Those of you that have been following along know that this is the second competition of Round 1. These were tasted in an order only known to my wife as another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2023 BourbonGuy.com Brackets continues with Division 2’s Number 4 seed Old Tub taking on Number 1 seed Old Forester 1897.
Old Forester 1897 is part of Old Forester’s Whiskey Row line of Bourbons. This one was named for the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act (if you want a poster I designed around the text of the act, click here) and as you might have guessed from the context is a bonded bourbon. It was distilled in Louisville, KY at Brown-Forman’s distillery DSP-KY-354 (at one time known as the Early Times Distillery). It was bottled at Brown-Forman’s distillery DSP-KY-414. It was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $3.33 per pour.
Their opponent recently replaced Jim Beam Bonded in the Jim Beam brand line-up. Old Tub is a bottled-in-bond, unfiltered bourbon that is named after the brand the the Beam family made before they started producing Jim Beam branded products. It was distilled in Clermont, KY at Jim Beam’s distillery DSP-KY-230. This was purchased at Viking Liquor Barrel in Prior Lake, MN. It cost $20.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.40 per pour.
All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.
Whiskey A (Old Tub)
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.40
Details: 50% ABV. Unfiltered.
Nose: Floral mint and oak.
Mouth: Spicy. Vegetal. Floral.
Finish: Medium length and warm. Notes of Cinnamon, dusty oak, and a touch of dried grains.
Whiskey B (Old Forester 1897)
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33
Details: 50% ABV.
Nose: Herbal mint, caramel, and vanilla.
Mouth: Floral vanilla, caramel, and baking spice.
Finish: Medium length and warm with notes of caramel, mint, and cinnamon.
Thoughts:
Pre-Reveal Thoughts: At the first sip of "B," I knew it was the winner. "A" is a good whiskey, but "B" lands right in the flavor profile that I love: sweet with lots of baking spice. "B" also has a wonderful mouth feel. It coats the month and throat beautifully.
Post-Reveal Thoughts: Another nice matchup. For the first time since we started these brackets, I knew that it was highly unlikely that there would be a “bad” whiskey in the bunch. I mean, Bonded bourbon is the gold standard for a reason. And that reason is no additives or shortcuts. You gotta just let nature do its thing for at least four years. That said, I would have been very surprised to see Old Tub beat Old Forester 1897. And things worked out as expected in this round.
Winner: Old Forester 1897 Bottled-in-Bond is advancing to round 2.
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