Old Forester


Old Forester is a brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey produced by the Brown-Forman Corporation. It is officially the longest running Bourbon on the market today, and was the first bourbon sold exclusively in sealed bottles. It was first bottled and marketed in 1870 by the former pharmaceutical salesman turned bourbon-merchant George Garvin Brown – the founder of the Brown-Forman Corporation. During the Prohibition period from 1920 to 1933, it was one of only 10 brands authorized for lawful production.
Old Forester is produced under the supervision of Master Distiller Chris Morris at the Brown-Forman distillery in Shively, Kentucky using a mash bill of 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley. Its mash bill has been described as "pretty standard" and "richer in rye than most bourbons".
Bottling variations include Old Forester Classic, Old Forester Signature, and Old Forester Birthday Bourbon.

History

When the product was introduced in 1873, bottles of Old Forester were sealed as a way to guard against adulteration and substitution of the contents, and were initially sold in pharmacies as a medicinal product. The innovation introduced with Old Forester was not that it was available in such bottles, but that it was the first bourbon to be exclusively available in this fashion – providing a greater level of assurance of quality for that brand relative to other products in the market. This innovation was enabled and further fueled by emerging advances in the mass production of glass bottles, such as those soon to be developed by Michael Owens. The sealed bottle approach was popular with doctors and with the pharmacists that sold the product, and their approval was touted in advertisements of the product to the general public.
Originally, the product name was spelled "Old Forrester", with a double "r". The product is reported to have been named after a physician Dr. William Forrester who endorsed its consumption, and the renaming is conjectured to have been a way to avoid direct reference to the physician's name. Originally formed by George Garvin Brown and his half-brother John Thompson Street Brown, the company that produces the product was originally registered as J. T. S. Brown & Bro., and became Brown-Forman in 1902 after several partnerships and name changes involving partners James Thompson, Henry Chambers, and George Forman. George Garvin Brown became sole owner by 1902, and although Brown-Forman is now a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, the Brown family still controls more than 70% of the voting shares.
To produce his Old Forester product, Brown would initially purchase whiskies from distillers such as John Atherton and Ben Mattingly, and blend them together. In 1902, he then purchased Mattingly's distillery in the town of Saint Mary in Marion County, Kentucky.
Until Prohibition in the United States began in 1920, Old Forester was the leading brand produced by Brown's company. Since then, other brands acquired later by the company, such as Early Times, and Jack Daniel's, have become its leading products.
In August 2016, Old Forester announced the release of its 115-proof 1920 Prohibition Style bourbon.

Awards, recognitions, and reviews

Some awards and recognitions for the brand include the following:
Wine Enthusiast described Old Forester as having "a very spicy nose that has some sweet vanilla peeking through".
Food critic Morgan Murphy said "The sweet-and-sour aroma will be the first thing you notice about this venerable Kentucky classic."