Every year, Old Forester runs arguably the most exciting sweepstakes for Bourbon fans - and that's for its Birthday Bourbon, which is released each 2nd September to celebrate the birthday of its founder George Garvin Brown.

The Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is by and large a Bourbon holy grail and is highly sought after, and you'd also have to be wildly lucky to get it - essentially you'd have to enter and win at Old Forester's online sweepstakes.

2025 marks the 25th release of the Old Forest Birthday Bourbon, and so to keep things exciting, the distillery has specially selected barrels that were produced uniquely without the setback method during fermentation - this means that a sweet mash process is used instead, relying entirely on fresh yeast to complete the fermentation, which in turn is said to allow the yeast to express its full character and create a delicate and complex flavour profile.

The 2025 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is also 12 Years Old, and comes in at 92 Proof (46% ABV), and comes from a parcel of 210 barrels that were all distilled within the same day, and were eventually aged in Warehouse K, Floors 1 and 5. The selection of these barrels were made by Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris and Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo.

Official Tasting Notes

Color: Honeycomb

Aroma: Notes of herbal tea and cardamom complimented by hints of raw oak as well as tropical fruits and green apple

Taste: Silky notes of oak and vanilla, balanced with sweet citrus and clove spice

Finish: candied apple and burnt sugar with leather and chai spice

If you fancy yourself a shot at getting a bottle of the 2025 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, head on over to the OldForester.com website and shoot your shot from 18th August - 21 August 2025!

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team