Review: Old Grand-Dad 16 Years Old

You won’t find a more well-respected heritage brand than Old Grand-Dad, which dates as far back as 1840, though Beam notes 1882 on the label. Fun fact: The Old Grand-Dad in question is none other than Meredith Basil Hayden, who has another well-known whiskey line named in his honor.

You’ll find OGD’s 80 and 114 proof expressions fixtures on best low-cost bourbon lists — but this new release marks a huge move upmarket. It’s a 16 year old expression that is by far the oldest OGD on the market — though it took me a minute to even see the red “16” offset against the orange background on the label. But maybe I’m going color blind.

There’s not a lot of extra info about what’s in the bottle; presumably it’s the same mashbill as all Old Grand-Dad releases, which feature a hefty 27% rye along with 63% corn and 10% barley.

Let’s dig in.

Old Grand-Dad 16 Years Old Review

Spoiler alert: This is an insane whiskey.

The nose kicks it all off with a telegraph of everything that’s to come: movie theater popcorn with lots of butter, vanilla candies, charred marshmallows, and dried banana chips all blended together. The sweetness telegraphed is impossible to ignore, with just the lightest hint of barrel char to temper the sugar rush, alongside a grind of black pepper.

The palate is far sweeter than I ever imagined, and this is coming from a guy that likes sweet whiskeys. All of the buttery vanilla notes on the nose are accounted for here, alongside notes of crushed almonds and a touch of lemon curd which adds some much-needed acidity to what can otherwise be an overwhelming experience. OGD 16 is a bit like swimming through the entirety of a birthday cake, wiping frosting and sprinkles from your lips.

Significant time in glass helps some secondary notes to emerge, but this takes some dedication. Eventually notes of fish sauce, toasted coconut, smoked toffee, and bacon fat all come into focus, adding an exotic and vaguely Eastern character to the finish. Throughout it all, that sweetness endures, tooth-achingly so at times.

Expect to pay about $200 for a bottle, which is decidedly up there, considering. Regardless of your opinion about the price, I’d recommend trying a sample to see if its extreme sweetness meets with your palate before going whole hog on a bottle.

100 proof.

B+ / $200 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

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