Old Forester Rye

A naturally fermented, powerful Rye from Old Forester — and it’s about time.

Old Forrester has about as much tradition as you can get in a Bourbon. It is a single brand of Bourbon that has been continuously available for 145 years — most of that time from the same family of craftsmen at the same distillery. Interestingly, it was the first Bourbon to be available exclusively in sealed glass bottles. There was a lot of nefarious re-bottling and dilution going on and this was a way to ensure quality and integrity. Today it is owned by Brown-Forman, available in eight different varieties and is a sister Bourbon to Woodford Reserve.

Old Forester Rye is the first Rye Whiskey to come to this historic brand — and it’s brand-spanking new. The first release was in February of 2019. Rye is notoriously hard to work with in the fermentation tanks. That’s why some most Rye Whiskey makers add at least some barley to the mix to get things started. And it’s not uncommon for some to add enzymes as well to make it easier. But this is what makes Old Forester Rye special. It has a rather unique mash bill of 65 rye, 20% barley, and 15% corn. This allows for a completely natural fermentation without additives. It’s also served at a powerful 50% ABV, so there is plenty of power for every application.