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Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Review

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Sunday Evening Review

 

Since starting to do the Sunday Evening Review in 2020 I have reviewed all different kinds of bourbons and to my surprise when looking through my review history I have never reviewed Old Forester 1920. That gets solved today as this is consistently a bottle that whiskey lovers rank as one of their favorites. Let’s find out if we should follow the crowd or go down a less traveled path.

 

Don’t forget to post in the comments any whiskey you would like me to review in the future.

 

NAME – Old Forester 1920 (Prohibition Style)

 

PROOF – 115 Proof

 

AGE – non-age stated

 

COLOR – worn football (1.7, burnt umber on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – The traditional Old Forester chocolate is up front and center. Also, dark fruits like stewed plums, raisins, Bing cherries, and fig newton. Also, dark roast coffee and charred oak.

 

TASTE – Chocolate follows from the nose along with a stronger presence of barrel char. Dark roasted coffee, black cherry, dark brown sugar, and sweet tobacco.

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium to long finish. Chocolate and barrel char just continues to hang around for a good bit of time.

 

REVIEW – When this bourbon hit the shelves, I thought it was a game changer. At 115 proof, this quality, at $60 and highly available at the time it was in a class by itself. I still think this is very hard to beat for a widely available bottle that I feels is better than even some of the Birthday Bourbons that have come out. If you are someone that only wants a small collection of 10 bottles, this should be one of them. No one you share this with should be disappointed and when you finish it you know it is an easy trip to any liquor store to replace it.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style was the third release in the Whiskey Row series and paid tribute to a moment in time in whiskey. The Volstead Act of 1920 initiated the thirteen years of Prohibition. During that time only 6 distilleries were allowed to produce whiskey under a medicinal license. The Old Forester held Kentucky permit KY-3. At this time, the barrel entry proof for Old Forester was 100 proof. During the maturation process the Angel’s Share increased the aging whiskey’s barrel proof, which ended up around 115 proof.

To find out more check it out here – Old Forester 1920

You can look at all the past Sunday Evenings Reviews and I would still love to hear what your personal reviews are from each of the whiskies reviewed

OF 1870 Sunday Evening Review

Old Forester 1870 Review

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This week I am reviewing Old Forester 1870 which has to be the least talked about bottle of the Whiskey Row series. The 1870 signifies the year that George Garvin Brown, founder of Old Forester, began blending or batching bourbon from 3 different distilleries from 3 different towns in an effort of creating consistency. Consistency is one thing but to mean anything it needs to be consistently good. Let’s find out if Old Forester succeeded.

 

Don’t forget to post in the comments any whiskey you would like me to review in the future.

 

NAME – Old Forester 1870

 

PROOF – 90 Proof

 

AGE – non-age stated (rumored at 4 – 4 ½ years)

 

COLOR – aged copper penny (1.5 auburn, polished mahogany on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Very fruit forward with the traditional Old Forester cherry note. Also, pear, orange zest, vanilla, oak, chocolate, and a little peanut.

 

TASTE – Oak comes on stronger on the palate, still the cherry, vanilla and now caramel comes to the party. Slight bit of tobacco and peanut drift in.

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium finish. Oak, tobacco, some bitter chocolate, and a very slight citrus note. Pretty good finish for how thin the mouthfeel is with this bourbon.

 

REVIEW – This is a good bourbon that is pleasant to drink and punches above its 90 proof weight. I do understand why it gets lost against the likes of Old Forester’s 1910 and 1920. If you have the full lineup don’t forget about this 1870 and even sneak it in with friends unknowingly and see what they think.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – The original batching of 1870 was done by Marianne (Barnes) Eaves when she was the understudy of Master Distiller Chris Morris of Brown-Foreman. Instead of coming from 3 distilleries from 3 different towns, this is blended coming from 3 different warehouses, each barrel originating from a different day of production, with a different barrel entry proof and a different age profile. This was the first release of the Whiskey Row Series.

To find out more, visit the Old Forester 1870 page.

You can look at all the past Sunday Evenings Reviews and I would still love to hear what your personal reviews are from each of the whiskies reviewed.