Sneak Peek: Old Forester Rye Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

Old Forester Rye
(Credit: Brown-Forman)

Brown-Forman has decided to deliver a new rye whiskey through its Old Forester brand. Aside from the obvious feature of having a new rye whiskey on the shelf, this is noteworthy for two reasons. In a minor historical point, Old Forester has never had a rye before, so this is a first for the brand.

The second and more important thing to be aware of is that this rye whiskey comes from a new mash bill, separate from that used to make Woodford Reserve Rye. The latter is a Kentucky style rye, with just 53% rye in the mash. This new Old Forester Rye, bottled at 100 proof, is 65% rye, 20% malted barley and 15% percent corn.

That mash bill is an interesting one, because it’s not just that it is a new one or that it is a big distiller, Kentucky-made rye departing from the Kentucky style. It’s also that there is more malted barley than corn in it, making it something like a “barleyed ryed.” Usually malted barley is in the mash so its enzymes can convert starch to sugar, and not really as a flavoring element. Making barley 1/5 of the mash is a quite different tack.

The Whiskey
A pour of Old Forester Rye has a light amber coloring. A swish and coat of the glass leaves a typical coating, not particularly thin or viscous, except that it dropped very few and quite small tears in its wake.

The nose leads with generous helpings of brown sugar and vanilla, and behind that comes sassafras and cookie spices, tinged with just a little citrus zest. This profile evolves on the tongue, leading with ginger and a pinch of pepper instead of sweetness. That comes on later, but with a more floral and fruity aspect, so that by the time the whole thing has developed on your tongue, it’s like having a spicily seasoned, boozy bite of baked apples. The finish is less distinguished, running spicy with a hint of vanilla.

Overall, it’s a mighty nice sipping whiskey. The palate was a little more complex than I was expecting, in fact, if only a little more. For the price point, it’s well worth having.

The Price
This rye is priced at $23, specifically to keep it in line with Old Forester 100 Bourbon.