Old Fourth Distillery Bottled in Bond Straight Bourbon

BACKGROUND: Atlanta’s Old Fourth Distillery gets its name from the “Old Fourth Ward,” a historic neighborhood in the city. Landmarks in the Old Fourth Ward include Martin Luther King’s Boyhood Home, the Ebenezer Baptist Church, the King Center and burial site, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, and the Edgewood Avenue nightlife district. Founded through a Kickstarter campaign by two brothers, Old Fourth Distillery initially made gin and a lemon-flavored sugar cane vodka on-site before expanding into bourbon. Old Fourth Distillery is quite vague and misleading about its bourbon being sourced. The front of the bottle says “Produced by Old Fourth Distillery,” but the back features an etching of a barn with a distillery licensing number above the door. This number belongs to MGP of Indiana, providing the only hint on the bottle that the bourbon is sourced. The company acquired 75 barrels of “new-make” bourbon from MGP in 2015, brought it to Georgia, and aged it for four years in a federally-bonded warehouse to meet bottled-in-bond requirements. An additional 120 barrels are slated for release in 2020. Before reviewing the bourbon, it's worth noting that the bottle is exceptionally beautiful and well-designed. The front boasts a stunning art-deco metal inlay of the distillery, complemented by a metal neck ring and topper. The text on the front and the trolley barn on the back are etched directly into the bottle. A small, handwritten label indicates the bottle and barrel numbers. The overall bottle design exudes style and sophistication. Made with a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley, the bottle I purchased cost just under $45. NOSE: The aroma is dominated by fresh, hot, buttered cornbread and smoky oak, revealing the actual char. This is likely due to the bourbon being unfiltered but passed through a single cotton screen to remove solids before bottling. Sweet fruit notes are present in the background. It's a thoroughly delightful and appealing aroma, making it hard to stop smelling it long enough to taste. A perfect one-word description would be “fantastic.” PALATE: The palate presents a blend of creamed corn sweetness, caramel cream pie, and smokiness. While these flavors might seem unusual together, they create a decadently rich, sweet, and satisfying taste. FINISH: The long finish is primarily smoky oak char and some pleasantly bitter lemon peel. A slight alcohol warmth is noticeable at the end. FINAL ASSESSMENT: The current bourbon surge has led to many hastily assembled operations posing as “craft” distilleries, often prioritizing profit over product quality. These quick setups frequently rush to bottle immature bourbon that tastes like chewing on fresh grass. Old Fourth Distillery stands out as an exception. Their Bottled In Bond Straight Bourbon would be an excellent product even for a large, established distillery, let alone a small craft operation in Georgia. It's no surprise this bourbon won a double gold medal at the 2019 World Spirits Competition in San Francisco. I intend to buy more bottles on my next visit to Georgia.

Barrel 38 from the 2020 release. Sample: Opened bottle, left below neck pour. (second tasting). Nose: Rich brown sugar kicks it off, with a bit of candied oranges and corn. It's surprisingly ethanol-free for 100 proof, with only sweet notes and a faint hint of vanillin, giving it a very rum-like aroma. Palate: Unsurprisingly, the initial taste is packed with strong brown sugar. Vanilla carries over to the ethanol, and there's a noticeable warmth, but it's not bad or harsh, just what you'd expect at 100 proof. This warmth leads into a pleasant red hots cinnamon finish. The aftertaste also includes hints of leather, old spice, and wood, just enough to remind you this is a mid-aged, not a well-aged, product. It would be interesting to experience this with an additional 2-4 years of aging, perhaps after a second finishing. I imagine that would result in a truly special drink. Bottle Appearance: The bottle itself is a rather flamboyant piece of art. It's not unattractive, but its art deco style is a bit too much for my personal preference. This has no bearing on the contents and would only matter to collectors. Overall: I appreciate what Old Fourth has achieved with the barrels sourced from MGP. As a friend pointed out, not many new distilleries take the time and effort to go fully Bottled in Bond for their first release. It's understandable why some Georgians might overvalue this, but it's a nice bottle that's reasonably priced and suitable for various occasions.

To start, this bottle is one of the most visually appealing I've encountered. Even if it's not the absolute best bourbon I've tasted (it's quite good), the bottle alone would justify displaying it. My assessment is based on a second tasting of this bourbon. Appearance: It looks exactly like honey. Nose: Absolutely no ethanol scent, which is surprising given its age and proof. It has a slightly floral character, with very light vanilla notes. First taste neat: Vanilla appears again, mild and understated, followed by caramel, and then an unexpected burst of cinnamon spice at the conclusion. With water: More caramel flavor emerges, along with some floral notes. The cinnamon heat dissipates, leaving behind baking spices without any tingling sensation. I truly enjoy this. With ice: It offers a combination of bitter and sweet, reminiscent of coffee ice cream drizzled with a bit of caramel syrup. Finish: It lingers. I can still sense the tasting notes after half a minute. There are hints of vanilla and black tea. Overall, I appreciated this even more on the second tasting. In my opinion, it's best with a little water added. I'm actually going to adjust my rating; I enjoyed it significantly more this second time. I'd even say I'd be happy to showcase it for both its presentation and its contents. For a young 4-year-old spirit, that's quite remarkable!

Taste: Drank neat in a glen cairn glass, 1 oz., then with a drop or two of water. Nose: (4.5) Warm cornbread and butter are prominent. Sweet and aromatic with some strawberry jam. Intense and distinct with minimal detectable ethanol. Palate: (4.75) Extremely rich and luxurious. The jam is more noticeable, then gives way to thick banana pudding drizzled with caramel. Heat appears at the back with smokiness. The flavors are wonderful for a 4-year-old spirit and would be even better if some stock were aged longer. I'm eager to try this if it reaches 6-7 years. Finish (4.75) A very long and pleasant one, with notes of oak, candy corn, buttery pancakes with syrup that gradually fades to burnt brown sugar, leaving me wanting more. Overall: Craft whisky is typically subpar. Too young, too similar to others, and disappointing. Not this one. This is a success. I'll be keeping an eye out for more from this producer.

From the Inman Park area comes O4W; it is sourced from MGP. This marks their initial venture into whiskey after producing gin and vodka for several years. Nose: A very fruity bourbon. Primarily oranges alongside brown sugar. Given it's bottled at 100 proof, ethanol is also detectable in the aroma. Palate: Initial notes of vanilla and corn. This is followed by leather and oak. The alcohol is more noticeable on the palate compared to other Bottled-in-Bond bourbons I've tried. Finish: The oak notes persist for a short while, but that's about it. It's quite average. The fruity aroma is a standout characteristic of the bourbon, but the rest is very standard. It hits the typical bourbon notes but shows its youth in the intensity of the ethanol presence, even at 100 proof. I am very curious to see how their stock matures, though. Cheers!

Atlanta delivers some excellent spirit—the first of its kind since prohibition! The higher proof is barely noticeable on the aroma, which offers sweet cereal, apple, vanilla, and caramel. The palate has a brown sugar sweetness, a hint of caramel apple, subtle charred oak, and buttery biscuit with a touch of honey. Imagine if they created an apple-flavored Werther's hard candy? The finish is medium-long with more sweetness and a hint of wood and dryness.