were excited as we’re both fans of Old Forester’s products. We arrived a bit early, and they were able to squeeze us into the 4pm tour with no trouble, which we appreciated.
You start out with the tour guide providing some history of the building, and of bourbon in America in general (reminding us of the horrors of prohibition, etc) before starting a short but informative video. After this, you’re ushered into the next room where they explain the basics of bourbon (51% corn, new charred oak containers, etc) and tout the limestone filtered water of Kentucky. They explain the grains used (their mashbill is 72% corn, 18% rye, 10% barley) and how the process extracts sugars from the grain to be fermented into alcohol.
Next you walk up to their four fermenters, each with mash at different ages allowing the guests to smell how a 3 day old mash fermenting smells more like a sour dough bread compared to a newly started mash, which is a more sweet cereal aroma. They explain the process, how coils help maintain the temperature to keep the yeast happy, how the activity you see is really the carbon dioxide being produced, and so forth.
Following this you’re taken to a glass elevator and ride up directly behind their 44-foot copper column still as they begin to explain the process of distillation. You exit the elevator and walk around to where if the still was running you’d see the spirit coming off, and where quality control can check the proof (which their target proof for the heart of the run is 140 proof). During our tour the still wasn’t running, but I’ve seen new make before, so this wasn’t a big deal for me. The still has a capacity far beyond what they’re running through it (currently they’re filling up to 14 barrels a day when running). They explain the cuts (heads, tails, etc) and why that’s all necessary, and then turn to the on-site cooperage.
This is where the Old Forester distillery tour is significantly different from the other urban distilleries (and frankly, even most major distilleries). If you tour Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, Four Roses, Maker’s Mark, or Barton – you won’t see barrels being produced as they purchase barrels from a cooperage (which if you ever have an opportunity to tour Independent Stave’s Kentucky Cooperage in Lebanon, KY – I’d recommend it!) Note that this is not a critque of those fine distilleries; just a fact. Historically it wasn’t such a great idea to have an industrial process that involves firing wood next to an industrial process producing highly flammable spirits (or aging those same spirits!) But if you’ve never seen how a barrel is made, the Old Forester Distillery Tour gives you that opportunity.
(This is only a portion, not showing barrel assembly or toasting)
Their limited capacity allows them to construct 14 barrels a day, so you won’t see every stage ‘in action’. But they leave a barrel at each stage so you’re not looking at an empty station, and the tour guide can step you through what is being done from assembly, to toasting, to firing, and so forth. Their web-site states that “One member of each tour group will activate the charring process by ‘igniting’ the inside of a new, white oak barrel.”, and I don’t doubt this claim – although it does raise a question as to whether they re-char the same barrel, or are bringing in extra barrels to be charred (as there are more than 14 tours a day). Regardless, it is pretty freaking cool to see, and smell.
After the cooperage portion, you’re escorted through a visualization of how much color the spirit takes on in the wood over time, which is a nice segue as you enter their ‘urban rickhouse’. While you do get some of the aroma, it isn’t the same as walking into a traditional rickhouse. This is climate controlled, and only holds 800-900 barrels. They’re producing more than that on-site, so some of the filled barrels are taken to other rickhouses (or rackhouses if you prefer), while some are kept here. This allows them to experiment with how climate control impacts the same distillate over a period of time, besides providing a nice tour experience. They explain a bit about how factors involved in maturation (higher temps in the higher ricks and such), and step you through the dumping and filtration process.
Next you see the bottling line, which again may or may not be running during your tour but shows that final step in the process before the tasting. The standard tour includes fairly standard pours to taste. Ours included Old Forester 86 proof, Old Forester Statesman, and Old Forester Signature 100 proof (whose label no longer calls out “Signature”, but bygones). I’d had all three before, but the tasting was well organized with all three presented in Glencairn nosing glasses with a glass of water and some pretzels for each taster, along with a small water dropper. Our tour guide (Sarah, who by the way did an excellent job; one of the better distillery tours I’d been on) walked everyone through how to nose whiskey (keeping your mouth slightly opened), and how just 3 drops of water can open up a whiskey.
After the tasting, you’re taken through the gift shop (of course!) although this gives you an up close and personal look at their column still. On a lovely day like we had, the blue sky really makes for a lovely view.
All things considered, I’d highly recommend their tour. There are several tours or ‘experiences’ in Louisville (and I’ll work on providing write-ups on those in the future), but I found this to be the most comprehensive by far. If someone who isn’t a whisk(e)y geek and only wanted to visit ONE of these during a trip to the city, hands down this would be the one I’d go with.
Old Forester – Taste Through History with Master Taster Jackie Zykan
Thursday, May 30th 2019 – $15 per person Tower Tasting Room 5877 Buford Highway, Suite A Doraville, GA 30340 We would like to thank Brown-Forman and Weber Shandwick for the complimentary invitation to the event!
