Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style

Tastes like medicine

So I’ve read a few reviews of this particular run online, and the current theory is that the first batch was so well-received, they rushed the second batch, but it’s not as good: the flavor lacks the complexity, depth, and overall balance. I think I got a second batch bottle, as I bought in late 2020. It hits hard up front with spice, the flavor is...pretty good, honestly, but the thing that spoils it is the finish. It’s very dry, it burns, and it’s just...a lingering heat. But not necessarily a pleasant one. The best analogy I can draw is that it’s like how some hot sauces sacrifice flavor for spice. There are sauces out there that are just BONKERS hot, but still have good flavor. And then there are some that are basically “well, we just kind of dumped in some extra capsaicin into some okay-ish peppers, and now it’s extra spicy but the flavor is lacking.” That is the finish on this bourbon. The 6.5/10 flavor entirely disappears, leaving with just the burn, and it lingers for a while. I bought this with high hopes of being a relatively decent sipping bourbon, but it’s getting banished to the cabinet of “to be used in old fashioneds”.

Lots and lots of bubblegum. If you were to describe the flavors in more detail, you could say there’s notes of vanilla, banana, berries, and plain white sugar. But that all ends up combining into a candy-sweet bubblegum flavor that I can’t get past. I only had one glass, so YMMV, but I’m not a huge fan.