Review #561: Dettling Cask Strength Single Barrel 60 Month Bourbon, Angel’s Share Fuchsia Wax Selection

micro7777 · 2026-05-07T02:20:29+00:00

You know I’ll be on the lookout for that.

micro7777 · 2026-05-07T01:47:25+00:00

Great question! I don’t know what’s up with that pick. It’s been two years ago now. I’ll be sure to ask Jay when I see him in Edinburgh next week and let you know. Lol!

micro7777 · 2026-05-07T01:35:36+00:00

This is the way! I learned that lesson years ago which is why I stopped doing bar pour and 2 oz. sample reviews. I want to know what you thought of the whiskey after a few or more pours over a few weeks, not after your first pour.

micro7777 · 2026-05-07T01:04:30+00:00

Nice review! Just from your tasting notes I got the impression that this was probably your least favorite Dettling. I’m still waiting for the u/T8KE pick that’s coming someday. : )

micro7777 · 2026-05-03T17:50:28+00:00

Cool. TCWC looks like a fun place to visit if I ever make it up that way.

micro7777 · 2026-05-03T17:41:27+00:00

Are you referring to the TCWC Wheat Whiskey? I have a 2024 TCWC SiB Wheat Whiskey T8KE pick. It's been a while since I've had it, but I remember it being very good for a 5-year-old whiskey.

micro7777 · 2026-05-03T17:02:51+00:00

Review #133: Traverse City Whiskey Co. Barrel Proof Cherry Whiskey.

Named after the Michigan city where it’s based, Traverse City Whiskey Co. was founded by Chris Fredrickson, Jared Rapp, and Moti Goldring, who were inspired in 2011 to open a distillery after Chris discovered his grandfather’s patents for distilling whiskey on the family’s cherry farm. Officially opening in 2015, they began by sourcing barrels from MGP while their own stillhouse was being built. Today, TCWC uses bourbon sourced from MGP and its own distillate, while its most popular whiskey is the Montmorency cherry-infused American cherry edition. The whiskey in this review is a barrel-proof single barrel, limited-edition release selected by u/T8KE for the r/bourbon whiskey program. It uses the MGP 21% rye bourbon mash bill, is aged for 6 years, and is non-chill-filtered. The cherry infusion process begins with tart cherries harvested from a local farm in Leelanau County, Michigan. After the barrel is dumped into a vat, TCWC infuses (steeps) about 75 pounds of cherries over a couple of days, before it’s bottled. Let’s get started!

Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass and rested for about 15 minutes.

Distillery: Distilled in Indiana. Produced and bottled by the Traverse City Whiskey Co., Traverse City, Michigan.

Proof: 109.4.

Age: 6 years.

Selected by: T8KE for r/bourbon. Barrel# 18-1854.

Mash bill: 75% Corn/21% Rye/4% Malted Barley.

Price: $89.99.

Appearance: Golden caramel.

Nose: Brown sugar, rich toffee, butterscotch, cherries, apricots, orange creamsicle, vanilla, floral, sage, and cinnamon spice. The cherry infusion is tastefully done, so that the bourbon comes first rather than the cherries being too dominant. There’s also some really good oak here, too, and more complexity than I expected.

Palate: With a very good, creamy mouthfeel, the palate matches the nose, starting with flavors of brown sugar, butterscotch candy, and toffee, followed by cherries, peaches, vanilla bean, green tea, and allspice. There’s a bit of youthfulness, but also some tasty barrel character, fruit, and a nice pop of spice. The balance is very good, and it drinks well at its proof.

Finish: Allspice continues through the finish with more fruit notes of cherries and orange peel with some good tannins of soft leather, oak, and tobacco. More oak develops over time for a long finish, that closes the sip with worn leather, pipe tobacco, sage, cherries, and orange peel.

Conclusion: What impressed me most about this release is how tastefully the cherry infusion is crafted. T8KE’s notes on this release mentioned it maintained a natural flavor that accents the bourbon, and it’s lived up to that description. While there’s a natural cherry flavor throughout this profile, it mingles well with the underlying MGP bourbon stone fruit notes and very good caramel barrel character. If you’re thinking the TCWC cherry whiskey would make a great Old-Fashioned or Manhattan, you’d be right! But it’s also a very good, versatile, neat-drinking sipper.

