Whisky Connosr
Menu
Shop Join

Old Forester 1920

Prohibition-Style Old Forester At 57.5% ABV

4 190

@VictorReview by @Victor

12th Apr 2017

0

  • Nose
    ~
  • Taste
    ~
  • Finish
    ~
  • Balance
    ~
  • Overall
    90

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: user

  • Brand: Old Forester
  • ABV: 57.5%

Old Forester 1920 is part of Brown-Forman-owned Old Forester's Whiskey Row series, commemorating bourbon styles from historical periods. The 1920 release commemorates the "medicinal whiskey" license bourbon which Old Forester produced during the US Prohibition, which lasted from 1920-1933. The reviewed bottle is owned by @Maddie, and was opened 3 days ago. "Prohibition style" is a description given by Brown-Forman and several other distilleries for their products without giving any details of what the description means in terms of the whiskey's content or process of production. Old Forester 1920 has no age statement

Nose: at first, intense high-pitched sharp-edged caramel, gradually fanning out to a variety of high and medium-pitched wood flavours. Vanilla, of course, is present. There are also just a few bass register wood pitches to give some balance in the pitch. This is not merely sweet. This is candied. Grain flavours from rye are there, and just a hint of corn, but this is a show of flavours from oak-wood. This nose reminds me a lot of a lower-rye content bourbon version of Heaven Hill's Pikesville 6 yo 110 proof straight rye whiskey. It is a great nose full of clean robust piercing flavours. Water added brings out very high-pitched confectioner's sugar sweetness, and smoothes out and bundles the strong wood flavours. This is great with water added also. Score: 23.5/25

Taste: this is candied in the mouth, just as it was in the nose. Some sourness creeps in on the delivery to counter the sweetness. A hint of bitterness follows. Water added bundles the flavours and reduces the sour-and-bitter component. This sample is better with a couple of drops of water added. The overall effect remains one of heavy oak flavours with intense high-pitched caramel-sweetness. Score: 20/25 neat; 22/25 with water added

Finish: remains long, intense, and mostly quite sweet. Water added continues the bundling of flavours. I prefer it with a drop or two of water. Score: 20/25 neat; 22/25 with water added

Balance: excellent balance in the nose, provided that you fully understand that this is a sweet candy trip. Balance is good-very good in the mouth, particularlly with a little water added. Score: 21.5 neat; 22.5 with water added

Total Sequential Score: 87 points neat; 90 points with water added

xxxxxxxxxx

Strength: very strong flavours throughout. Score: 23.5/25

Quality: very good to excellent flavours throughout with water added. There was a little more sourness and bitterness in the mouth than I would have liked neat. Score: 23/25

Variety: very good range of bourbon flavours. Score: 22.5/25

Harmony: excellent in the nose; good to very good in the mouth, especially with a little water added. Score: 21.5/25

Total Non-Sequential Score: 90.5

xxxxxxxxx

Comment: standard Old Forester releases have never wowed me. Standard Old Forester is OK, but a bit thin. My one bottle of Old Forester Signature 100 proof was just OK, but I tasted from another bottle which was better. The special release Old Forester Birthday bourbons and the Old Forester Repeal of Prohibition bourbon have been wonderful, but are hard to get and/or expensive. It is wonderful to have a first-rate Old Forester which is actually available to purchase. The price for Old Forester 1920 is not inexpensive, but the price is not outrageous

N.B. as much as I like this sample of Old Forester 1920, I liked a commercial sample of Old Forester 1920 more

Do I recommend Old Forester 1920 bourbon? Definitely. This is a great newcomer to the bourbon-whiskey scene. The delicious aggressive nose would be worth the price alone, but only if you like candy

1 comments

@mscottydunc
mscottydunc commented

Nice review as always. I didn't particularly like the bottle of standard Old Forester that I had, but your review makes me want to give this one a go. Higher ABV likely helps, I too found the standard quite thin and lacking much of any kind of feeling on the palate.

6 years ago 0

You must be signed-in to comment here

Sign in