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Old Forester Signature

Colour: - A bright, dense caramel toffee.

Nose: - Strong sweet coffee laced with chocolate, creamy vanilla and rich warmed oak take you right into the barrelhouse.

Nose with Water: - A complex combination of soft, ripe fruit and citrus with vanilla recedes into a delicate oak, cooled by a hint of licorice.

Taste: - Ripe apple and other sweet fruit, complex oak.

Finish: - Sweet; light with hints of oak and apple that linger a bit.

Accolades: - 2004 San Francisco World Spirits Competition – Double Gold Medal

2003 San Francisco World Spirits Competition – Gold Medal.

Malt Advocate - Top 10 Great Whisky Value

Old Forester Introduces Signature Bourbon

Re-launch of 100-Proof Old Forester Celebrates the “Beginnings of Bourbon”

Old Forester, “America’s 1st Bottled Bourbon,” has released Old Forester Signature bourbon, a robust 100-proof bourbon rich in rye. First bottled in 1870 by founder George Garvin Brown, this classic style of Old Forester is presented just as it was more than 100 years ago.

The reason for the re-launched of Old Forester 100 proof was because “we wanted people to focus on the merits of the bourbon not the proof,” said Mike Haering, Old Forester brand director. “The name Signature is a great introduction to the rich heritage of the brand and the story of George Garvin Brown. In terms of proof and flavor profile, this is the signature way he presented his bourbon and this is the product he was proud to put his signature on and stand behind.”

Presented in a sleek new bottle with the word “Signature” featured prominently, the package includes George Garvin Brown’s signature engraved into the shoulder of the bottle as well as his infamous pledge of quality.

The Early Days of Whisky
A leader in his industry, George Garvin Brown was the first person to bottle bourbon and the first person to include his signature with a pledge of quality on every bottle sold. Prior to Brown, whisky was sold by the barrel. Once a barrel left a distillery and the whisky was distributed to whisky rectifiers and its quality was often compromised.

“Some merchants would add water to the barrel to stretch the product causing the whisky to lose its flavor, color and punch,” said Chris Morris, spirits historian and master distiller of Old Forester. “If a barrel's contents became too diluted it was not uncommon for the merchant to add tobacco or cumin to cover up the weakened taste and color.”

1870: A new era of quality
Brown, a Louisville, Kentucky-based pharmaceutical salesman, listened closely to the doctors and pharmacists he called on as they complained about the tampering of the whisky they prescribed as medicine. A savvy businessman, Brown saw a need and
decided to fill it. Taking a page out of the pharmaceutical industry he launched a new brand of bourbon, Old Forester, sold exclusively in sealed bottles to guarantee its quality.
Brown created a hand-written guarantee and a pledge of quality which was placed on every bottle of Old Forester. For the final touch, each guarantee was backed by Brown's own signature, a signature which still remains on the bottle more than a century later.

The Industry Evolves
Since George Garvin Brown first affixed his signature to a bottle of Old Forester the industry has evolved including:
• The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 soon followed by the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.
• Prohibition came and went and laws mandating the use of new, charred barrels for bourbon maturation were put into place in 1938.
• In 1964 the nation officially recognized Bourbon as America's national spirit.

“Brown was a leading opponent of the Bottled-in-Bond Act because it restricted the contents of a bottle to the variability of one season's production, often causing an inconsistent flavor profile,” said Morris. “Each batch of his 100-proof Old Forester bourbon was crafted from barrels that spanned several seasons and years, allowing Brown to create a consistent taste profile.”

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