Some blind tastings produce surprises.
Others confirm suspicions.
And sometimes they do both at once.
This week, I lined up eight 100-proof bottles from across the Brown-Forman family and put them through my usual blind treatment: 1½ ounces into numbered sample bottles, shuffle them until identity disappears, taste them in random order, make notes, score them, then reshuffle and do it again.
The lineup included five bottles from Old Forester, two from Jack Daniel’s and one from Cooper’s Craft — eight bottles from the same whiskey house, all living in roughly the same proof neighborhood, but clearly built with different goals.
The field:
- Old Forester Single Barrel 100 Proof
- Old Forester 1897
- Old Forester 100
- Old Forester 1924 (2025 release)
- Old Forester 1924 (2026 release)
- Jack Daniel’s Bottled-in-Bond
- Cooper’s Craft 100 Proof
- Jack Daniel’s Heritage Toasted
The Blind Tasting
What stood out immediately was how often familiar Brown-Forman fingerprints kept appearing: banana, caramel, chocolate, toasted oak, cinnamon, brown sugar and buttery notes showed up again and again.
But not all of them wore those notes equally well.
Sample B immediately showed unusual balance: lightly toasted oak, caramel and chocolate on the nose, then a richer palate of bananas, oak, caramel, chocolate and cinnamon. The creamy mouthfeel and lingering finish suggested something operating a notch above the field.
That turned out to be Jack Daniel’s Heritage Toasted.
And once revealed, the result made perfect sense.
It finished first in both rounds and never really looked threatened.
The toasted oak profile gave it more structure than most of the field, while the brown sugar and butterscotch underneath kept it from leaning too dry. It wasn’t flashy — it was simply the most complete glass on the table.
The Runner-Up That Quietly Earned It
Sample A came across with banana, caramel and bittersweet chocolate on the nose, followed by cinnamon, banana and chocolate on the palate, with a slightly creamy mouthfeel and a finish led by caramel and chocolate.
That was Old Forester Single Barrel 100 Proof.
And it landed exactly where that profile suggested: second place.
It didn’t have quite the same layered oak influence as the Heritage Toasted, but it stayed balanced, flavorful and very steady. It also reinforced something many overlook: this bottle may not get the same shelf excitement as some limited releases, but it consistently drinks like a serious bottle.
The Two 1924s: Close, Good, but Not Dominant
The two commemorative 1924 releases finished side by side.
Sample D, which became Old Forester 1924 (2026), leaned buttery and silky, with toasted oak, toffee, brown sugar and caramel carrying a polished profile that helped it edge its sibling.
Sample C, the 2025 release, showed darker character — rich copper color, ethanol up front, oak, caramel, nutmeg, and darker chocolate dominating the palate and finish.
That darker bitterness likely cost it just enough ground.
The scores reflected how close they were:
- 1924 (2026): 82.5
- 1924 (2025): 82.25
That gap is tiny, but it was there.
Neither bottle disappointed. Neither justified its price by dominating the field either. They tasted like what they are: special bottles that belong on a shelf and in occasional pours, but not automatic champions simply because they cost more.
The Strong Middle of the Pack
Jack Daniel’s Bottled-in-Bond came from Sample E, which offered sweet dessert notes — milk chocolate, banana, caramel, cinnamon and buttery finish notes.
That profile translated into a very respectable fifth-place finish.
At around its price point, it remains one of the strongest buys in the lineup.
Cooper’s Craft 100, revealed as Sample G, leaned buttery and sweet, with toffee, banana, cinnamon and brown sugar, plus a silky mouthfeel and spicy finish.
It landed just behind Jack Daniel’s BiB.
That feels right: it isn’t dramatically better than Old Forester 100, but it does offer just enough extra polish to justify the slight bump in price.
The Shelf Hero Still Holds Its Place
Sample F — bananas, toffee, cocoa, caramel, light spice and a moderate finish — turned out to be Old Forester 100.
It finished seventh, but context matters.
An 80-point score in a field where nothing tasted bad is still a win for a bottle at that price.
And it still beat Old Forester 1897.
The Surprise at the Bottom
Sample H — toasted oak, nutmeg, caramel, vanilla, brown sugar and butterscotch — turned out to be Old Forester 1897.
That sounds promising on paper.
But in practice, it never quite translated into enough distinction to rise above the others.
It wasn’t bad whiskey.
It simply lacked the clarity and punch several others delivered.
And that left it last.
Final Order
- Jack Daniel’s Heritage Toasted — 84.5
- Old Forester Single Barrel 100 — 83.5
- Old Forester 1924 (2026) — 82.5
- Old Forester 1924 (2025) — 82.25
- Jack Daniel’s Bottled-in-Bond — 81.25
- Cooper’s Craft 100 — 81.0
- Old Forester 100 — 80.0
- Old Forester 1897 — 79.5
Final Pour
The biggest takeaway is simple:
Brown-Forman knows how to build reliable whiskey.
None of these bottles failed.
Several were excellent.
One was clearly best.
And the shelf still tells an important truth: price doesn’t always predict finish position.
Sometimes toasted oak wins.
Sometimes value keeps earning respect.
And sometimes the bottle you expected to impress ends up watching from eighth place.
Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