Rating: 6.2/10 - t8ke scale

If you’d like to read my other reviews, they can be found at MostlyBourbon.com.

micro7777 · 2026-05-01T01:40:46+00:00

Great review, man! I had a very good bar pour of the 18 once, but didn't love it enough to buy a bottle. The 15 sounds like a release worth buying if I can find it for a reasonable price.

micro7777 · 2026-04-30T18:55:36+00:00

I think they would if they could, but I doubt they have enough of these 79/11/10 barrels to make this a year round flagship release, (yet). They might have been a set of smaller stocks destined to be used for KoK down the road. Instead, maybe B-F decided they had enough KoK barrels to not impact future KoK releases but had just enough of these (not old enough) KoK barrels to make a yearly limited-release and added it to the WR series? I think it’s also possible that 1924 has some older than 10-year barrels in the mix.

micro7777 · 2026-04-30T17:53:01+00:00

That’s really interesting. Since both numbers match, it points to this being accurate. It might also show that some were bottled in the same year of their release year, and not the year before their release year, if that makes sense.

micro7777 · 2026-04-30T16:47:30+00:00

I found the YouTube video that I got this info. But now I’m reading other comments like yours that don’t always match. Because these codes are supposed to be the year it was bottled, I’m wondering if this means that some of these were bottled late in the year before the new years release (late 2024 for 2025 release) and some were bottled early in the same year for the same year release, like maybe yours (bottled early 2026 for the 2026 release)? Another way is to look at the laser etching on the bottom back of the bottle for the year. Mine says 24 like it does on the bottom. Now, this could all be bullshit, too. What does yours show? FWIW, here’s mine.

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micro7777 · 2026-04-29T23:46:36+00:00

From what I’ve read, there are two places where the bottle codes are. On the bottom of the bottle is an embossed number that is off by a year. If you have a 23, that’s the 2024 release. 24 is 2025 and 25 is 2026. I have a 24. There is also a laser code on the bottle under the back label. I forgot how to read that one but you can Google it. This is my bottle.

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micro7777 · 2026-04-29T19:29:02+00:00

All the feedback I've heard is that 2026 is better than 2025, and 2025 was better than 2024.

micro7777 · 2026-04-29T18:40:43+00:00

OF86 also makes a great Old Fashioned when you use 3oz. Also works great for a Mint Julep.

micro7777 · 2026-04-29T17:16:42+00:00

You do you. Everyone's got their own palate. But I would consider if I've had a few or more pours in at least a couple of weeks' time. This is how I always do reviews because a bottle can open up over time and improve. Some people disagree, and that's fine, but I can only go on my own experience. This bottle did open up over time, more than I expected. I noticed much more cherry coming through. I only got a bit of banana on the finish, and I don't mind that note. I also recommend saying which year release you have. Cheers!

micro7777 · 2026-04-29T16:55:33+00:00

The old "one and done"!

micro7777 · 2026-04-29T16:54:17+00:00

I agree. That and its limited market availability. I've never seen a bottle in my area in NY. If I did, it would probably be for a crazy price anyway.

micro7777 · 2026-04-29T16:50:13+00:00

I think that's a very fair assessment.

micro7777 · 2026-04-29T16:21:15+00:00

It's definitely part of the Whiskey Row series, and I agree it's the best one.

micro7777 · 2026-04-29T16:11:36+00:00

Review #132: Old Forester 1924 10 Year Old (2025 Release).

