OLD FORESTER DOESN'T FUCK AROUND: A whiskey review

“What America needs now is a drink.” --FDR upon the repeal of Prohibition

Did you know that whiskey wasn’t always bottled? Before 1870, you could only buy it by the barrel, and it wasn’t until a pharmaceutical salesman from Louisville came along with a brilliant plan to bottle the stuff that it was. George Garvin Brown, in an attempt to ensure that the customer received a quality product (because retailers sometimes screwed around with the barrels), decided to sell his Kentucky Bourbon in sealed bottles. On the label of each bottle, he hand-penned his promise of quality to his customer, and so Old Forester was born.

Ah, but 1870 was definitely before Prohibition, right? Old Forester, like all the other booze in the nation, had to take a 13 year break from production, right? Wrong. Mr. Brown, ever the forward-thinking individual, applied for a government license so he could continue selling his wares during that dark, ugly period of American history. Only six distilleries were granted such permission, and it was only on the grounds of medicinal purposes.

That’s right. Old Forester is one of the only Bourbons to have continuously been sold in America, despite Prohibition. It is a matter of pride with them, and on December 5, 2008, they released a special batch to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. For a mere $6.99, you can buy this package. Within, you will receive a commemorative glass with the Old Forester logo on it, a pint bottle of 90-proof Old Forester with a reproduction of Mr. Brown’s famed label (complete with the archaic spelling of whiskey, “whisky”), and a scroll containing a reproduction of the heroic 21st Amendment signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Vice President of the United States at the time.

But what good is such an august history without a quality taste? As far as 90-proof Bourbons go, the taste of this one is smooth, but there is enough edge behind it to remind a customer that this is, indeed, potent stuff. And as with others of its ilk, the scent is strong enough to make a corpse grimace, which is the perfect indication of a good, clean intoxication to come. There is very little doubt as to why a fan club has sprouted up from this fine alcoholic beverage, the 1870 Society. If you think you are a fan of whiskey, and you have not tried Old Forester yet, then you need to reevaluate your position on life.

Happy drinking!