Table Of Contents

The Details

Rating 87
Style
American Whiskey
Whiskey
Produced In Kentucky
United States
ABV 46%
Availability Limited
Price $200.00 
Reviewed By
Reviewed 2025-09-16

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon Review

Released every Sep. 2 to commemorate the birthday of George Garvin Brown (happy 179th, George!), Old Forester’s Birthday Bourbon is one of the brand’s hallmark releases — and one of the hardest to find. Always a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, these days it tends to clock in with a 12-year age statement, and it’s generally bottled at 92 proof.

The latest release features both those numbers on the label, but there’s a big twist hiding behind the whiskey. Indeed, 2025 marks the first year Birthday Bourbon has ever featured whiskey made with a “sweet mash” technique. Normally, Old Forester products (and indeed most bourbon) is made using a “sour mash,” wherein a portion of the previous run’s “setback” is added during fermentation. This process generally helps jumpstart fermentation while controlling pH and protecting against unwanted bacteria. While sweet mash bourbon isn’t unheard of, it’s generally a process that demands even more precision and cleanliness in production.

All 210 barrels used in this release were filled on April 5, 2013, and the whiskey was aged in Brown-Forman Warehouse K, Floors 1 and 5. According to Old Forester, this sweet mash fermentation process results in a “silky and sweet flavor profile” that fits the expression well at 92 proof.

Let’s see how it tastes!

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon: Stats and Availability

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is distributed in limited quantities nationwide and carries an MSRP of $199.99. Expect to see far higher prices on most retail shelves, up to (and sometimes exceeding) $700.

The company also runs an annual online sweepstakes that gives winners the right to purchase bottles at MSRP in person at Old Forester’s downtown Louisville location. That sweepstakes ran from Aug. 18 to Aug. 21, 2025, and winners were notified in the weeks after.

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon Review

As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.

Nose

This year’s Birthday Bourbon may be sweet instead of sour mash, but there are a lot of aromas familiar to the expression: hot pralines, cooked bananas, and baked apples all lead with intensity appropriate for the whiskey’s 92 proof. A slightly uncharacteristic — but delightful — thread of strawberry jam wafts out of the glass. Further on comes milk chocolate and toffee. Those notes build significantly with more time, such that they eventually become most dominant. That develops alongside some tannins in line with both jasmine blossom tea and toasted oak, which punctuate just enough to remind us of this whiskey’s dozen-plus years in cask.

Even just on the nose, it’s fun to see the 2025 batch bring elements characteristic of Birthday Bourbon — especially since it builds on those blue chip scents and then gradually push things in a more floral direction.

Taste

A first sip doesn’t boast a huge burst of flavor, and it takes another taste for things to really settle in. Spiced apple butter and cream soda slide from front to back across the palate, along with faint notes of green apples and pears. By the midpalate, flavors settle into smoked butterscotch candy, mostly sweet with tiny hints of mesquite, burnt ends, and caramelized BBQ sauce. Those meaty flavors also oscillate back and forth to clove-studded, pineapple-glazed ham; fortunately, at no point does the umami character drown out the sweet fruit.

Ultimately, the bourbon’s main flavors coalesce at the intersection of cooked pineapple, berry-infused tea, glazed meat, and a dark butterscotch, right on the verge of burning. It’s certainly pleasant, but with a catch: there’s not quite enough viscosity for those flavors to stick around very long. We’re left with a pour that takes a few sips to find its stride. Once it does, there are some flashes of brilliant, complex balance — but those fall away quicker than expected on the midpalate, leaving behind some lingering yet indeterminate sweetness.

Finish

Despite the quick back palate, the finish is defined enough to stand on its own — but again, not for terribly long. Tropical fruit carries a lot of weight here, with pineapple juice punctuating the very end of the sip.

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon Rating

87/100

Recap

Kudos to Old Forester for taking a swing and trying something new with one of its most premium expressions. This year’s Birthday Bourbon features some impressive flavors, and there’s notable complexity on the nose and palate alike. But while it’s easy to shake one’s glass and demand more proof, frankly, 46 percent ABV feels like a modest disservice to the dram. I found myself enjoying each taste, yet also wanting more punch, more viscosity, and more time to taste those fascinating floral components. It tastes like very good whiskey, just slightly underproofed.

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87
POINTS
Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon
Released every Sep. 2 to commemorate the birthday of George Garvin Brown (happy 179th, George!), Old Forester’s Birthday Bourbon is one of the brand’s hallmark releases — and one of the hardest to find. Always a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, these days it tends to clock in with a 12-year age statement, and it’s generally bottled at 92 proof. The latest release features both those numbers on the label, but there’s a big twist hiding behind the whiskey. Indeed, 2025 marks the first year Birthday Bourbon has ever featured whiskey made with a “sweet mash” technique. Normally, Old Forester products (and indeed most bourbon) is made using a “sour mash,” wherein a portion of the previous run’s “setback” is added during fermentation. This process generally helps jumpstart fermentation while controlling pH and protecting against unwanted bacteria. While sweet mash bourbon isn’t unheard of, it’s generally a process that demands even more precision and cleanliness in production. All 210 barrels used in this release were filled on April 5, 2013, and the whiskey was aged in Brown-Forman Warehouse K, Floors 1 and 5. According to Old Forester, this sweet mash fermentation process results in a “silky and sweet flavor profile” that fits the expression well at 92 proof. Let’s see how it tastes!

