Old Forester 117 Series: Rum Finish Review

Background

I’ll be honest, I have not had a ton of experience with Old Forester’s 117 Series. The two iterations I have really sat down with, I didn’t particularly love. I do, however, appreciate that this line exists, packaged at 375s no less, and understand that an experimental line is by definition going to have a low floor, high ceiling hit or miss proposition baked in. The industry having an opportunity to recoup some R&D loss through lines like this, Beam’s Distiller’s Share, Buffalo Trace’s Experimental Series, and others is a good thing. Sometimes an experimental release really sings and then we can all clamor for more until it becomes a regular thing, or maybe it inspires the next craft distillery to try something different.

This particular release has a fairly simple concept, it takes Old Forester bourbon (no age statement but it must be over 4 years given TTB rules) and finishes it rum barrels for approximately six months. The source of the rum barrels is not disclosed, but the press release explicitly calls out that they were used to age rum for at least four years.

Old Forester 117 Series: Rum Finish (NAS, 95 Proof)

Nose: Definitely sweet and syrupy off the top, I tend to find that banana notes go hand and hand with Old Forester products, and that note seems to be amplified by the rum. Bananas foster, a bit of a wood, some sticky toffee pudding.

Palate: It’s a vaguely sweet wood note to start. Honestly, vague is the operating word. It’s hard to describe, but I find myself kind of searching for notes through a general syrupy sweetness. Best I’m getting is banana bread, but moist banana bread, maybe with a bit of icing.

Finish: Spiced, dried, cocktail orange slices (these things basically). A little nutty to round things out, nutty banana bread. Black red pepper, toasted wood… an odd, very occasional, very light soap note.

Sub-Par to Good (4.5/10)

Overall: It’s a bit like the experience of a very mediocre cover band at a bar. Sometimes they sound decent, sometimes they just cannot keep up with a particular song. It’s not a “I need to leave this bar” situation, nor are you planning return visits around said band. The place would probably be better off with a playlist, you would probably be better off drinking a different bourbon or a rum. I get why OF can’t release this at cask strength, but maybe even a touch higher proof point would help. 110 perhaps? I dunno.