Ripe berries | Aged oak | Light leather | Vanilla cream | Touch of dry baking spices | Faint banana bread | Intriguing

Dry oak | Cigar box | Green peppercorn | Touch of rye spice | Dried apples & raisins | Dab of brown sugar

Smoked oak | Leather | Subtle tobacco leaf | Fleeting dried fruit | Sprinkle of rye spice

The Old Forester 117 Series is usually a way for the company to highlight more experimental releases. While the brand occasionally deviates into more traditional releases, such as last year's Old Forester 117 Series Bottled in Bond, more often than not, the 117 Series affords fans of Old Forester a way to taste a one-off whiskey from the brand.  Old Forester 117 Series: Scotch Cask Finish honors George Garvin Brown’s Scottish heritage. The release “celebrates Brown’s Gaelic roots with the sherry and wine barrels sourced and matured from the protected Speyside region around the River Spey in northeastern Scotland.”

While I braced for a more smoky opening, surprisingly, the nose doesn’t carry a hint of smoke. Instead, it highlights intriguing scents of bright ripe berries and warmer notes of vanilla cream and oak. The midpoint of the sip transitions away from sweater notes and instead turns its attention to more grounded drier notes. A dose of dried apples and raisins, along with a dab of brown sugar, adds a balancing sweetness to the mix. The medium-length finish ends the sip on the same vein that the palate starts. Overall, Old Forester 117 Series: Scotch Cask Finish is another nice addition to the 117 Series. That said, while its sip is nuanced and approachable, I would have to imagine that those seeking out this bottle expected more of a traditional scotch influence and will be slightly disappointed to see the seemingly minimal influence the finishing barrel had on the sip.