Event Description Please join us for a tasting of Old Forester and a chance to meet Master Taster Jackie Zykan. We will be sampling: 1910 Old Fine Whiskey 1870 Original Batch 1897 Bottled in Bond 1920 Prohibition Style
Event Review
The Tower Tasting Room sits off the side of Tower Beer, Wine & Spirits in Doraville, GA, with an independent entrance from the retail store. They host various events such as this, and if you’re local to Atlanta, I’d recommend checking in from time to time. I’ve attended a couple of tasting events here and at their other location, and they have a really nice setup.
Each participant was welcomed with bottled water, 7 samples placed over an image of the originating bottle, and some brief tasting notes – seen below. I’d estimate that the samples were 1/3 to 1/2 ounce each, and all were covered with paper prior to the event kicking off. We also received an Old Forester pen, a small Moleskine, and cards for each of the products on the placemat (along with one for Old Forester The Statesmen). Appreciated the cards since those were easier to take with than the placemat. Also thankful for the Moleskine, as while I had thought to bring my own pen – I forgot a notebook! A representative from Old Forester/Brown-Forman did a nice introduction to Jackie Zykan, the Master Taster at Old Forester – including ‘What does a Master Taster do?’ which is a question I had coming into the event. I’ve met many Master Distillers over the years, including Chris Morris (Master Distiller for Brown-Forman, which makes Old Forester along with Woodford Reserve, Early Times, and Jack Daniels), but wasn’t familiar with this role. Easiest explanation offered was ‘Chris Morris oversees what goes into the barrel, Jackie oversees what comes out’. She’s involved in barrel selection for their Whiskey Row series, leading their private barrel program, and also leads the Birthday Bourbon proofing tasting (where they taste what will be bottled as Birthday Bourbon at every proof starting at 86 on up to identify the best proof point for that batch). Jackie’s background includes an education in chemistry and biology, and she started bar-tending before working her way up to a beverage director role, and ultimately where she is now.
She introduced each product, explaining first the historical context and significance of the year, and what they were aiming to represent with each. We’ve done reviews on almost all (working on getting the last one later this month!) so will skip the tasting details but share some of the notes from the history lesson.
– Brown-Forman created Old Forester as a non-distilling producer, batching barrels from three different distilleries to create a consistent profile (they bought the Mattingly distillery in 1901-1902 and begin distilling for themselves). – This offering is the smallest batch of Old Forester produced (excluding ‘single barrel’ obviously), with only 21 barrels – 7 barrels selected from 3 different warehouses (all distilled by OF, but to get different flavor profiles). – The average age of barrels batched for this are 4 1/2 to 5 yrs.
– 1897 is when the U.S. Bottled-in-Bond Act was passed, which George Garvin Brown wasn’t a fan of. The intent was to ensure quality – which they had been doing for the last 27 years already. But now they couldn’t bottle the same product with this new ‘quality ensured label’ (to be labeled Bottled-in-Bond, the whiskey must all be produced from the same distillery during the same distilling season, etc). – This batch (and all other Whiskey Row series products, other than 1870 Original Batch) is comprised of 100 barrels or less.
– In 1910 there was a fire (not their offices, but a neighbor) which caused their bottling line to be shut down. Waiting to be bottled was a vat of mature whisky already brought down to 100 proof to be bottled. They couldn’t let it sit indefinitely, so they had to put it back into new, charred oak barrels until the bottling line was repaired. – As the flavor profile of this was different from the Old Forester which was bottled-in-bond, they didn’t label this whisky as Old Forester and instead labeled it as Very Fine Old Whisky to avoid confusion. – This is the only Old Forester expression that is double-barreled. – Standard Old Forester barrels are charred for 22 seconds; the second barrels used here are charred for 60 seconds! – Barrels are dumped at 4.5 to 5 yrs, and cut to 100 proof before going into the second barrel. – Bottled at 93 proof because frankly – it tasted best at that proof.
– During Prohibition, the only whisky made was for medicinal purposes, and was bottled at 100 proof. But with the 1897 Bottled in Bond, wanted to showcase to consumers how it would have tasted straight from the barrel. Back in 1920, their archives show that the proof coming out of the barrels was 115 (note that it was only 100 proof going INTO the barrels back then; today it is 125 proof). – Side note: I asked Jackie if they have experimented with going into the barrel at a lower proof and might offer such an expression in the future. Understandably she couldn’t talk about future products but did share that they experiment with a lot of different things – and she would love to see them have an offering that goes in at a lower proof, as this would create a sweeter bourbon based on chemistry and stuff (my interpretation; I couldn’t write fast enough to capture the actual chemistry explanation!) While likely delicious, it would be a more expensive bourbon as you’re getting fewer proof-gallons as a result (and the barrel is the most expensive component). Crossing my fingers that we’ll see some limited bottling of Old Forester in the future (maybe ‘100 Proof In & Out?’)
