Old Forester’s New Tribute Series Bourbon Is Excellent

Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

Did Old Forester really need to release a new whiskey that is kind of in direct competition with its annual unicorn Birthday Bourbon? The answer is most certainly not, but we are living in a world in which there is, by many accounts, a glut of well-aged whiskey to bottle, so why not come up with another special expression to entice fans and collectors. It turns out that the distillery’s new Tribute Series is not just a gimmick—the whiskey inside this throwback decanter is actually quite good.

Let’s compare some stats to start. The 2026 Birthday Bourbon release was aged for 11 years, comes from one day’s production, was bottled at 97 proof, and is priced at $250. The new Tribute Series was aged for 12 years, comes from various production dates, was bottled at 115 proof, and is priced at $300. It also comes in a special decanter that is said to be inspired by Old Forester‘s “iconic holiday collection,” which was released throughout the ’50s and ’60s, and marks the beginning of a new annual series. It’s called Tribute Series and it’s supposed to be a—you guessed it—tribute to Old Forester’s whiskey firsts, like using heat-cycled warehouses and double barreling bourbon. Future releases will differ, but each will draw from the distillery’s most mature stocks of whiskey, which is distilled at Brown-Forman’s Shively Distillery just outside of Louisville. According to master distiller Caleb Trigo, the age will likely increase as the series continues, and the whiskey will be bottled between 110 and 125 proof.

The inaugural release comes in at 115 proof, which works very well to provide a bit of heat and heft without dominating the palate. This is just really good Brown-Forman bourbon, with a deep, dark character that reveals notes of cherry cobbler, grape candy, buttercream frosting, leather, oak, smoldering wood fire, and NYC street cart hot nuts (if you know, you know), along with a bit more spice than I’d expect from older Brown-Forman whisky. I really liked the latest Birthday Bourbon, but I think I enjoyed drinking this whiskey even more.

All that being said, there are some who are going to wonder why Old Forester is releasing this whiskey right now, and it’s a valid question. Is this just a cash grab, a way of maintaining relevance in a soft market, an attempt to make sure that Brown-Forman remains a relevant name in the world of collectible whiskey? All or none of this could be true, but I have no doubt that this bottle is going to sell for much more than its $300 asking price on the secondary market. The bourbon is really good, but even a cool throwback decanter doesn’t justify paying double the price. If you’re lucky enough to find it for close to its original price tag, however, buy a bottle—you won’t regret it.

Score: 93