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There seems to be a giant gap in the recorded history of the Old Grand-Dad brand that continues to thwart my every move to understand it. It’s the period of time that spans from roughly 1940 – when National Distillers bought the name along with distillery (DSP-KY-14) – to 1987 when they sold it all to American Brands (also called Fortune Brands).
What we know is that the distillery grounds in Frankfort had fallen into disrepair during Prohibition. And just like every other shuttered distillery after Repeal Day, its resuscitation was stymied by World War II. A law was put into place that any alcohol produced had to be for the war effort. Once the war was over and production could commence, it took until 1949 until a new Old Grand-Dad bottled-in-bond label could be stocked.
Old Grand-Dad Bottled in Bond and so much more
The great part about the tax strips that liquor bottles used to wear is that you can identify its exact age even if the label doesn’t include it. That’s because the strip on bottled-in-bond bourbons showed the season and year a whiskey was barreled and bottled. The internet is chock-full of pictures showing Old Grand Dad BiB tax strips gradually increasing the age of the liquid over time (check out this whiskeyid link to see more examples). In the mid-1950’s, National Distillers began to bottle some batches of OGD BiB at five years old. In the 1960’s, some batches were six years old. And in the 1970’s, I’ve witnessed some that were seven years old. This gradual increase in age was surely the result of slower sales due to America’s changing tastes.

Finding information on how Old Grand-Dad was made back in the 1950s (or at any point during its ownership by National Distillers) is hard. But there is one bit of information that exists that would show why the bourbon in this bottle might taste different from any other Old Grand-Dad product produced later on. It’s because of the United States Treasury Decision 6597 that happened in 1962 changed the legal barrel entry proof of a bourbon from 110 to 125 proof. I would recommend everyone checks out the best article I’ve read so far about barrel entry proofs to learn more.
The change in barrel entry proof was not immediately adopted by all distilleries, but there is reason to believe that the Old Grand-Dad distillery did bump theirs up. According to this passage from Aaron Goldfarb’s book “Dusty Booze,” OGD was using one of the higher barrel entry proofs around that time. He lists it as 112 whereas the creation of OGD114 in 1980/81 would have us believe it could have been around 114. I mention that because it was common to call a whiskey “barrel proof” if it was bottled at the strength it went into the barrel at. Today, we know that by the name “Full Proof.” I’ve also heard from sources that Beam currently uses 115 proof as the BEP for OGD barrels today. If you’re blessed to have OGD BiB bottles distilled before 1962 and after 1962, I’d love to hear your opinion on if they taste different.

Most enthusiasts know that Jim Beam’s recipe they received from the purchase of Old Grand-Dad called for 63% corn, 27% rye and 10% malted barley. I have no reason to believe this wasn’t the same recipe that National Distillers had been using during this same time period. Something important to note is that it was far from the norm to have that much rye (above 18%) in a bourbon mash bill. Seagram’s was doing it back then, but that was about it. The taste of rye fell out of favor post-Prohibition. Most whiskey producers picked up on this and decided to lower their rye content across the board to cater to new drinkers. Old Grand Dad was different because they stuck with a high-rye content but never explicitly used that as a selling point in their advertisements.

So now that we know a little bit about the bourbon in this bottle of Old Grand-Dad, how will it taste? Let’s find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.
Tasting Notes
Nose: From first sniff to last, this dram smells close to a rye whiskey. But the scent of warm butterscotch is sweet and inviting. Even if you don’t like the rye scents, you’re going to be pulled in by that alone. There are a surprising amount of antique wood and cedar cigar box notes to find on the nose – strange given the fact it’s only five years old. But they’re there and it makes it taste much more mature. As far as spices go, I’m finding a beautiful bouquet of bloomed brown baking spices – much of which focuses on cinnamon.
Palate: For being only 100 proof, I’m excited to find a little spice sizzle on my tongue. That’s probably the rye! Speaking of rye, its influence is sprinkled throughout. I taste lots of citrus peel, herbs and licorice. Yes, it’s reminding me of a rye whiskey, but not modern ones with their propensity for astringency. This is the old kind that tastes like liquid fruit candy (and is very close to Christmas Fruitcake).
As I continue to sip, I’m also marveling at the viscous mouthfeel of the bourbon. I would classify it as more “oily” than “creamy.” There’s also a good amount of sweet notes like vanilla, caramel and a little bit of butterscotch. Just like with the nose, I’m shocked at how a five-year-old bourbon contains so much aged antiqued oak and old leather notes. But I’m not complaining!
Finish: The sip lasts a moderate amount of time and still contains lingering herbal and licorice notes. Oak and cigar box hang around for a while and the sweet sensation of liquid caramel stays put on my tongue. The fruit notes are influenced by the anise and cinnamon from above. I love the fact that there’s still a small amount of residual heat here. It’s almost unheard of when I taste dusty whiskies, but I like it!
Score: 8.9/10
It’s bourbon’s like these that make me want to echo the elite collectors that are always squawking that modern bourbon can never reach the heights of dusty bourbon. This bottle makes a strong case in that direction. How is it that they got so much flavor and depth from a 5-year-old bourbon? Was it always like this? Or was it the result of years slowly oxidizing in a bottle before being opened? Rather than trying to go to Mars, we need our nation’s top scientists to find out these answers.

I know a lot of why this bourbon is so good has to do with the way it was made. The lower barrel entry proof resulted in less water being added to the final product. This likely resulted in a lot of the fatty chains staying in tact. The viscous mouthfeel makes me think that this was closer to barrel proof than the stuff we have today. The old timey fruit and even some of the butterscotch notes were present all the way back in the 50’s which is something modern Old Grand-Dad can’t match.
Final Thoughts
There’s no sense in trying to hide my glee with this experience. This is one of the better bourbons of this era. Every distillery had a bonded product which was always superior to the 86 proof version, but they all seem to have a flaw (even if its small) in some regards. With Old Grand-Dad, there’s not much I can think of that could be improved upon except more proof (which would have been extremely uncommon to see anything above 100 proof at the time). National Distillers did go on to do just that two decades later with the introduction of OGD114. However, the fact remains this was a damn good bourbon back in the day but suffered due to a declining whiskey audience. What a shame.
If you have not had the opportunity to try much dusty bourbon from the 60’s or 70’s, then let me give you the short list of ones to seek out: Wild Turkey, Stitzel-Weller and Old Grand Dad. Even though the prices for any of them are insane, the experience is equally so. Even with just one sip, this may change your perception and understanding of how different bourbon was. It’s something you have to taste to believe.
Footnote: While doing research for this review, I found out a cool trick to quickly date a bottle of Old-Grand Dad Bottled-in-Bond (or even the 86 proof version). Look at the bottom left of the front or rear label and you’ll see either a C-XX or an F-XX. The two numbers after the letter is the year it was bottled. The “C” was used when OGD was owned by National Distillers and the “F” was used after Beam purchased the brand.
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