Birthday Bourbon 2014
48.5% ABV
$45-50
Barrelled 2002, Bottled 2014 (aged 12 years)
Color:
Light brown/caramel
Smell:
Lovely. Sweet, maple syrupy. Brown sugar. Definitely a smooth spiciness going on as well, if that makes sense. Cinnamon, nutmeg...that kind of thing in the background. This doesn't scream "oak;" everything is very well balanced to me.
Taste:
All syrupy goodness upfront: caramel, maple syrup coating the tongue in waves. Spice takes over once I let air in: going down it isn't harsh, but it's hot and spicy. Huge kick of cinnamon.Finish:
Long. After the heat wave of the swallow subsides, my mouth is left with a distinctly cinnamon aftertaste, as well as the lingering sweetness from the initial sip. My throat and cheeks feel dried out in a great way, and I want to keep drinking this all night.
Overall:
This is dynamite stuff. I knew from lurking on blogs that OFBB was very tough to find, but I was lucky enough to come upon a retail-priced bottle when I was visiting family in Delaware last fall. Looking back, I'm kicking myself for only picking up one. I have heard that 2014 is a (minor) let-down from the 2013 bottling - which I have not tasted - but this is no slouch. I think it's worth every penny under $50, but I would not pay gouge pricing just to grab a taste if your liquor store or bar is hoarding it. The smell and initial mouthfeel in particular are outstanding, but the finish comes just a bit short of living up to it. It's hotter going down than you would think it should be (even at 97 proof), and the spiciness/cinnamon overwhelms the initial promise of syrupy goodness on the nose, throwing it just slightly out of balance for me. Still, definitely high 80s/90 range in terms of scoring.
What Others Have Said:
Christopher Null at DrinkHacker rated it an "A-":
- 2014’s Birthday Bourbon starts off fairly typical of this whiskey’s usual profile. Very woody on the nose, it offers an immediate attack of dark chocolate cocoa powder before you take your first sip. The body is racy and spicy with notes of more wood, licorice, and gunpowder. The finish warms up with gingerbread, custard, and vanilla, tamping down some of that early, and close to overwhelming, wood character. The result is a nice balance between sweet and savory with plenty to recommend it, and one of Old Forester’s more elegant special releases.
- Nose: Buttered cinnamon toast, vanilla and an odd marshmallow note pair with a cinnamon, banana candy and dry, toasted oak or campfire smoke. Some soggy maple syrup pancakes show up at the end of longer sniffs.
- Sip: The mouthfeel is thin, but immediately sweet. Light caramel syrup, vanilla cream and some standard baking spices show up early. A banana and cherry fruit hide in the middle with that telling, nutty Brown-Forman mid-note, which leads into a slow to develop oak and cocoa that is sharp and moderately bitter.
- Finish: The finish is sweet, with a lingering creamy caramel and vanilla that compliments a sharp woody note. Simple, but classic.Overall Grade: BThe 2014 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is a classically structured bourbon, but I found the 2014 to resemble the good, but forgettable releases that preceded the 2013, rather than carrying over the dark sugars and complex oak that made the 2013 so enjoyable. There is lots to enjoy here, but I don’t feel that the quality justifies the fuss of hunting this bottle down or reaching for secondary market valuations. If you find it at retail, enjoy it, but don’t feel like you missed out on anything extraordinary if you missed it.
Whiskey Advocate has a back-log of OFBB reviews here. I'd love to seek out the 1994 vintage! John Hansell gives the 2014 release an 85:
- This whiskey’s signature over the last several years has been wood dominant, with plenty of dried spice (the exception being the 2013 release which I really enjoyed—it was chock full of balancing sweetness). The 2014 release is similar to the pre-2013 releases, with dried spice (cinnamon, vanilla) and dried citrus on a soft bed of maple syrup, caramel, and honey, leading to resinous oak grip on the finish. A dynamic bourbon, but still leaning heavily on the oak spice.
