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I just tasted this today at our weekly bourbon tasting. WOW, this stuff is super. 12 years old and just overflowing with fruit components. Apricots and cherries, both on the nose and the palate. This sure makes up for the 2004.
Joe

I've tasted through a whole bottle and I still can't decide about the '05. Most of the serious tastings I did with it were next to other bourbons, and it seemed disappointing when given competition. However, when I got down to about 1/4 of the bottle I decided it wasn't that spectacular and I was going to just polish it off. By glass #2 I was getting lots of delightful florals and fruits...none of which I picked up on in side-by-sides.

So, here I am undecided. My basic conclusion is this one takes 'study time' to appreciate but won't knock your socks off like previous OFBB's.

Yeah OCO, I've had a few, maybe 4 or 5, glasses from my bottle now and it seems it changes for me as well. At first I found nothing spectacular with it. Went back to it another night and not during the first but while drinking the second glass I was more turned on by it. Maybe it sat around a bit longer and 'opened up', who knows. All in all I have to say it is good, not great and like you Gary other releases just seemed better maybe in part because they were more consistent.

ima's only had a small taste off of Gary's bottle - but it seemed both a bit bitter and a tad too tannic. I shouldn't make any kind of sweeping quality statements off of a single taste, so I won't.

Yet there are plenty of folks that do! There are mass tastings in 'flights'. Write down your notes and do be critical!

That's too much for me. I often have to live with a bourbon for several days in order to make any kind of accurate tasting.

Nobody gets it all everytime! Not even Master Distillers!

Don't ever discount your own tasting skills, as it your hard earned money you're spending, and the bourbon you're spending it on ought to taste good to you.

Demand quality at every price point!

I layed out for the 2004 Birthday and was disappointed. It too seems a little harsh ("hot wood") and not mellow enough. However I found adding some good spring water really helped, it opened it up and now it is more like some good Foresters I recall. It dropped the 94 proof to about 85 I'd guess, maybe a bit under, but it is very drinkable neat now. Water can do this, Linn mentioned adding water to some vattings and how that can knit together the finish and I've found this too. In the old days the term rectification had the connotation (or one connotation was) to "let down", as it was called, straight whiskey to a drinkable proof. The art of getting whiskey to the right balance with good water hasn't been completely lost! This is not to say some whiskey does not taste perfect at the proof it was bottled, but not every one does.

Gary

Chris Morris made a comment in his seminar that this release was a good expression of the cinnamon flavor that certain barrels contribute to the regular Old Forester. He used this bottle as an example of a "vintage" bourbon.