Brown Forman’s Old Forester bourbon brand, having recently released its limited edition Birthday Bourbon for 2014, is back in the whiskey headlines again with the debut of a new Whiskey Row Series. This new range of expressions aims to highlight “significant milestones and production innovations” from the brand’s history, and the first release for it is tied to its 1870s batching roots.
Old Forester 1870 Original Batch, according to those behind it, is designed to
commemorate the year Old Forester became the first batched bourbon. Prior to its release, bourbon was sold by the barrel causing quality and taste profile to vary. Old Forester’s founder George Garvin Brown changed the industry by batching bourbon from three different distilleries to create a product that was consistent.
To recreate this in the modern day, the bourbon draws from three different warehouses’ barrels, each with a different day of production, entry proof and aging period. These were batched together into a new 90 proof offering that is pricing at $45 and above for a 750 ml bottle.
Tasting notes for the orange-brown colored 1870 Original Batch are below courtesy of Old Forester.
Aroma: Clove notes spice up a medley of citrus fruit (orange, grapefruit, blood orange), all softened with a delicate, sweet, floral honeysuckle character.
Flavor: Baking spices (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg) flow into a citrus fruit mix and shortbread sweetness.
Finish: Soft, with lingering fruit and spice character.
Related Articles

Rare Private Label Van Winkle Up For Auction In Landmark Sale At Whisky Auctioneer
Bushmills’ Second Rare Cask Series A New 29 Year Finished in PX Sherry Casks
Brazen Whisky Thieves Steal Over $120,000 Of Scotch From Glenfarclas
Stranahan’s Releases Distillery Exclusive Añejo Cask Single Malt
Glen Scotia Releases Its Oldest Whisky To Date, a 46 Year Old
Nino Kilgore-Marchetti
Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Whiskey Wash, an award winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y on a global level. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert and judge he has written about the subject extensively, been interviewed in various media outlets and...