America’s first bottled bourbon was Old Forester. The date? 1870.
The main reason for bottling? Quality control. Although bottling certainly made the whiskey easier to transport (a 53-gallon barrel weighs over 500 pounds!).
Back in the 1800’s, obtaining a good, quality bourbon was a crap shoot. Customers and pharmacies often had no idea if the whiskey purchased was the real deal. Old Forester changed this. Not only was it the first to be bottled but it only available in sealed bottles.
In doing so, it gave pharmacies assurance the product was not tampered or full of harmful additives.
What the significance?
Besides ushering in a new standard for purchase, Old Forester was a symbol for quality. Soon after, other bourbons followed suit.
What’s behind the name?
Old Forester is named after Dr. William Forrester, a customer of the company’s founder, George Garvin Brown. Notice the spelling difference? The second “r” was dropped from the name after Dr. Forrester retired.
What’s behind the bourbon?
The original Old Forester bourbon was sourced from 3 different distilleries and “batched” (mixed) together for consistent quality. Fast forward today, Old Forester Original Batch is sourced bourbon from one distillery in batches from barrels located in 3 different rick houses (ware houses).
Boom! Another shot of knowledge!