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1257 Kensington Road NW
1 (403) 283-8000 / [email protected]
$93.99
This Bourbon was featured on Day 12 of our 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar. You can check out Evan's blog post on the Old Forester 1920 here.
Part of Old Forester Distillery's Whisky Row Series, the 1920 Prohibition Style is meant to hearken back to the bad old days of American Prohibition. Bottled at 115 proof or 57.5% ABV - this might just cure what ails ya!
From The Producer
"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."
750ml mlOUT OF STOCK
If you'd like us to try to order it, add it to your cart. We can't promise, but we'll do our best!
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: Toffee and butterscotch right up front, mingling with preserved cherries, candied orange peel, brown sugar and sweet corn notes. Oak and wood slumber underneath the surface.
Palate: Big. Silky, spicy and sweet. Caramilk chocolate bar, caramel popcorn, sponge toffee, almond paste, fresh cherry juice, peach nectar, ripe banana, and baked apple crumble with brown sugar on top.
Finish: Smooth and warming all the way down. A touch of wood spice with the sweet notes on the fade.
Comment: So, so smooth for 57.5% ABV. Smoother than it has any right to be. This has been a permanent fixture of home whisky shelves for a few years now because the combination of flavour, high alcohol, and price is hard to beat.
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: An intense medley of cherry preserves, drippy caramel, dark chocolate, thickened maple syrup and seasoned oak spiciness.
Palate: Dark caramel coats layers of malt nuttiness and sweet graham cracker all warmed by green peppercorn and coriander spice brightened with a hint of cedar.
Finish: Tart apple crispness gives way to a long smoky finish full of toasted marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker sweetness.
Old Forester is one of a few Bourbons around that spells "Whisky" without the "e" on the label. The others that come to mind are Maker's Mark and George Dickel.
Old Forester Distillery and its owners Brown-Forman are one of a handful of makers of Bourbon and Whiskey in the United States that have a legitimate and continuous distilling history going back more than a century. Back in 1870, Old Forester Bourbon launched and was the first to be sold exclusively in glass bottles with a sealed top. This was a savvy move made by creator and pharmaceutical salesman Goerge Garvin Brown to market the authenticity and consistency of Old Forester in a market flooded with questionable and often adulterated whiskey.
In the beginning, there was no Old Forester Distillery - instead, the Bourbon was blended from three different distilleries and bottled at 90 proof or 45% ABV. Just over 30 years after launching Old Forester Bourbon, George Garvin Brown purchased one of the three distilleries he used for blending: The B.F. Mattingly Distillery gave him direct control over the whisky supply used for the Old Forester brand.
American Prohibition kicked off in 1920 with the ratification and enforcement of the Volstead Act. Prohibition lasted until 1933, and it is the primary reason that we see a lot of fanciful stories about those whiskey recipes that that great-granddaddy used and revived brands talking about their by-gone history that has an 80-year gap where they didn't exist. Prohibition destroyed many companies in the whisky, beer, wine and spirits game and made a large majority of operating distilleries shut down, never to reopen. Old Forester managed to survive and continue operation during Prohibition by receiving one of only 6 Federal licences within the state of Kentucky to continue making whiskey for 'medicinal purposes.
As mentioned earlier, Old Forester is owned by a company named Brown-Forman. Named after George Garvin Bown and his partner George Forman. The company is publicly traded but to this day remains family-owned and controlled. Brown-Forman owns a few other whisky brands that you may have heard of, such as the BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassauch distilleries in Scotland which the company purchased in 2016. The purchase of the three distilleries marked Brown-Forman's re-entry into Scotch Whisky as it did own a small share of Glenmorangie PLC before they sold it to Moet Hennessy in 2005. Beyond that, they also own Woodford Distillery and the Woodford Reserve brand. Oh, and a small operation in Tennessee that goes by the name Jack Daniels. Maybe you have heard of that one?
