What we’re drinking: Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2025
Where it’s from: Old Forester has been around for more than 150 years and is considered the first bourbon to be sealed in a glass bottle. It’s also the only bourbon to exist before, during and after Prohibition, and it’s the founding brand of drinks giant Brown-Forman. Birthday Bourbon is the distillery’s annual release and most coveted bottle. It serves as an homage to founder George Garvin Brown.
Why we’re drinking this: We’re fans of Birthday Bourbon, which undergoes minor tweaks every year. But for 2025, the distillery threw a curveball. Breaking tradition, Old Forester isn’t using the setback from fermentation, which is a standard practice of utilizing liquid reserved from a distillation run to create consistency. Instead, Old Forester is following a “sweet mash” process, which relies entirely on freshly propagated yeast.
When Can You Buy This Year’s Pappy? Consult Our Whiskey Release Schedule.
Behold, the release dates for all your favorite rare and limited-edition bottles, including Buffalo Trace, Booker’s and Pappy“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,” says Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo.
The Birthday Bourbon releases all hail from one day’s production from a particular year. This year’s release was drawn from 210 barrels sourced on April 5, 2013, all aged in Warehouse K, floors 1 and 5. Those barrels were selected by Trigo and Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris.
Let’s dive in.
How it tastes: A 12-year-old bourbon, this one comes in at a modest 92 proof. While there are expected characteristics of caramel, baking spices, cloves and vanilla, there’s also a pronounced chai/tea note and hints of apple, cinnamon and citrus. It’s intriguing and opens a bit with a drop of water and a little time in the glass.
Fun fact: Don’t go looking for this at the distillery. Old Forester Birthday Bourbon will primarily be available through an online sweepstakes running on OldForester.com from August 18-21, 2025. Winners have the opportunity to purchase a bottle, and they must pick it up at the Old Forester Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, between September 4 and December 20, 2025.
Where to buy: The MSRP of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2025 is $199.99. If you don’t win the sweepstakes, a few bottles will be available at select retailers nationwide (probably for a good deal more than $200).
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