Fortune's Fool The Overture Rye Review [In Depth]
Fortune's Fool The Overture Rye
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Fortune's Fool The Overture Rye Details
Distillery: Fortune’s Fool
Type & Region: Rye, Kentucky, USA
Alcohol: 54.7%
Composition: 62% rye, 30% corn, 8% barley
Aged: At least 3 years
Color: 1.4/2.0 on the color scale (tawny)
Price: $60
From the company website:
Time wanes not for those who love. It’s a slow march, magic. American Oak staves seasoned in the open air for 24 months, carefully charred and toasted over oak fires. Shaped by hand into its destined form. Then, the clock’s hands tease out flavors of mellowed vanilla, fruit, warm honey, and spice, resulting in a masterfully crafted spirit.
An ode to what is and what is yet to be.
Fortune's Fool The Overture Rye overview
Fortune’s Fool was founded in 2019 by Julia Schmalz, MD. Why yes, that MD does mean that she is a medical doctor…or at least one that has moved on to craft whiskey. I highly doubt that she has time to build a whiskey brand and still be a practicing doctor. I appreciate the guts to branch out though. It’s one thing to dream about quitting your day job to pursue your dream, and it’s another to actually do it.
Fortune’s Fool The Overture is a 3 year old Kentucky rye, and since it’s not particularly clear if they distill their own whiskey, I don’t think that they do. That means that the rye whiskey was sourced from Kentucky distillery. From where, I don’t know, but Bardstown Bourbon Company and Green River are two common suspects for something like this.
So apart from what appears to be a custom mashbill, the barrels were also custom selected from Seguin Moreau, based in California. Savage and Cooke also uses these barrels…although to be honest their results have been inconsistent. You can use some amazing barrels and still end up with just ok whiskey, so barrels aren’t the end all be all of a great bourbon.
Let’s find if you’re a genius or a fool to buy this rye in this Fool’s Fortune The Overture Rye review.
This bottle was provided to me at no cost. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Fortune's Fool The Overture Rye smell
There’s slightly dusty dark honey, dried licorice and orange peel, roasted oak, clove, caraway seed, candied pineapple, vanilla, and dried cranberry. After a few more minutes of rest, some darker maple syrup starts to come out.
Fortune’s Fool The Overture Rye smells nice, but it feels shy and isn’t complex. I can mostly pick out the various scents, but they don’t jump out of the glass and make it easy. Maybe that’s supposed to be a given, but I’m going to mention it anyway.
Fortune’s Fool The Overture Rye smells more like a high rye bourbon than a rye whiskey. I write that because it’s not so herbal forward in a way that screams rye. It’s more focused on sweet and oaky notes with a more subdued herbalness and earthiness. I’ve had Willett bourbons that smelled more like rye whiskey than this rye whiskey does.
After swirling, I smell honey, dried licorice, lemon and lemon peel, roasted oak, clove, caraway seed, rose, pineapple, and a little darker maple syrup and graininess (but not in an unpleasant way). It more or less smells the same as before, which is pleasant but closed off.
In my experience, the herbal and tropical notes in rye whiskey often explode out of the glass, which isn’t the case here.
Fortune’s Fool The Overture smells pleasant, but doesn’t do more to get my attention or be compelling.
Fortune's Fool The Overture Rye taste and aftertaste
I taste darker honey, licorice, caraway seed, dried lemon peel, roasted oak, clove, candied pineapple, cinnamon, dried cranberries, and a little rose. Fortune’s Fool The Overture Rye Whiskey has good richness and extra oiliness from what is probably a lack of chill filtration. The heat is controlled too.
Thankfully, the flavors have more life and character than the scents do, and it tastes more like a rye whiskey than a bourbon now as more herbal licorice and caraway seed come out to the front.
The downside is that the flavors are straightforward and don’t have much in the way of complexity. That’s where I think the younger rye really comes through.
“Chewing” brings out more honey, licorice, vanilla, and lemon, then roasted oak, clove, caraway seed, rose, and some rye grain. There’s more of that herbal and earthy sweetness that I associate with rye whiskey, as well as some of that herbal rye pop. Now Fortune’s Fool The Overture has some more richness and deliciousness to offer.
It’s surprising because the scents are closed-off, but there is no such issue with the flavors. I over index on the flavors so I can mostly forgive the scents. That said, the flavors are still straightforward so there’s still no back and forth between the various flavors, but I can’t deny the enjoyable fullness of it.
The finish leaves honey, licorice, lemon, earthy caraway seed, oak, and clove with longer lasting licorice, pineapple, and lemon peel.
Overall, Fortune’s Fool The Overture Rye is a solid and tasty rye that doesn’t have much that can wow or impress.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Fortune's Fool The Overture Rye Rating
Fortune’s Fool The Overture Rye ends up being a tasty rye. The scents are good but closed off, but the flavors are where this partially wins me over. For an early release from the brand, I think that it’s well done…but I have some additional thoughts, which I’ll get to later.
The flavors are the best part of this experience because they bring the rye character that you either love or hate. For better or worse, the sweet, herbal, and oak-spicy notes are front and center. Any rye lover will enjoy this, neat or in a cocktail.
And for better or worse, I probably wouldn’t be able to pick it out from a group of rye whiskeys. I just wish there was something more unique and memorable about it so I could feel more excited about it.
Now for a reality check.
I hate to say it, but I think that this is a tough sell for $60. It’s not necessarily a bad buy solely based on how it drinks. The problem is that buying is often a comparison of one thing to another, and that’s where I think this won’t succeed for most buyers.
While the story is interesting, Fortune’s Fool The Overture Rye isn’t quite good enough to stand out in an already very crowded shelf of rye whiskey. I’m this harsh because the competition is unforgiving and there’s only so much shelf space in liquor stores already jam packed with rye (and bourbon) from everywhere. There needs to be a compelling reason to buy one bottle over another.
As a buyer, why would I be compelled to buy this? Being a doctor is great, but is it enough to compel people to buy your whiskey? I don’t have an answer, but time will tell.
As a buyer, possibly a moderately educated one, you might already know that there are many options. The major Kentucky and Indiana distilleries already produce great ryes, as do many craft distilleries such as Still Austin, Green River, and Leiper’s Fork to name just a few.
The success of this whiskey and brand then comes down to how Fortune’s Fool markets it. Yes, I guess that I’m technically part of the marketing part because I reviewed it and posted about it, but it really comes down to getting in front of a potential customer and telling that person why Fortune’s Fool The Overture Rye is the right bottle to buy over dozens of others.
It’s not a ringing endorsement from me, but also not a resounding no either. It’s a well made rye whiskey that doesn’t stand out, but I think that you’ll enjoy it if you do buy / try it.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
There are no sponsors, no media companies, and no nonsense. Support The Whiskey Shelf by Buying Me A Shot.
Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
Leave a Reply