Old Forester’s New 117 Series Bourbon Raises a Glass to Repeal Day

On Thursday, Old Forester dropped a new bourbon within its 117 Series. The whiskey is meant to honor the demise of Prohibition, or Repeal Day. Each year on Dec. 5, spirits brands around the U.S. raise a glass to the day that marked the end of the Noble Experiment.

This release in the brand’s experimental 117 series is an 11-year-old bourbon that was chosen because of the specific environment in which it matured.

According to Old Forester Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo, the barrels matured in Warehouse I and were “heat-cycled” since 2013, meaning they sat on the hottest floors in the building.

Clocking in at 95 proof and housed in a 375 ml bottle, this limited release has a suggested retail price of $64.99.

“Our 117 series is all about experimentation, and the characteristics of Warehouse I make it perfect for this innovative series,” Old Forester Master Taster Melissa Riff said in a news release. “This one-of-a-kind bourbon is a great way to celebrate the holidays.”

The last release within the brand’s 117 series rolled out in July. It was a bourbon finished in rum barrels, resulting in a tropically themed tipple. Old Forester 117 Series Rum Finish had a relatively modest 95 proof and sold for the same price of $64.99 for a 375-milliliter bottle.

American Prohibition began on January 17, 1920, and the government’s ban on alcohol ended on December 5, 1933. Despite the historic ban, alcohol consumption ballooned, which gave way to a thriving illicit underground liquor market run by organized crime.

Cocktail culture still survived, largely due to speakeasies, and even though alcohol was banned, famous cocktails like The Sidecar were invented at the time. Yet Prohibition wasn’t all flappers and jazz bars; there was a darker side to the movement.

Thousands of people died from tainted illegal liquor, and some of that was due to the Federal Government increasing the amount of methanol in industrial alcohol, according to Vox.

“It was like a chemist’s war at this point,” Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Deborah Blum stated, according to the outlet. “Bootlegger chemists trying to take things out, and government chemists trying to find a way to keep them in. But bootlegger chemists had not been able to find a good way to get methanol out. People knew this was going to kill people.”

An estimated 10,000 people died from consuming methanol-tainted booze during Prohibition until Repeal Day and Dec. 5 marked the 91st anniversary of the milestone.

Old Forester 117 Series: Warehouse I Tasting Notes, Via the Brand

Nose: Sweet aromatics with dark honey, spiced pear and clove.

Taste: Orchard fruits with clove and nutmeg. White pepper adds some zing.

Finish: Pear-driven, with oak and white pepper. Long and lingering.