The Best-Kept Secrets in Bourbon Are Hiding in Plain Sight

There are some really terrific bourbons out there that most people overlook. In many cases they are old brands that the manufacturers sell but don't support. Some offer a chance to taste something a little different, others are among the best bourbons you can buy, and all are great values. While a few have limited distribution, many are hiding in plain sight at your neighborhood whiskey monger.

A prime example is Weller 12-Year-Old. This wheated bourbon from Sazerac is right up there with the very best bourbons available today, and it costs less than $30 a bottle in most places. A few years ago it was in very short supply but now seems readily available. If you are pining for Pappy but have never had Weller 12, what's wrong with you?

At the other end of the spectrum is Very Old Barton, another Sazerac product. It is a 6-year-old, rye-recipe bourbon that used to be sold only in Kentucky and a few southern states. In Kentucky, it is very popular and competes head-to-head with Jim Beam and Jack Daniel's. It is now more widely available but not national. Unless you drink 1792 or Ten High, you've probably never tasted a bourbon from this distillery. Very Old Barton is a solid, reliable, standard bourbon that usually sells for less than $20, often a lot less.

Old Forester is the brand that launched Brown-Forman 143 years ago. It was the first bourbon to be sold only in bottles. It has the same recipe as Woodford Reserve. The 86° proof (43% ABV) is usually about $20 and the 100° proof (50% ABV) is usually about $25. Again, it is just a good, solid, dependable rye-recipe bourbon at an excellent price.

Old Grand-Dad, discussed here on Monday, is one of the few high-rye bourbons and definitely the least expensive one. Its bonded expression has long been the best-selling bonded bourbon in the country. The bond usually sells for about $20, the 80° proof (40% ABV) is about $17. It's made by Beam.

Also from Beam is Jim Beam Black Label, which is 8-years-old, 86° proof (43% ABV), and about $22 a bottle. Compare that to Knob Creek, which is the same juice at 9-years-old and 100° proof (50% ABV), and about $30. Even though it carries the Jim Beam name, or perhaps because of it, many bourbon fans overlook this superb value. It's available everywhere.

Evan Williams Black Label is Heaven Hill's flagship brand and the #3 best-selling American whiskey, after Jack and Jim. Again it's a good, solid, standard rye-recipe bourbon, selling in many places for around $10.

No one who really knows bourbon would turn their nose up at any of these.

Another Unintentionally Gay Whiskey Ad from 1966.

My friend Josh found this book of old whiskey ads from 1966 and it keeps yielding up gems like the one above and this one I posted back in March. What can I say? It speaks for itself.

Old Forester Is In Favor Of Clean Water.

You hate to reduce it to that, but worthy cause tie-ins are a marketing strategy. They work best for the product and the charity when the tie-in is natural and not forced.

This one is just about perfect. Here is the text of an email that was sent today to members of the 1870 Society, the Old Forester enthusiasts club.

It takes a plentiful supply of crisp, clean water from limestone springs to make Old Forester. And we’re eternally grateful to have such a valuable resource right where we live.

Sadly, for too many people around the planet, there simply isn’t enough safe, clean drinking water just to survive. Together, we can help change that.

So, in the spirit of the giving season, we’re pleased to announce that Old Forester is making a donation of $2,500 to charity: water on behalf of you and Old Forester enthusiasts everywhere.

charity: water is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

So thank you for enjoying our bourbon, and for helping make a difference.

Review: Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2009

I finally had a chance to give the 2009 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon a good tasting. I had tasted it, briefly, in a bar when it was unveiled a few months ago. I thought it was okay but I didn't have a strong impression one way or another.

Then all hell broke loose on straightbourbon.com. The very first reviewer wrote, "Odd… must and baby diapers were my first impression as I waved it past my nose." It went downhill from there.

Now that I've had a chance to taste it properly, I can see what some people might not like about it. There is very little of the candy notes that many bourbons, and even typical Old Forester, exhibit. It's slightly bitter with what I characterize as a dry wood note predominating. It's not char and it's not the caramel-vanilla flavor you usually get from wood. It's more like what you expect from an old scotch that has spent a long time in a barrel that was already spent before the whiskey even got there.
 
It is 12-years-old and in some ways tastes older. It definitely leans toward the herbal side of the bourbon taste wheel.

One thing I enjoy about the Birthday Bourbon series is that it's always different, sometimes very different. That's not what producers usually do. Even Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage strives for continuity from year to year. Old Forester Birthday Bourbon doesn't. What Master Distiller Chris Morris is going for, I think, is more of a "that's interesting" reaction.

I'm not saying the people who dislike it are wrong, it's not for everyone, but I would hate for someone to be scared away from it because it got so many negative reviews.

The 2009 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon Debuts.

The fall releases of limited edition whiskeys keep coming. (Some of the others are here, here and here.)

Latest is the 2009 edition of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, unveiled at a press event last night at The Violet Hour in Chicago. Old Forester master distiller Chris Morris walked the guests through a tasting of all three Old Forester expressions, including the new Birthday Bourbon.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon celebrates the birth of Brown-Forman founder George Garvin Brown on September 2, 1846. It is a special selection of Old Forester barrels chosen by Morris to highlight some aspect of the bourbon palate.

“This year’s vintage release of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is crafted from a 98 barrel batch,” said Morris. “These barrels were stored in the small warehouse B and larger warehouse J, on their 5th and 8th floors respectively. These upper floor locations exposed the barrels to a great degree of heat during the summer months which resulted in a rich, complex maturation profile.”

Unlike the standard Old Forester, which is a blend of whisky from several different years, Birthday Bourbon is a vintage-dated bourbon, hand-selected by Morris from one specific day of production. The result is a one-of-a-kind character and flavor that will never be replicated again. Its unique decanter style glass bottle is a throwback to the late 1800’s when Old Forester was first produced.

Morris selected these barrels because he thinks they show that a 12+ year-old bourbon can have a lot of flavor and barrel character without hitting you over the head with it. He considers this a softer example of what a long-aged bourbon can be.

One nice thing about Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, in this season of special editions that are priced at $90 to $150 or more per bottle, is that the suggested retail price is a mere $39.99.