It is what it is — big, bold, and federally guaranteed.
Old Forester has about as much tradition as you can get in a Bourbon. It is a single brand of Bourbon that has been continuously available for 145 years — most of that time from the same family of craftsmen at the same distillery. Interestingly, it was the first Bourbon to be available exclusively in sealed glass bottles. There was a lot of nefarious re-bottling and dilution going on and this was a way to ensure quality and integrity. Today it is owned by Brown-Forman, available in eight different varieties and is a sister Bourbon to Woodford Reserve.
“Bottled in Bond” is a US government designation that guarantees that a spirit meets certain quality requirements. To qualify, a spirit — usually Whiskey — must come from a single distillery, be produced in a single season, be aged a minimum of four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and be bottled at a minimum 50% ABV, among other things. The law that authorized this regulation was passed in 1897, and that’s where Old Forester 1897 got its name. And as you might have guessed, it qualifies as Bottled in Bond. So Old Forester 1897 is everything you like about their Bourbon, but stronger and guaranteed by law to beperfect for your next Manhattan or Old Fashioned cocktail.
Smartass Corner: Woodford is the “Official Bourbon” and its sister brand Old Forester is part of the “Official Mint Julep Cocktail” for the famous Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs racetrack."
What does Old Forester 1897 Bottled in Bond taste like?
The Flavor Spiral™ shows the most common flavors that you'll taste in Old Forester 1897 Bottled in Bond and gives you a chance to have a taste of it before actually tasting it.
We invented Flavor Spiral™ here at Flaviar to get all your senses involved in tasting drinks and, frankly, because we think that classic tasting notes are boring.
Dog Dogson's
Smartass Corner
Bourbons have very prominent notes of vanilla, as American White Oak is naturally high in vanillins.
The first Old Forrester I’ve tied . Solid poor with a lot of flavor and a good sniff. Enjoyed it.
Christopher,
I like Old Forester bourbons, and enjoyed this one as well. I got the caramel, vanilla and oak notes on the nose, along with a hint of maraschino cherry. On the palate, it was sweet and I detected the apple, hints of dark chocolate and the maraschino cherry taste from a Shirley temple. Totally different cherry note than the one I get from OF 1920. Smooth yet bold. I liked it, it is not too expensive...no regrets... but I (still) prefer OF 1920 all day!
Mike,
Really solid bourbon and good value
Dave,
You can really pick up the Carmel and Apple. I will be placing one on the shelf for a later date
Bill,
Classic old school bourbon with a strong bite. I really enjoy it, nice to sweeten up in a Manhattan occasionally. My friends that claim to be more scotch than bourbon drinkers like this one.
Craig,
Nice smooth, caramel with slight spicy
james,
excellent bourbon,powerful and med. to full finish!
Cody,
Very smooth with a solid taste. Might not be worth the expense
Thomas,
Very good taste
guest,
Regular Old Forester is better and half the price.
Steven,
extremely complex and fragrant nose -- honey, citrus, spices. floral, oakey all blending and competing an an amazing collaboration.
The taste is muted by an over-peppery/cinnamon spiciness that takes away from everything else. a few drops of water helps mute this, but not enough for a significant difference.
Todd,
Very smooth, great taste. Just not sure it is $30 better than woodford reserve
Dick,
An ok OF, lacks the sweet dark flavors that I get with the 1920,1910
Beau,
I'm not experienced enough to make misc. comments like this, but this whiskey was very dark in color, and had oak flavors to match but at the same time tasted young to me.
Erik,
Delicious bottle of bourbon, cant go wrong with any of the whiskey row bottles from Old Forester
Jeremy,
Delicious oaky flavor, but a little pricey
Kevin,
Had it over a cube to mellow it a bit. First taste was hit by a strong roasted coffee in the back of my palate...which I really liked, but lost later on. No other flavors came through, especially the sweet notes. Which was too bad because I love a sweet bourbon.
Charles,
The bite is real. Not bad going down considering. Good mixer. Still experiencing flavors.😚
Kevin,
Smooth. vanilla.
Nathan,
A stronger proof but the alcohol doesn't over take the flavors. Wish the Cherry stood out to me more, its hard for me to pick out much over the sweet notes.
Jamie,
Rye makes it spicy. 4-5 drops of water brings out the vanilla and sweet caramel.
Cody,
Has a really long burning finish
Liz,
Solid carmel and sweet notes with a nice little hit of pepper towards the end. I like the length of the finish and thought it developed more as I held it on my tongue. I tried it neat at first and liked it best this way. On the rocks just made it another sweet bourbon but nothing special.
guest,
A bit bland with some spice
Kyle,
It has good flavor. Although, It does hit a little hard on the way down.
Reid,
Good bourbon, nothing special
Christina,
Not a fan. Strong alcohol taste covered up anything redeemable. Too much money for that experience.
Robert,
love this one straight. Great finish
Jeff,
Classic bourbon Big and Bold Not the new style which is sweeter this is old school. Good not great and overpriced
Get this if you want classic bourbon
Charles,
Building upon the 1870 offering, this 1897 version is a step up. I have become and Old Forester fan mainly because of their Whiskey Row series. The only knock is that the pricing is a bit on the high end. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good bourbon, but in this price range there is much competition.
Michael,
Love it. Don’t know why it’s not popular.
The,
Pretty harsh, I’m a big bourbon drinker and I would not try this one again.
RAHSHEEN,
We’ll balance flavor. Great after a hardy burger.
Stephen,
Fine bourbon. Blind tasting would rate it higher.
Troy,
It's a good smooth bourbon but it is a little pricey
Andrew,
This is a solid bourbon although at the price point you can do better. There are comparable bourbons for less.
guest,
I look at Old Forrester as my cornerstone bourbon. Meaning that, the ones I've tasted are textbook definition of what bourbon is. Having said that, the aroma, body and finish of Old Forrester products don't contain anything memorable in my opinion.