I was sitting at our local Elks Lodge last Friday and I received an email from out of the blue. It was from one of my favorite restaurants FoxGardin Kitchen and Ale in Fortville, Indiana. I received a special invite from the bar manager to a private event hosted in the bourbon lounge featuring Old Forester. After a quick chat with my wife, I quickly emailed and accepted the invitation. We secured a babysitter and we had a wonderful date night planned.

I’ve been to a few tastings at FoxGardin in the past (scotch dinner, a Belle Meade tasting that I had to miss due to COVID, and a Noble Oak event). The scotch event was outstanding, I was very upset I had to send my brother to the Belle Meade event, and the Noble Oak tasting was not my favorite (half the bourbon itself and half it was too large). FoxGardin has always been one of my favorite stops and I’m always willing to give them another chance, especially with a brand I didn’t know much about. I knew Old Forester was used in the Foxy Old Fashioned, but I had only ever purchased one bottle of Old Forester 100 proof. I had nothing against Old Forester, but I just didn’t know much about the brand in general.

Before The Event

It was a rainy Thursday and my wife and I decided we would head towards Fortville a little early for a cocktail before dinner. I’ve already mentioned that the Foxy Old Fashioned is one of my favorite drinks in Indiana, so I had to start my evening with one of those. The wife decided to have a highball and we sat there and debated having the Yucatan Shrimp before heading up for the dinner. We decided against it and sat there and watched a little SportsCenter and Happy.tv.

As we sat there enjoying our cocktails, I realized I had stumbled upon a very special event. I started noticing all of the people invited to the tasting had strong connections with FoxGardin. Honestly, I felt a little out of place. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been a customer of FoxGardin of years, but I’m not what you would call a regular. We try to get there once every month, but sometime it just doesn’t happen. I felt a little out of place as everyone that was heading to the tasting knew the staff by name. I felt special and I was excited to head to the event.

The Event

In my email, I was told the following:

I got a call this week from one of my reps with an opportunity to host Old Foresters new brand ambassador/master taster, Melissa Rift. She is doing a tour of the country and we are her second stop. She will be here talking about Old Forester 1870, 1897, 1910, 1920, and Statesman. This event will be a ticketed affair, limited to about 25-30 guests. The tickets will be $50, and for that price, you will receive a sample of all the aforementioned bourbons, a couple cocktails, a few small plates of food paired with Old Forester, and a chance to win a bottle of Old Forester Single Barrel Rye that will be raffled off at the end of the night.

FoxGardin

Outside of that email, I didn’t have much information about the event. I received the invite 6 days before the event and figured we would give it a try. I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed with the food from FoxGardin and I knew I also love to try some bourbon.

When we walked upstairs to the bourbon lounge and were greeted with a Foxy Old Fashioned. This made a lot of sense because FoxGardin used Old Forester for their Foxy Old Fashioned. The tables had nameplates for our seats and it was decked out with Old Forester items. There was a flight sheet with 4 samples poured, a sample set to the side of the tasting sheet, a gift bag (that had a lowball and a square ice cube silicone tray), and a nice little menu to show what was for dinner. It was a smaller event with around 26 people in attendance, but it was the perfect size for the style of event.

The rep from Brown-Forman was in attendance and was greeting people with the brand ambassador/master taster Melissa Rift. We were informed this was going to be an evening where we would try the Timeline Series of Old Forester, Old Forester Statesmen, and there would be a few other surprises. We also knew they would be raffling off a bottle of rye at the end of the night.

The Bourbon

To be honest, I had only had Old Forester two ways before this event. I drank it in a Foxy Old Fashioned and I purchased a bottle of the 100 proof from my local liquor store. If you asked me the difference between Old Forester 1870 and 1920, I would have looked at you with a blank stare and no answer. I had nothing against the company, but I didn’t know much about them.

Little did I know I was going to be getting a history lesson during the event. I didn’t realize how steeped in history Old Forester was and I didn’t know they used the Timeline Series to show the different expressions through the years. Here are my takes on the tasting:

1870 “The Original Batch”

This one is modeled after the original batch of bourbon that Garvin sold. He sourced it from 3 different distilleries at first and they now source from 3 different warehouses. This was my least favorite of the night, but it still had some really subtle flavors as you went through the tasting. You really got the baking spices and also some citrus. I wouldn’t go buy a bottle of this, but I wouldn’t mind having a pour if someone offered.

1897 “Bottled In Bond”

This one was modeled after the law that brought about bottled in bond. Since it bears that name, it has to be bottled at 100 proof, made in one distilling season from one distiller, and aged in a federally bonded warehouse for 4 year. This one had way more of the vanilla and caramel notes compared to the 1870 and was a step up in my opinion.

1910 “Old Fine Whisky”

This bourbon had an interesting story. The tale goes: There was a fire down on Whiskey Row and there was bourbon in the bottling line at Old Forester. Instead of letting it burn up, they moved that into a new oak barrel and rolled it into the street. Then they left it there for 24 months before they broke into it and gave it a try. So it’s a doubled barreled version of their bourbon.

This one had great flavors of chocolate, toffee, and oak. It was one of my favorites of the evening. I actually liked it so much that I went and grabbed a bottle from the store the next day (Old Forester – I guess this brand ambassador thing actually did its job).

