Seventy-second Congress of the United States of America
At the Second Session,
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the fifth
day of December, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-two.
Joint Resolution
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States
Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is hereby proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the several States:
“Article
“Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
“Sec. 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
“Sec. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.”
On December 5th, 1933 Utah voted to pass the 21st Amendment, becoming the 36th and deciding state to do so. On that day the Prohibition was officially ended.
75 years later, the Brown-Forman company put out a special gift set of Old Forester to commemorate the passage of the 21st Amendment. Included in the box was a bottle of 100 proof Old Forester in 375 mL flask shaped bottle with an old timey looking label design, an etched Glencairn glass and a replica of the 21st Amendment.
7 years later, I picked up the gift set at a charity auction during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival for roughly $90. If I was just buying bourbon, I would have horribly over paid. It’s not very old or special, but I was supporting a museum I really enjoy attending (that doesn’t charge people to get in) with my purchase. I paid a relatively low sum to help keep the doors open and the lights on while getting a tiny piece of history back in return. Seems like a fair deal.
Old Forester 100° (circa 2008) “75th Anniversary of Repeal” gift set
Purchase info: ~$90 at the Master Distiller’s Auction to support the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, Bardstown, KY.
Details: 50% ABV
Nose: Sweet and fruity with brown sugar and apricot layered over the top of the typical “Brown Forman” latex paint note.
Mouth: Spicy with a nice tingle to the mouth. Ginger, oak, vanilla and caramel.
Finish: warm ginger and molasses linger.
Thoughts: I like it. But I’m a fan of Old Forester so that doesn’t surprise me. But there is something that does surprise me. I used to love the Old Forester Signature (100 proof). I recommended it to everyone. But then about a year and a half ago, after not buying it for a while, I got around to reviewing it and found it immensely bitter. This made me sad. So now, I get to taste something from seven years ago and I didn’t find that bitterness. In fact, it tastes just like I remember. So somewhere along the way something happened to Old Forester’s 100 proof expression and like most things in whiskey these days, it wasn’t for the better. Which is too bad.
Anyway, this is what I’ll be celebrating Repeal Day with on Saturday, hope you have something just as fun.
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