The Volstead Act of 1920 which initiated Prohibition in the USA granted permits to six distillers in Kentucky to continue to bottle bourbon for medicinal purposes. Through one of these permits, Old Forester continued to be produced as medicinal whiskey on Louisville’s famed Whiskey Row. It is the only bourbon continuously sold by the same company that has been available for sale before, during and after Prohibition.
During this time, all whiskies had to be bottled at 100 Proof. With a barrel entry proof of 100, the “angel’s share” would have created a 115 proof whiskey after maturation. To pay homage to this era, Old Forester presents 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon at 115 proof to represent the rich flavor profile this bourbon had nearly 100 years ago.
Old Forester
Appearance
More like the 1897 in colour that I can see, just a shade darker than mid gold in colour, with a medium thick swirl line producing a mix of medium legs and thick teardrops. #TheWhiskeyChaps
Old Forester 1920 Appearance: Tizer orange. Lovely oily coating on the glass, thick swirl mark and thick legs #thewhiskeychaps
— Whisk(e)y Chap 🏴🥃 (@whiskeychap) January 20, 2022
Nose
The ABV rise is very evident here, and I’m getting cocktail cherries, dry cut grass, cereals and grains, a touch of perfume, a dustiness, prunes, and barley sugar. #TheWhiskeyChaps
Palate
We’re back to a lovely mouthfeel now, it’s really quite oily tbh, and the spices are definitely here, waves of hot cinnamon, vanilla pods, ginger root, cardamom, chocolate, black peppercorns, prunes and dates, blackcurrant jam and pomello. #TheWhiskeyChaps
Finish
It does go on for a while, syrupy treacle, juice form a can of cherries and strawberries, apricot pastries, an oily flavour too, it’s definitely a little dirty. Such a lovely warming dram, really is, I’d 100% have a bottle of this. #TheWhiskeyChaps
Finish: Long. Sweeter and more chcolatty than the other 3 Whiskey Row releases. There’s also a berry-sweet element which is very nice too. It’s a lovely end to a great dram! #thewhiskeychaps
— Whisk(e)y Chap 🏴🥃 (@whiskeychap) January 20, 2022
My thoughts
I was lucky enough to try this Bourbon just over a year ago, a sample very kindly sent to me by a Twitter whisky friend, David Marra, and i have to say it impressed me very much. The extra ABV is quite evident and it does give the bottle a bit of a boost over the other 3 bottles in this Old Forester range.
The aromas and flavours do throw themselves at you, it’s a tsunami initially, which does eventually settle down a little, allowing access to the more subtle aromas and flavours. Personally i could see myself spending an hour to an hour and a half with one pour, for me drinking this one quickly would be to miss half of what it can offer, which would be a shame. I’d definitely have a bottle of this, it’s a cracking drop for me.
Thank you to Duncan – @whiskytip for joining us at the end of our tasting with this bottling, you can follow Duncan and indeed us on twitter using the buttons below.
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