Bottle Review

Old Forester
1920

Dark chocolate, cherry cola, and maple syrup at 115 proof. A thick, unapologetic pour that drinks like dessert and finishes like a campfire — yes, I'd buy it again at $59.95.

No age statement · 115 proof · Prohibition Style

Proof115

ABV57.5%

AgeNAS

Mash Bill72/18/10

Price Paid$59.95

In the Glass

Tasting Notes

Nose

Rich and dessert-like: dark chocolate, cherry cola, maple syrup, thick caramel, and baked nuts. It smells like it means business.

Palate

Bold and viscous — it coats the glass and the tongue. Dark fruit, rich caramel, cinnamon spice, and roasted oak, all riding that 115-proof wave.

Finish

Long and warming, lingering with cocoa, dark berries, and charred oak. This one doesn't leave quickly, and you won't want it to.

Best Way to Drink ItNeat, on a cube, or in cocktails

My Take

Big Proof, Bigger Flavor.

Old Forester 1920 is what happens when a distillery stops worrying about making bourbon approachable and just makes it bold. At 115 proof, this is not a shy pour — it's thick, dark, and unapologetic, and that's exactly why I like it.

The nose is where it hooked me: dark chocolate, cherry cola, maple syrup. It smells like dessert and drinks like it means business. The palate is viscous — it coats — with dark fruit, caramel, and cinnamon spice, and the finish just keeps going with cocoa and charred oak.

At $59.95, this is a lot of bourbon for the money. It's not an everyday pour at 115 proof, but it's the bottle I reach for when I want something with weight. Neat, on a cube, or in cocktails — it handles all three. Yes, I'd buy it again — already planning on it.

Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style bourbon bottle outdoors

The Backstory

The Whiskey That Survived Prohibition.

Old Forester calls itself "the first bottled bourbon" — founded in 1870 by George Garvin Brown, it was the first bourbon sold in sealed glass bottles. When Prohibition hit in 1920, Old Forester was one of a handful of distilleries granted a federal permit to bottle medicinal whiskey, operating under Kentucky Permit No. 3.

The 1920 Prohibition Style expression honors that era. It's bottled at 115 proof — the typical barrel proof at the time — and it's part of Old Forester's Whiskey Row series, which walks through the brand's history one bottle at a time (1870, 1897, 1910, and 1920).

Old Forester: 1920 Prohibition Style