Old Forester President’s Choice Batch 56 & 59 Reviews
Background
There’s no question Old Forester has ramped up President’s Choice releases in the past year or so. I suspect the timing actually correlates to when Melissa Rift took over as Master Taster, but when I went looking for a list of Old Forester President’s Choice releases to build out this theory, I found no such list exists. That said, it’s worth just looking at some basic math:
The last time I reviewed a batch of President’s Choice, it was Batch 27 which released in November 2022.
The first batch released in ~June 2018. So that’s 27 batches in 3.5 years, an average of about 8 batches per year.
As of this writing, they are now on at least batch 73. That’s 46 new batches in the last year and 8 months (so about 27-28 batches per year).
They’ve also rolled out a new Tasting Experience at the distillery, and booking it includes a bottle of President’s Choice. Now, look, I’m writing this background before I review these two batches, but I think this is a banner example of a distillery ramping up production to meet demand. If more people get a chance to try President’s Choice, that’s awesome. My hope is that the quality holds up, let’s put that to the test:
Old Forester President’s Choice Batch 56 (10 Years, 114.3 Proof)
Nose: Berry compote, rich brown sugar and maple syrup. It has a wonderful layered, dark wood note. It’s an alluring nose, no doubt.
Palate: Lucious, thick maple syrup dripping over cinnamon-y French Toast and topped with some dark berry jam. Maybe eaten with some wood utensils while I’m carrying this metaphor too far. There’s a lovely oak presence throughout.
Finish: Again maple syrup, again a lovely dark wood note. There’s an excellent emerging prominence of baking spices too: cloves and cinnamon in particular. There’s also a bit of a cola syrup note, more of a texture.
Incredible (9/10)
Overall: This is excellent whiskey. As someone who has found Old Forester Single Barrels to be hit or miss, good on Old Forester for pulling whatever amazing barrels are available and expanding the availability of this line. If the results continue to be anything like this, that’s a coup.
Old Forester President’s Choice Batch 59 (7 Years, 117.1 Proof)
Nose: Confectionary sugar, creme brulee and toffee. I get a little golden grahams cereal It’s a lighter, toastier, vanilla forward sip.
Palate: I’m going to double down on the golden grahams note. It leaves a nice, toasty impression on the palate. Bit-o-honey candies, hints of caramel, and a light straw note.
Finish: Yeah a pretty consistent finish building from the nose and palate. A little bit of nutmeg… maybe more of a pumpkin pie spice actually, and more of that golden grahams/honey note.
Great (7/10)
Overall: Great stuff! It’s hard not to think it would be outright magical with another year or two in the barrel, but as is it’s a super tasty whiskey. My only, very minor, compliant is that it could have a bit broader range of flavors. It doesn’t necessarily challenge the palate so to speak. But it’s start to finish consistent- and consistently delicious.