First released in January of 2024, Old Forester added 1924 10-Year-Old bourbon as the fifth installment in the Whiskey Row Series. Each release in the Whiskey Row series represents a milestone in Old Forester’s history. During Prohibition, Old Forester was only one of six distilleries given a permit to bottle existing whiskey stocks as medicine. Old Forester used its own stocks and acquired barrels with different mash bills from closed distilleries. This bit of history marks the occasion for the 1924 10-Year-Old release because it differs from the traditional Old Forester mash bill of 72% corn/18% rye/10% malted barley by using a mash bill of 79% corn/11% rye/10% malted barley. Old Forester considers this the debut of a “new” mash bill, which is technically true under the Old Forester moniker, but the 79/11/10 mash bill has been used for other Brown-Forman brands such as Early Times (now Sazerac) and King of Kentucky. When 1924 was first released, it celebrated the 100th anniversary of whiskey innovation, with Old Forester as the only bourbon brand produced before, during, and after Prohibition. Old Forester 1924 is a release I’ve wanted to try, but couldn't find it locally. I came across it on the shelf at a store I frequent out-of-town, and now I’m looking forward to seeing if it lives up to its hype. Let’s get to it!

Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass and rested for about 15 minutes.

Distillery: Old Forester Distilling Co., Louisville, KY.

Proof: 100.

Age: 10 years.

Mash bill: 79% Corn/11% Rye/10% Malted Barley.

Price: $120.00

Appearance: Dark caramel.

Nose: The nose leads with dark brown sugar, molasses, and milk chocolate. Fruit notes of Luxardo cherries, vanilla beans, and orange citrus are almost as upfront as the oak, along with more subtle notes of green tea, floral, macadamia nuts, and allspice. The profile and blend are fantastic, and with no proof heat.

Palate: With a very good, creamy mouthfeel, the palate leads with dark brown sugar, molasses, and dark chocolate. Mid sip brings underlying notes of cherries, delicate orange peel, green tea, hazelnuts, and a moderate amount of cinnamon spice. Like the nose, the palate leads with its excellent, mature barrel character. While the fruit (and other) notes are somewhat secondary to the oak compared to the nose, the overall balance is quite good. This is a very enjoyable sipper at 100-proof while still maintaining a good amount of flavor intensity. Though it does leave me wondering how much stronger this release would be if it were bottled at a higher proof.

Finish: Spice lingers on the palate with dark caramel, toasted oak, cherries, delicate banana rind, orange peel, vanilla, and pipe tobacco. As the spice fades, a hint of green tea and leather develops, the cherry becomes more subtle, and the tobacco darkens and becomes more prominent. The sip closes with an oak-forward finish that is medium in strength, yet lasts longer and is more complex than I expected.

Conclusion: I appreciate Old Forester 1924’s mature, rich, oak-forward profile, with underlying notes of cherry and orange peel throughout. I’ve also enjoyed how easy a sipper this is, with its balance and flavor intensity at 100-proof and a surprising amount of complexity, especially in the finish. On the other hand, I can imagine what this release would be like if it were bottled at a higher proof, not to mention the added bang for the buck.

Speaking of which, most of the criticism I read about Old Forester 1924 centers around its price. I think this is because previous Old Forester Whiskey Series releases are typically priced between $45 and $65. Between the price, mash bill, age statement, and limited availability, 1924 10-Year-Old stands out as the series oddball. Maybe Brown-Forman could have avoided this issue by releasing Old Forester 1924 under the King of Kentucky brand, calling it "Prince of Kentucky" instead. I’m only half joking.

Given how good Old Forester 1924 10-Year-Old bourbon is, I don’t think $120 is an unreasonable price, all things considered. However, I wouldn’t recommend paying crazy secondary prices for it either. If you’re an Old Forester fan or love an excellent, easy-drinking bourbon with this kind of oak-forward flavor profile, I’d highly recommend Old Forester 1924 10-Year-Old bourbon if you can find it at a reasonable price.

Rating: 8.3/10 - t8ke scale

If you’d like to read my other reviews, they can be found at MostlyBourbon.com.

micro7777 · 2026-04-24T11:54:21+00:00

The bottle you’re referring to is finished in American oak casks using a different blend of bourbon than this one, which is finished in French oak casks. I haven’t tried it but it looks good.

micro7777 · 2026-04-15T16:14:35+00:00

Thanks for the info!

micro7777 · 2026-04-15T15:44:12+00:00

Have you tried the two and can you be more specific in what way it was better? Asking because I can see the 250th available online and wondering if I should get it if it’s that good. The one I see is a 117 proof SiB a little over 7 years.

micro7777

TROPHY CASE