Tasting notes

nose

spiced baked apples and rye spice over raw vanilla and sweet oak, with a hint of clove

palate

apple pie and cream soda, then black pepper, cinnamon bark and sweet leather

finish

intense but quick spice with a touch of eucalyptus, fading into orange cream and caramel

Mash bill

Old Forester's single bourbon recipe of 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malted barley. The 18% rye is on the higher side for a traditional bourbon and gives the brand its pepper and baking-spice edge.

Awards

• 2018 International Whisky Competition, over 90 points

Why it's craft

Statesman is made from Old Forester's own Kentucky straight bourbon, using only casks hand-selected from the warmest spots in the warehouses, where larger temperature swings push the spirit harder into the oak. It was created in 2017 alongside the film Kingsman: The Golden Circle and stayed in the lineup afterward. Old Forester is Brown-Forman's founding brand: George Garvin Brown introduced it in 1870 as the first bourbon sold only in sealed bottles. Brown-Forman, still controlled by the Brown family, owns the brand.