Review: Old Forester The 117 Series – Bottled in Bond Rye

Another Old Forester 117 Series release recently hit, and it almost snuck past us: The 117 Series – Bottled in Bond Rye is a fairly straightforward release for the series — and it follows a previous 117 Series Bonded release, Bonded Bourbon.

Naturally, this rye is the result of one distilling season (Spring 2015, to be exact), making it much older than the 4 years required by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897.

Old Forester The 117 Series – Bottled in Bond Rye Review

This is a very wet, green, almost weedy whiskey that exudes rye while punctuating things with the influence of the barrel. The nose is not subtle — aggressive with notes of black pepper, cracked and torched rye grains, and ample barrel char, this smells like a well-aged animal. That’s not an accidental choice of words; there’s an aggressive, almost sweaty quality to the nose, washing out any sweetness with umami and earthy, mushroomy funk. Old rye can can start to come across as old, a bit hoary, and that’s definitely the case here.

There’s plenty more where that came from on the palate, featuring dense green underbrush, cedar planks, and plenty of pepper. The dense body feels quite meaty — like beef stock simmering on the stove, tempered with rosemary and thyme. Some sweetness eventually comes into focus — sugar cookie dough, cinnamon toast, and a sprinkle of nutmeg — but it’s a tough road to cut through all that savoriness. It ultimately has no chance on the finish, which is all umami.

93 proof.

B / $65 (375ml)

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