Old Forester Classic - the Top Gun (1986) of bourbons. The color of a fading summer-sky behind jet smoke over Naval Air Station Miramar - San Diego California. A low, muddy amber. When Top Gun (1986) was released, it left a mark. It was different. Real, professional aviation had never been featured so well. A new way for the public to appreciate the prowess of the US military. Deeply relevant for the time it was released. Not the 1st movie of its genera but a stand-out that would hold for generations. The film had a unique charm and an unmatched ability to bring viewers back to the 1980's. Old Forester must have been like that upon its debut. And it too has endured. The similarities continue. Masculine leather and molasses hit the pallet like an F-14 Tomcat leaping off the deck of an aircraft carrier. A few spicy maneuvers fly low as the story builds. Only instead of a bold climax, dim cereal notes follow. A weak burn. A funeral scene. A let down. There is something there... and then there is not. The cleanest parallel between Top Gun and Old Forester is the hard nostalgia they both evoke. The variety of nostalgia that only leaves disappointment. You're sure there's supposed to be something more, something special. There's a phantom promise that never delivers. The idea of it is greater than the experience. Goose, to Maverick: "Every time we go up there, it's like you're flying with a ghost."