The Old Forester Birthday Bourbon Sweepstakes Rewards A Lucky Few

It used to be that every year when September 2 came around, the streets surrounding the Old Forester Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, were packed with anxious bourbonheads standing in line to score a bottle of Birthday Bourbon. The bourbon celebrating the birthday of founder George Garvin Brown was sold onsite once a year, and was quickly gone within hours. As one of the first special edition bourbons ever, it helped pioneer the limited-release culture so prevalent around whiskey and other spirits nowadays.

So, when in the interest of spreading the love and creating a more inclusive environment, the distillery announced last year that, for the first time, it was launching a nationwide sweepstakes for the right to buy a bottle; there were both cries of joy and anger. The exclusive club of bourbon aficionados who lived near the distillery or trekked in annually was thrown open. Five hundred winners were announced on September 2, 2022, and had until the end of the year to purchase their bottle at the distillery.

The decision to offer the sweepstakes was one of many that the 153-year-old distillery has made over the last few years regarding its limited releases. All were made to put a crimp in the ever-growing circle of bourbon resellers who gobble up distinctive bottlings and offer for sale for significantly higher prices. Old Forester Birthday Bourbon has been known to hit four-to-five-figure prices online, a bit north of the $169.99 price tag it sells at.

Well, it has worked. Old Forester said interest in the sweepstakes was off the charts, and the distribution plan went off without a hitch. That has led them to continue the program for 2023, meaning that a few lucky individuals will find out on September 2 that they will need to head to the Old Forester Distillery on Louisville’s famed Whiskey Row to pick up their bottles.

This year’s Birthday Bourbon has a direct link to 2022’s release. It’s made from the same lot of barrels laid down on May 5, 2011; each year’s release represents a single production day. That’s a first for Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. While last year’s 100 barrels were only aged eleven years, this year’s 103 barrels received another 365 days of maturation inside their warehouse. The resultant 96-proof liquid is even more complex and robust with citrus, toffee, chocolate, honey, and charred oak flavors.

“Every year, Birthday Bourbon is a unique opportunity for lovers of Old Forester to taste a snapshot of bourbon that was laid down over a decade ago. This year’s 12-year-old offering serves up a classic Old Forester profile that honors George Garvin Brown’s ongoing legacy,” said Old Forester Master Taster Melissa Rift.

While the chance to toss your name into the hat has passed this year, a small amount of the bottles were offered to select retailers for sale. As one of the largest spirit companies in the world, the Brown-Forman
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Corporation, the owners of Old Forester, have their products available nationwide. It will require some serious sleuthing, or just a great relationship with a store, to get one. Or you can look online at sites like Drizly.

Either way, circle the last week in August on your calendar for next year. That’s when the next sweepstakes will go live, and you can try to grab your seat on the Old Forester Birthday Bourbon extravaganza.