Review: Old Forester Bottled In Bond Rye Is A Welcome Return To Form

Old Forester is now past its sesquicentennial. (That means it's celebrated its 150th anniversary, bud). This whiskey brand is older than commercially sold bottled bourbon itself ... because Old Forster was the first to sell it. The broad family of Old Forester expressions you can pick up continues to grow as we've seen more and more new fun coming out of the distillery's column still (along with some recent releases that precede its 2017 installation, like the 1924 10-year).

As with any whiskey brand, a new release from Old Forester isn't a guaranteed smash. The Birthday Bourbons, despite their limited availability, aren't always a hit. But the successes outnumber the stumbles, and the sheer number of people who show up to tour the brand's Whiskey Row headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, are testament to how many of these labels become someone's favorite. In search of my own new favorite, I gladly accepted a chance to try Old Forester's new Bottled in Bond Rye, because usually the only way to get your hands on anything from the distillery's 117 Series is to visit said distillery yourself ... usually.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Bottled in Bond Rye is the latest addition to Old Forester's 117 Series, which began in 2021 to commemorate the distillery's original location at 117 W. Main Street in Louisville. Surprisingly, Old Forester has never put out a bottled-in-bond rye whiskey before. In fact, it didn't even release a rye until 2019! That omission is now addressed with the arrival of this respectably aged 10-year-old, 100-proof rye. While no mash bill is announced, it likely uses Mash Bill #4, which is 65% rye, 15% corn, and 20% barley.

Then again, the 117 line does love its experimentation. The variations in the series are sometimes longer-aged; other times they have greater evaporation, special barrel finishing, or housing in honey spots, such 2023's Warehouse H blend. Really, it seems to come down to whatever sounds like a really cool idea to do. We get two or three new 117s a year (January already brought us a second batch of 1910 Extra Old), which allows for plenty of tweaks to the variables to make their way to market.

You'll generally only buy Bottled in Bond Rye at Old Forester's Louisville distillery, and if that's your plan, you had better move fast — it's out now, and the 117 Series tends to sell out quickly. It's well worth the trip, not only to try rare whiskeys but to enjoy downtown Louisville and the very, very cool Old Forester distillery.

But you're in luck (maybe) because you can also order Old Forester bottled-in-bond rye online for delivery, but the catch is you'll have to live (or at least receive it) in Washington D.C., Kentucky, Nebraska, or New Hampshire. Sorry, mid-to-western states, you're out of luck ... or in for a road trip! Life is what you make of it.

Bottled in Bond Rye isn't cheap, though it's not out of reach for the average whiskey drinker. Like the rest of the 117 Series, this one comes in a 375-milliliter bottle, and the manufacturer's suggested retail price is $65 (up from $60 not so long ago), so it's definitely a sipper to savor. Then again, that's usually the point of these hard-to-find releases.

I cannot make up my mind what color Bottled in Bond Rye is; depending on the angle, it ranges from brass to bronze with a swerve into copper. Sticking my nose over the generously filled bottleneck, I smell raisins and that old rye spice. Poured into a glass, the whiskey's aroma proffers something more like powdered jelly donuts, but in either case, it's very sweet and bready, with whiffs of concentrated fruit. It's heady stuff, but it tends to strum one great power chord.

This rye is quite the interesting sip. I don't always agree with a brand's stated tasting notes, but I fully feel the cracked pepper Old Forester's press release describes, along with a big cherry bomb, more akin to something like bitters made from maraschino reduction. No amount of swirling it around in my mouth is bringing the described cooked pear forward, but it's nice enough at what it does, fading to an intense oak that is more than some will like yet which I find more adept than a lot of whiskeys can juggle even to a lesser degree.

A drop of water doesn't change this much, slightly modifying the oak toward nuttiness away from bitterness, and the whiskey itself to add a touch of chocolate to its candied orange peel. I do like it iced up, which brings out a floral honey and, unusually, doesn't alter the firmer notes much, maybe adding a pinch of cumin.

It's nice to see Old Forester return to form after a disappointing 2024 Birthday Bourbon, and at a much lower price per milliliter. This is a straightforward rye emphasized by time to depth even amid narrow diameter. I'm sorry that I say this every third article, but it's evidence of the Kentucky sweet spots of about a decade of aging and 100-proof. (I'll also accept 12 years and 101). 

While Bottled in Bond Rye isn't particularly complex, it does excel at what it offers, which is rich, joyful, and good either neat or on the rocks if you need it to extend its capabilities. I wouldn't blink at using this in a good cocktail with a mild base. It's a quality spirit that can do a lot without triggering your conservation instincts. Do pick it up to use on a nice evening just because. And let's hope more ryes like this come out of Old Forester's column still.