![]() Like yes, they’re concentrated, but if you dilute it back out it still doesn’t taste like a regular bourbon, is what I’m trying to say. They’re a little bit older, and yes, they’re a little bit higher proof, but not to a significant reflection of how much liquid we’ve actually lost. ![]() And they just have such a unique flavor profile because everything is so concentrated. But I started saving them, as I tasted them with the other barrels, and started to see what was going on. So barrels that were too low in yield were automatically thrown out of the program. “If barrels didn’t fill the tank for their carbon treatment enough to be above the agitator, they couldn’t be filtered. “As the single barrel program goes on and you choose barrels for it, they have to hit a certain volume in that barrel to qualify for the program,” she says. Angels’ Share is what distillers affectionately call the whiskey lost to evaporation in the warehouse as barrels age – but in the case of these barrels, the angels took a bit too much. This blend of barrels each had a yield too low to be considered for the distillery’s single barrel program. “It’s about those little discoveries that can only be made when you have your hands in whiskey all day long, and that’s what I want to share with people… I know the things I’m exposed to on a daily basis are things that people might be interested in that they might otherwise never have the option to experience.”įor her first release in The 117 Series (all gift shop only limited edition bottlings), Zykan has chosen High Angels’ Share. But for the whiskey nerd that wants to understand “oh, when barrels are only low yield, this is what they tend to taste like,” or “when barrels are only aged in this warehouse, this is what they taste like,” we’re doing that in isolated ways to help to “deconstruct” Old Forester, and to offer that up so people can help connect why our whiskey tastes the way it does. Maybe it’s not going to be the flavor profile or the oomph of a Birthday Bourbon, but it’s going to be interesting. With that though, you’re going to get these little bits and pieces and fragments of blends that are isolated into batches, and they’re not going to be – and I hate that I’m saying this – the greatest whiskey you’ve ever tasted. “It’s not just giving people a different side of Old Forester’s flavor profile, it’s helping them to understand the process we go through to make Old Forester this beautiful, balanced, consistent bourbon. “What we have is this really great opportunity to deconstruct what we already do for our blends and our products, and that was kind of where The 117 Series came in,” she explains. So Zykan set out to create something completely different – while staying grounded in giving fans a deeper look at the same products they already know and love. ![]() And that’s not necessarily our schtick as Old Forester – it has to be quality, and we’re not going to like infuse something with Froot Loops just to be weird for the sake of being weird.” Old Forester The 117 Series: High Angels’ Share. With innovation, especially in distillery only releases, it runs the gamut, and you see a lot of very very strange offerings out there in the market, doing all kinds of weird funky stuff. “But as we’ve had a little bit more time to get our footing down there, and we have to be a little bit more mindful about how many expressions we have, we took our time to figure out where our next niche was going to be. And that was a historic expression for us, it was something we actually did up until 1972, but it was just a barrel strength or near barrel strength single barrel – and we just dusted off the President’s Choice label. “So we led with the President’s Choice expression, that you can only get there and at some select Kentucky retailers. “It’s interesting because when opened the distillery downtown, we needed something that was just exclusive to that space,” she tells The Bourbon Review. This gift shop is what gave Zkyan the idea to roll out her latest new release. The distillery called this location home from 1882 – 1919 and returned in 2018 with a tour and tasting experience, complete with a gift shop to buy your favorite Old Fo expressions. Main St in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The 117 Series takes its name from Old Forester’s home place at 117 W. This week, Old Forester has announced the arrival of The 117 Series – and these limited releases are so special that they’ll take you behind the scenes of a day in Zkyan’s life as their Master Taster. ![]() Old Forester's Jackie Zykan is releasing The 117 Series: High Angels' Share.īourbon hunting can be frustrating, even in Bourbon Country, but Jackie Zykan is doing her part to make sure visitors to Old Forester’s Whiskey Row distillery can find something special on their shelves.
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