Background

It’s Spring Fling at Jack Rose and they put on a hell of a Brown Forman event to launch their new Benriach barrel- the excellently named “Friend’s with Benriach-efits”. As this tasting covered offerings from Brown Forman’s American Whiskey brands and Scotch brands, I figured why not do a simulcast review! In this edition we’ll be reviewing:

• Vintage 1970s Jack Daniels

• Woodford Reserve Five Malt Stouted Mash

• 2022 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 

Also included in the tasting was Benriach Malting Season (2nd Edition), Jack Rose’s new Benriach single barrel, and Glendronach 27 Year Cask Strength. Head on over to the scotch review here if you’re curious for the review of those three. Without further ado, let’s get to the reviews!

Jack Daniel’s 1979 Distillery Decanter (NAS, 90 Proof)

Nose: Leather, tobacco, dusty funk, mashed banana.

Palate: More leather, bananas foster, cocoa powder and vanilla pudding.

Finish: Still leathery, cocoa powder, a bit of oak comes in at the end.

Very Good to Great (6.5/10)

Overall: There’s just this, typically delicious, leathery funk I get sometimes with dusty whiskey that is present here and buoys this sip. A robust and complex flavor profile, especially for the proof- an excellent start to the tasting.

Woodford Five Malt (NAS, 90.4 Proof)

Nose: Play doh, malt balls, raw dough.

Palate: More play doh, some crystallized ginger if I do whatever the palate equivalent of squinting is. Chocolate cookie dough.

Finish: Ginger, raw dough, Swiss Miss hot chocolate powder.

Poor (2/10)

Overall: I’ll be honest. I didn't finish this. It’s very… yeasty. Look, I’m here for weird stuff and experiments. I even like the Peerless Absinthe Barrel Rye that tastes like liquified black licorice. This particular experiment just does not work for me though. It’s a bit like if someone opened up instant hot cocoa mix, poured it on some cookie dough and called it a day.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2022 (11 Years, 96 Proof)

Nose: Milk chocolate, kind of plastic-y?, butterscotch, leather.

Palate: Citrusy, leather and tobacco, black cherry, but it’s thin and there’s an artificial funk to it.

Finish: Coffee grounds, leathery, cinnamon, wet wood and again - thin and short.

Sub-par to Good (4.5/10)

Overall: I personally found this to be astringent and thin. There's some nice notes every now and then, but it’s a Jekyll and Hyde experience honestly between the fruit notes and then a kind of artificial bitter leather. As one of my tasting companions said, "It's like a sad birthday you spend alone."

The scotches, I promise, are much better. Review here if you want to check out that side of the tasting!