One of the oldest Bourbon brands available today, Old Forester dates back to the 1870s and is one of the fastest-growing American whiskey brands in the US.
Owned by Brown-Forman, the brand is on the receiving end of shed-loads of investment as its parent tries to take advantage of the Americana boom going on in spirits. A brand new distillery and visitor centre in downtown Louisville is set to open imminently and will boost capacity tremendously – expect new releases to follow.
But while Old Forester is gearing up for the future, it’s also proud of its heritage. It was the first Bourbon ever to be sold in sealed glass bottles in the US – at the time it was made by batching liquid from three distilleries for a consistent flavour profile, and in his exacting way, founder George Garvin Brown wanted to make 100% sure no other liquid was snuck in. It was also one of very few distilleries which remained open during Prohibition. Brown-Forman (yes, the same company that owns Old Forester today) cunningly applied for a license which allowed production to continue for ‘medicinal’ purposes. In fact, Old Forester is the only Bourbon available today which was continuously produced and marketed in the US before, during and after Prohibition.