Old Forester Has Re-Released Its Extra Extra Old Bourbon
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In the spring of 2021, Old Forester launched a double-barreled bourbon that was matured in a new set of barrels for an additional two years, and whiskey fans received it with open arms. That bourbon, 1910 Extra Extra Old, has returned a few times since then. Now, the latest release is available—albeit in limited numbers—and we have the details to share.
The liquid origin of this bourbon is Old Forester’s 1910 Old Fine Whisky. That’s not a typo: The brand, which is owned by Brown-Forman (parent company of Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve) uses the Scottish style of spelling to pay tribute to founder George Garvin Brown’s family roots. 1910 was created to mark the date (October 22, 1910) when a fire broke out on the bottling line at the distillery. After the blaze, whiskey that was ready for bottling had to be stored in a new set of charred oak barrels, according to the brand, which resulted in an unplanned double barreling. That practice is pretty common today, with brands like Woodford Reserve, Peerless, Jim Beam, and Daviess County all releasing doubled-barreled expressions that still meet the qualifications of bourbon while adding additional flavor through the use of a secondary set of casks to finish the whiskey.
In 2022, Old Forester released a whiskey called Extra Old as part of its limited-edition 117 Series, which also includes bourbon finished in scotch casks, a bottled-in-bond rye, and whiskey aged in specific warehouses to highlight the effects of maturation terroir. Extra Old, which was last released in January, is aged in a new set of barrels for an additional 18 months to give it a flavor profile rich in caramel notes, according to the brand. So Extra Extra Old actually predates Extra Old, which seems kind of counterintuitive, but nevertheless this bourbon is aged for even longer—a total of 24 months in a new set of charred oak barrels—and bottled at 93 proof.
“This bourbon exemplifies our innovative spirit at Old Forester by taking something great and making it even better,” said assistant master distiller Caleb Trigo in a statement. “The additional maturation leveraged to produce this release unlocks incredibly robust and distinctive flavor.” According to the official tasting notes, there are aromas of sticky toffee pudding and hazelnut on the nose, sweet almond and toasted oak flavors on the palate, and milk chocolate and cinnamon on the finish.
Old Forester Extra Extra Old is available now at the distillery (SRP $65) and select retailers in Kentucky, and it’s available for shipping to a few states from the Old Forester website. Secondary market retailers have past editions available for extremely inflated prices, but you can find the rest of the lineup, including the highly collectible Birthday Bourbon, at websites like ReserveBar now.
