Old Forester is a classic bourbon brand and distillery, with a stable of solid core expressions and some special releases that make it one of the best in Kentucky. The distillery just announced the third release of its King Ranch bourbon which takes things in a slightly different direction, however, by putting a Texas twist on a Bluegrass State classic.
King Ranch Edition was first released in 2022, and if you heard of it then and it kind of reminded you of Wild Turkey’s Longbranch Bourbon, there’s a reason for that which we’ll get into. King Ranch is a Texas-only release (although of course you can find it from secondary retailers online as well)—that’s because it’s made in partnership with the eponymous King Ranch in south Texas, an 825,000-acre spread dedicated to wildlife and environmental preservation, as well as actual ranching, the raising of livestock, and of course offering boar hunting experiences to visitors.
King Ranch Bourbon starts off as Old Forester’s regular bourbon, which is then filtered through mesquite charcoal made from trees harvested from the ranch, and finally bottled at 105 proof. That is not the same as smoking the whiskey with mesquite, as other distilleries have done over the past few years. But it’s pretty close to Longbranch, as mentioned before, a whiskey collaboration between Wild Turkey and Matthew McConaughey, who was creative director at the time, that took eight-year-old bourbon and filtered it through mesquite and oak charcoal. McConaughey parted ways with Wild Turkey shortly after the opening of the Longbranch Ranch in the Texas Hill Country, as we reported at the time, and has since moved onto his new tequila brand, Pantalones.
The end result is a twist on Old Forester’s classic bourbon flavor profile, with aromas of dried cherries, cranberries, and toasted pecans on the nose, and notes of dark chocolate, tobacco, leather, and toasted oak on the palate. “Bourbon lovers across Texas will sip the unique blend of flavors that live up to the legacy of our founder, George Garvin Brown, with quality and taste while honoring the impact King Ranch has had on the Lone Star State, and on American ranching,” said assistant master distiller Caleb Trigo in a statement. “The first two batches, released in 2022 and 2023, sold very quickly so we are honored to bring this bottle back to shelves in 2024.”
As mentioned earlier, Old Forester King Ranch Edition is a Texas exclusive, but if you take a look at websites like Total Wine you can probably find a bottle for close to its $100 suggested retail price. You can also find the rest of the Old Forester collection available from ReserveBar now. And why not pick up a bottle of Longbranch, which is still around despite McConaughey moving into agave spirits, to see how it compares.
