Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style

On the nose there are notes of cinnamon, vanilla, and some banana bread. Palate has a little bit of caramel, leather, and tobacco with a little spice on the finish. Rather nice for a relatively easy to find bottle here in PA.

This is my 100th tasting. Can't remember when I joined, don't know how long it took me to reach here. I tossed a few ideas in my mind for how to make this special. Mostly opening something new. I have two bottles opened that I haven't reviewed: Buffalo Trace (not a 100th tasting special contender) and I had this, Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style (which is much better). I considered other bottles: various Maker's Mark special releases; Sagamore 8 Year; Talisker 10, which I haven't yet gotten to. Then, I thought, Blue Spot, which I had intended to open for St. Patty's this year, and then I saw the prices it's going at for auction and thought, do I really want to know how this tastes that badly or if I sit on it a few more years, can I make a decent profit (remember, I'm not generally a flipper, but sometimes, when you have a rarity, it's tempting). I even considered some off-kilter ideas: Speyburn Companion Cask and Robert Burns of Arran simply because they're unusual bottles for my collection. Then, in the end, I settled on this. This is another one of those bottles like Wild Turkey Rare Breed that's a cask strength deal that's always around so I kept overlooking it, and then, on an impulse, I stopped into FW&GS and it called to me. OF 86 was an old favorite in my early drinking days. OF Rye 100 is a current favorite in the budget rye category. OF 1870 was one of the better bourbons I tasted when I started to expand my price range. And so, I have a lot of affection for the Forester brand. I suppose I could celebrate 100 with something a little more out of the ordinary, but this was open already, and this is what I've got. Nose is a little spicy hot, but also incredibly sweet with cinnamon and vanilla cake and banana custard. Palate has caramel spice with an edge of tobacco, graham cracker and a bit of leather as it lingers on the tongue, going out with a spicy peppery finish that's got a decent burn, but nothing that's going to put you off if you're used to cask strength. Overall, it's a nice pour, and if the price holds at $55, I could see myself buying it again, though I'm also interested in trying the rest of this lineup. Also, I do think I prefer this with an ice cube to temper some of the heat and I usually don't need that until we're passing 120 proof. And now that it's over, my 100th tasting seems a little bit of a letdown. Like New Year's Eve. But there's more to be had, more to be tasted, and we have to remember there will be other occasions. And now, it's time for me to sign off. Tomorrow, I intend to head to the store and pick myself up a bottle of Bruichladdich's Classic Laddie, which I'm terribly excited about since that's another brand I have a fondness for. Cheers!