Old Forester Just Unveiled Its Coveted 2024 Birthday Bourbon — Here’s How You Can Get a Bottle

On Thursday, Old Forester announced 2024's return of its rarest and most coveted expression: Birthday Bourbon. Birthday Bourbon celebrates the birthday of Old Forester's founder, George Garvin Brown. The 2024 release features a 12-year age statement and clocks in at 107 proof. The brand shared that Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris, Master Taster Melissa Rift and Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo collaborated on the project. The bourbon was pulled from 209 barrels.

"Twelve years of maturation in Warehouses G and L has produced a rich and unique flavor profile perfect for this sought-after annual release," Trigo expressed.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is extremely rare and hard to get your hands on. Those interested in snagging a bottle may enter in an online sweepstakes that runs from Thursday through next Wednesday. Lucky winners will have to travel to Louisville and pick up their bottle at the distillery between Sept. 5 and Dec. 14. Each customer is limited to purchasing one bottle, and the bourbon hosts a suggested retail price of $129.99.

"There's no better way to celebrate our founder and longstanding history than by getting our rarest expression in the hands of bourbon lovers across the country," Rift expressed.

In July, Old Forester released the latest bourbon within its 117 series, a bourbon finished in rum barrels. The bourbon purportedly had sweet molasses notes, according to the brand. Forbes reported that George Garvin Brown was a pharmaceutical salesman who founded Old Forester in 1870. Old Forester shared Brown was the first individual to seal whiskey in a glass bottle, making Old Forester the brand behind the First Bottled Bourbon. Old Forester shared it is one of the few bourbon brands to have a 150-year long history where it was owned by the same family. The brand additionally managed to operate uninterrupted by Prohibition. Brown joined forces with his accountant, George Forman, and the team founded Brown-Forman twenty years later. As of 2024, the Brown family has a net worth of $16.5 billion.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon Tasting Notes, Via the Brand

Nose: Bright fruit, with a touch of orchard fruit like apples and apricots. Buttercream icing interlaced with tobacco. Taste: Juicy bold fruits followed by cinnamon spice intermingled with toasted oak. Finish: Caramel apple, ground cinnamon and cacao. [newsletter-promo]