Old Forester’s New Birthday Bourbon is Now Available
It’s still the dog days of summer, but there are some signs of the approaching fall—kids stocking up on school supplies, a shift in the late afternoon sunlight, and some of the most collectible American whiskey distilleries launching their annual unicorn releases. The first of these is Old Forester, which just announced the details of the 2025 edition of its Birthday Bourbon—and this year marks a significant change in the whiskey.
Birthday Bourbon is Old Forester‘s most collectible whiskey expression. It was first released more than 20 years ago in 2002 to commemorate founder George Garvin Brown’s birthday (September 2, 1846), making this year’s release the 25th. The details change from year to year, but this year the bourbon is 12 years old and bottled at 92 proof (both pretty typical stats for this whiskey). It was distilled and entered into casks on April 5, 2013, which were selected for this edition by master distiller emeritus Chris Morris and assistant master distiller Caleb Trigo from a total of 210 barrels matured in warehouse K on floors one and five.
One thing that sets this apart from most other Birthday Bourbons is that it was produced using the sweet mash process rather than the usual sour mash—a first for this release. Sour mash refers to the practice of adding some “setback,” or a portion of leftover mash from the previous distillation, into the new batch for consistency’s sake during fermentation. For this bourbon, the sweet mash process was used, which relies on “freshly propagated yeast,” according to the brand.
How did that affect the flavor? “For our 25th Birthday Bourbon release, the absence of setback allowed the yeast to express its full character, creating a flavor profile that’s both delicate and complex,” said Trigo in a statement. It’s hard to really say without having a sour mash version to compare it to, given the range of variables that give a whiskey its flavor, but this is a good bourbon nonetheless. We got to try an early sample, and there are rich notes of milk and dark chocolate, vanilla, maple, honey, oak, cinnamon, and flamed orange peel on the palate.
Like the past few releases, the new Birthday Bourbon is available via an online sweepstakes that runs from today through August 21 at the brand’s website. Winners will have a chance to purchase a bottle which they must pick up in person from the Louisville distillery from September 4 through December 20. The SRP is $200, and presumably you’ll pay that much through this process—which is a steal, considering that this bourbon ends up selling for much more than that once it hits the secondary market. Check out websites like ReserveBar now to peruse the rest of the lineup—and indeed, you can find an older Birthday Bourbon selling there for close to a grand.