– While Old Forester never made a rye until their new product, they have bought other brands and recipes, and in 1940 owned the recipe for Normandy Rye (hence why it follows the 1920 on the timeline). The mashbill of 65% rye, 20% malted barley and 15% corn is unique, and Jackie explained that they tested 30 different recipes before settling on this one. A big factor was wanting to avoid the need for added enzymes, as rye can create a foamy mess while fermenting. The higher barley content allows them to avoid the added enzymes, and also adds some unique flavors.
– During the 1950s, there was an explosion of ‘blended whisky’, which can include straight bourbon blended with ‘grain neutral spirits’ to make a lighter spirit in both color and flavor. The 86 proof Old Forester was introduced to meet this market demand. Barrels for this are pulled on their 4th birthday – as young as they can bottle without including an age statement.
– Formerly called Old Forester Signature, this product was introduced during the early 1990s, thanks to the 1980s. Bourbon buffs are familiar with that period, where bourbon wasn’t selling as well and stocks were piling up. Because you can’t sell as ‘bottled-in-bond’ if you have barrels from different distilling seasons, these barrels that were older couldn’t be used in that product so they created Old Forester Signature – bottled at 100 proof but including barrels of various ages. – Jackie shared that when they are selecting barrels for Birthday Bourbon each year (which are typically 9 to 13 yrs old), the barrels that don’t quite make the cut for that wind up in Old Forester Signature.
While not on the tasting mat, after the conclusion of the Taste Through History they offered a sample of Old Forester Statesman, a bourbon created for the movie The Kingsman: The Golden Circle. I enjoyed it, but after 7 prior samples couldn’t capture detailed enough notes (although received a sample later, which is reviewed here!)
Beyond the history lesson and some insights into each product, I also learned:
1. All Old Forester whisky is non-chill filtered.
2. While Old Forester and Woodford Reserve both use the same mashbill of 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley, the barrels used are seasoned differently for Woodford Reserve.
3. The story behind the odd-bottle used in Birthday Bourbon? When they first had the idea of the expression, to release it around George Garvin Brown’s birthday in early September, they were limited to what they could get on about 3 months notice. They didn’t want to use the same bottles used in Old Forester to ensure this differentiated itself. Process of elimination left they with really one choice – what it has been bottled in since.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and learned a fair amount too (including where to eat when I finally get to Lynchburg, TN to visit Jack Daniels – Jackie recommended Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House as a can’t miss!) Hope if you have the chance to attend a similar event, you’re able to carve out some time (and get a ticket, as these apparently sell out quickly!)
I’m sure most have heard the phrase “On any given Sunday“, which is a short version of “On any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team“. In my experience, the same can be said about whisk(e)y . . . to some extent. “Any” is probably too generous (I can’t imagine the day when I would find Buffalo Trace more to my liking than George T Stagg), but there are absolutely days when I like a particular whisk(e)y more or less.
We’ve talked about the variables that impact whisk(e)y, but the dram is only a part of the equation – lest we forget about the drinker and the environment. When it comes to the drinker – there are a lot of things that could impact what WE sense, including time of day, what we’ve had to eat prior, how hydrated we are, if we’re suffering from seasonal allergies, if we’ve got (or are just overcoming) a head-cold, or any number of other things. It’s easy to know when you’ve got a cold, but there are days I feel perfectly fine, have poured a dram that I’m fairly familiar with, and it doesn’t taste right to me. Maybe I get the herbal notes but I’m missing most of the sweetness (I personally find this happens after a head-cold – sometimes for a week or more). Or I get a bit of everything I expect to, but it feels like the volume was turned down. Sometimes I get almost nothing but alcohol – which is when I pour it back in the bottle and tap out for the day.
Let me share a quick story. I’m with a gathering of whisk(e)y friends, where we’ve got 30+ bottles on the table and everyone is welcome to sample whatever you want. There’s been food, drink, and some cigar smoking on the back porch, as well as plenty of laughs. Someone brings out a decanter that is damned impressive looking, and passes it around – but isn’t saying what it is. I think to myself that it might be one of the best pours I’ve had all night. It strikes me as well balanced, sweet with fruit, oak, and spice notes, and a finish that doesn’t quit. After much debate about what this marvelous dram was, he discloses it was ‘just Macallan 12 yr’ in a decanter that cost more than the bottle of whisk(e)y.
My point is this: our enjoyment of the water of life is about more than the liquid itself. While the spirit is important, take time to appreciate the setting, and savor those moments spent with friends and family over a glass of the water of life. When I think of my most fond whisk(e)y memories, the first thing I recall is who I was with – not necessarily what we were drinking.