The Brown-Forman Old Forester Distillery resides in Louisville, Kentucky in a suburb called Shively. Its nearest neighbour distilleries include Michter's Shively distillery which is only a few blocks away and Heaven Hill's Bernheim distillery which is less than a 10-minute drive to the north. The Brown-Forman Distillery isn't open to the public, however, the Old Forester Distillery right in downtown Louisville was essentially purpose-built for visitors and tours. The building holds a fully operational distillery and also coopers barrels on-site. It opened in 2018. It is joined by other small downtown distilleries owned by Jim Beam, Michter's, and Evan Williams which is owned by Heaven Hill. Angel's Envy Distillery is also within walking distance.
Old Forester Distillery in downtown Louisville - Photo was taken from the Old Forester Facebook Page
$45.8915
The American Prairie Bourbon takes its name from the American Prairie Reserve, which is a group attempting to create the largest wildlife reserve in mainland USA. This Straight Bourbon itself is composed of whisky sourced from multiple distilleries including the 75% Corn, 21% Rye and 4% Malted Barley Mashbill of MGP Distillery of Indiana, and a few other undisclosed Bourbons from other distilleries. The components between three and thirteen years of age before being blended together and bottled at 46% ABV.
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Light caramel and sweet vanilla
Taste: Rich and earthy on the palate with well balanced flavors of candy corn, honey nougat and sweet corn bread biscuits
Finish: Vanilla with a hint of caramel apple
From The Producer
"High West Distillery is passionate about the American West’s natural beauty. That’s why we want to raise awareness of one of the most fantastic projects of our time: the American Prairie Reserve in northeastern Montana. This is an amazing effort to assemble the largest wildlife reserve in the lower 48 states. When stepping onto the plains of American Prairie Reserve, it’s easy to imagine the landscape as Lewis and Clark and Native Americans saw it, with thundering herds of bison, racing bands of pronghorn antelope and prairie dog towns dotting the horizon. When complete, the Reserve will be approximately 5,000 square miles; larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Teton National Parks combined. Go to americanprairie.org to learn how to visit and support this worthy cause."
$37.791
This bottle was featured on Day 13 of our 2021 KWM Whisky Calendar
Old Forester 86 Proof is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon made at Old Forester Distillery in Lousiville. The Old Forester Distillery is owned by Brown-Foreman, who also owns the Woodford Distillery which is responsible for Woodford Reserve and is located in Versailles, Kentucky.
Old Forester's Bourbon mash bill is purportedly the same as that for its Woodford Reserve cousin, which is 72% Corn, 18% rye, and 10% Malted Barley.
43% ABV
$65.691
Hailing from Old Forester's Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky - the 1870 is one of the releases from the Whiskey Row Series. Labelled “Original Batch”, the 1870 utilizes the typical Old Forester Bourbon Mash Bill consisting of 72% Corn, 18% Rye, and 10% Malted Barley.
This small-batch Bourbon contains whiskey source from barrels aged in three different warehouses that are then married together before being bottled at 45%.
$98.991
One of the best Bourbon deals in the store! This gift pack includes one 375 ml bottle of each of the following:
1897 Bourbon Bottled in Bond. This 100-proof expression is the second release in their Old Forester Whiskey Row Series and was specially crafted to honour the U.S. Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. After the U.S. Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 to be labelled as Bottled-in-Bond, the whisky must be the product of one distillation season, one distiller and from one distillery. The concept behind the Act, the idea of “sealed-in quality” was something that Old Forester, America’s First Bottled Bourbon introduced in 1870. 50% abv
1910 Old Fine Whisky. 1910 Old Fine Whiskey, Old Forester's fourth and final expression in the Whiskey Row Series, is a double-barreled Bourbon creating a smooth mingling of sweet oatmeal raisin cookie and milk chocolate, caramel corn, and evolving spice that leads into a refined, charred oak finish. 46.5% abv
1920 Prohibition-Style Bourbon. This 115-proof expression is the third release in their Old Forester Whiskey Row series and celebrates the brand’s continued distillation during Prohibition. For 13 years, the production, transport and sale of alcohol were strictly prohibited, however, Old Forester was granted a permit to continue distilling on Louisville’s Whiskey Row. The 115-proof expression represents a barrel sample that company president Owsley Brown would have batched at the beginning of Prohibition. 57.5% abv