1920 “Prohibition Style”

I also really liked this pour of bourbon, but the story wasn’t as cool as the 1910 story. This is modeled after the recipe that would have been used as “medicine” during prohibition. I guess you could get up to 1 pint of bourbon a week (per family member) and they ended up actually running low on bourbon because it was prescribed so much. This one had some amazing flavors, but it really smelled in the ballpark of a smore. I got a lot of graham cracker, toasted marshmallow, and a little bit of spice. Out of the 4 in the timeline series, this and 1910 were my favorites (guess I’m a 1900’s guy)

Old Forester Statesmen

The fifth sample we had on the table was a pour of Old Forester Statesmen. It was made for the movie Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and it was such a hit with fans that it because a regular staple in their lineup. In regards to the bourbon, it is sourced from the hottest areas of the warehouse (also learned a little about their steam heated warehouses and the temperature bourbon goes dormant – around 54-56 degrees). The best way I could describe it is an amped up version of 1870 with some more spice. It wasn’t as desserty as the 1910 or 1920, but still a good pour.

Once we were done with the first 5 tastings, we were told we had a few “special tastings” that would end the evening. And dang. The night ended with a bang.

Old Forester The 117 Series 1910 Extra Extra Old

They started bringing in a tray of more samples and I didn’t really know what we were going to try. Then Melissa explained their 117 Series of bourbons that are distillery-only releases. So unless you head to Louisville, you will never get to get a bottle unless you have an awesome friend.

As for tasting notes, this was a more aged version of the 1910 and it showed. This one had more coffee flavor and even some toasted coconut. It was like a very yummy dessert and I wish I could find myself a bottle of this. It was my favorite of the night.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon

As I saw the last tray of samples being brought into the room, I knew we were in for a treat. I started going through the bourbons I had looked up online and there was one that it was most likely going to be. And I wasn’t wrong.

I honestly wish we would have started with this one, because my mouth was wrecked by this point. I had 3 different courses of food, 2 old fashioneds, and 6 samples of bourbon. I can’t say that I was in the peak form to be sampling a highly sought after bourbon like this.

When I tasted it, it tasted great. It didn’t blow my socks off, but it was tasty. It reminded me a lot of a really good version of 1920. The story of the birthday release and the way they proof the bourbon was really interesting, but I would argue this should have been our first taste of the night.

Melissa Rift

Before I say anything about the amazing job Melissa did with the tasting, I have to make one thing known to the world.

The name of one of her cats is Missy Elliott.

How can you not love a person who names a cat Missy Elliott?!?!

Cats aside, Melissa did an incredible job. She said she started her job as Master Taster and Brand Ambassador in November, but I would have guessed she had been doing this for longer than just a few months. She knew her stuff and did a great job interacting with the room. You could tell she knew her bourbon and was really into telling the story of the company.

I asked her about how she learned to taste bourbon and identify flavors. She went through the process of using bourbon wheels and starting with a broad category and working your way down to a more specific flavor. She also gave me some insight (not much, but still some) on the future of what Old Forester would be releasing down the road. I have a feeling there will be a focus on expanding the 117 selections and possibly adding in a few more dates/bottles on the Timeline Series (she never said this, but I’m taking context clues and an educated guess).

I think Old Forester made a great call adding Melissa to the team. I know she changed my perspective on the Old Forester brand (I did go out and buy a bottle of 1910 the next day). If she is doing an event in your area, I would go out of my way to attend.

The Food

During my visits to FoxGardin, I have only been disappointed one time (out of like 100). And that was because I really didn’t order the right thing (I wasn’t in the mood for what I ordered). Every other time, I am always extremely happy with my food. The food wasn’t a concern when it came to this dinner at all. My wife and I were more concerned with the portions when we read “small plates” and we considered ordering an appetizer downstairs before the dinner. I’m am so glad we didn’t because we were stuffed by the time we were done. Here is the rundown of the food and my thoughts (I won’t go into too much detail because this is more of a bourbon blog):

Braised Pork Belly on a Bao Bun

This was a delight. I have never had a bao bun before and my wife was convinced it looked like fresh mozzarella. The pork belly melted in my mouth and I loved the little kick from the wasabi mayo.

Pineapple Chicken Skewers

Probably my least favorite of the night, but still good. The chicken had a great seasoning on it and I kept getting a little surprise every time I would get a bite of the pineapple.

Filet Medallion

If I could go and order the demi and the truffled smashed potatoes by the gallon, I would be in a food coma on my couch right now. Dang this was good. I actually kept stealing bites from my wife’s plate when she wasn’t looking.

Drunken Cherry Bread Pudding

I’m never a huge dessert guy, but this was a pleasant surprise. The cherries were really tart and you could taste just a hint of bourbon as well. I could also eat that ice cream off a muddy shoe and be happy.

The Raffle

Just a quick side note here about something else they did during the tasting. They raffled off two different bottles. The first was a single barrel rye at barrel strength and the other was a small bottle of the 117 Series with the 1910 Extra Extra Old. The two guys at the end of our table ended up winning both of them. I’m half convinced they showed up early and switched our tickets…..Just kidding! They were great guys and they also went to the same college as me and my wife. I hope they enjoy their winnings.

Final Thoughts

I walked up to the bar manager and told him the following:

I better be on the list for every future bourbon tasting you have. This was amazing and I don’t want to miss any of these events. Thank you for inviting me.

This was event was incredible. The bourbon was amazing, the food blew my socks off, and I actually learned something. If you are able to do that in one event, you deserve like 40 gold doubloons. And my wife agreed. It might be one of the best date nights we have had in a very long time. My only complaint is I didn’t get to sit on the other side of the table where all of the winning of the raffles happened 🙂

I want to thank FoxGardin for the invite. And I want you to know that you will forever hold a place as one of best bourbon bars in Indianapolis in my book. Keep doing events like this and you will have to fend off crowds who want to buy tickets.