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon: Stats and Availability

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is distributed in limited quantities nationwide and carries an MSRP of $199.99. Expect to see far higher prices on most retail shelves, up to (and sometimes exceeding) $700. The company also runs an annual online sweepstakes that gives winners the right to purchase bottles at MSRP in person at Old Forester’s downtown Louisville location. That sweepstakes ran from Aug. 18 to Aug. 21, 2025, and winners were notified in the weeks after.

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon Review

As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.

Nose

This year’s Birthday Bourbon may be sweet instead of sour mash, but there are a lot of aromas familiar to the expression: hot pralines, cooked bananas, and baked apples all lead with intensity appropriate for the whiskey’s 92 proof. A slightly uncharacteristic — but delightful — thread of strawberry jam wafts out of the glass. Further on comes milk chocolate and toffee. Those notes build significantly with more time, such that they eventually become most dominant. That develops alongside some tannins in line with both jasmine blossom tea and toasted oak, which punctuate just enough to remind us of this whiskey’s dozen-plus years in cask. Even just on the nose, it’s fun to see the 2025 batch bring elements characteristic of Birthday Bourbon — especially since it builds on those blue chip scents and then gradually push things in a more floral direction.

Taste

A first sip doesn’t boast a huge burst of flavor, and it takes another taste for things to really settle in. Spiced apple butter and cream soda slide from front to back across the palate, along with faint notes of green apples and pears. By the midpalate, flavors settle into smoked butterscotch candy, mostly sweet with tiny hints of mesquite, burnt ends, and caramelized BBQ sauce. Those meaty flavors also oscillate back and forth to clove-studded, pineapple-glazed ham; fortunately, at no point does the umami character drown out the sweet fruit. Ultimately, the bourbon’s main flavors coalesce at the intersection of cooked pineapple, berry-infused tea, glazed meat, and a dark butterscotch, right on the verge of burning. It’s certainly pleasant, but with a catch: there’s not quite enough viscosity for those flavors to stick around very long. We’re left with a pour that takes a few sips to find its stride. Once it does, there are some flashes of brilliant, complex balance — but those fall away quicker than expected on the midpalate, leaving behind some lingering yet indeterminate sweetness.

Finish

Despite the quick back palate, the finish is defined enough to stand on its own — but again, not for terribly long. Tropical fruit carries a lot of weight here, with pineapple juice punctuating the very end of the sip.

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon Rating

87/100

Recap

Kudos to Old Forester for taking a swing and trying something new with one of its most premium expressions. This year’s Birthday Bourbon features some impressive flavors, and there’s notable complexity on the nose and palate alike. But while it’s easy to shake one’s glass and demand more proof, frankly, 46 percent ABV feels like a modest disservice to the dram. I found myself enjoying each taste, yet also wanting more punch, more viscosity, and more time to taste those fascinating floral components. It tastes like very good whiskey, just slightly underproofed.

Reviewed On: 09-16-2025
87
POINTS
Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon
Released every Sep. 2 to commemorate the birthday of George Garvin Brown (happy 179th, George!), Old Forester’s Birthday Bourbon is one of the brand’s hallmark releases — and one of the hardest to find. Always a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, these days it tends to clock in with a 12-year age statement, and it’s generally bottled at 92 proof. The latest release features both those numbers on the label, but there’s a big twist hiding behind the whiskey. Indeed, 2025 marks the first year Birthday Bourbon has ever featured whiskey made with a “sweet mash” technique. Normally, Old Forester products (and indeed most bourbon) is made using a “sour mash,” wherein a portion of the previous run’s “setback” is added during fermentation. This process generally helps jumpstart fermentation while controlling pH and protecting against unwanted bacteria. While sweet mash bourbon isn’t unheard of, it’s generally a process that demands even more precision and cleanliness in production. All 210 barrels used in this release were filled on April 5, 2013, and the whiskey was aged in Brown-Forman Warehouse K, Floors 1 and 5. According to Old Forester, this sweet mash fermentation process results in a “silky and sweet flavor profile” that fits the expression well at 92 proof. Let’s see how it tastes!

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon: Stats and Availability

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is distributed in limited quantities nationwide and carries an MSRP of $199.99. Expect to see far higher prices on most retail shelves, up to (and sometimes exceeding) $700. The company also runs an annual online sweepstakes that gives winners the right to purchase bottles at MSRP in person at Old Forester’s downtown Louisville location. That sweepstakes ran from Aug. 18 to Aug. 21, 2025, and winners were notified in the weeks after.

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon Review

As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.

Nose

This year’s Birthday Bourbon may be sweet instead of sour mash, but there are a lot of aromas familiar to the expression: hot pralines, cooked bananas, and baked apples all lead with intensity appropriate for the whiskey’s 92 proof. A slightly uncharacteristic — but delightful — thread of strawberry jam wafts out of the glass. Further on comes milk chocolate and toffee. Those notes build significantly with more time, such that they eventually become most dominant. That develops alongside some tannins in line with both jasmine blossom tea and toasted oak, which punctuate just enough to remind us of this whiskey’s dozen-plus years in cask. Even just on the nose, it’s fun to see the 2025 batch bring elements characteristic of Birthday Bourbon — especially since it builds on those blue chip scents and then gradually push things in a more floral direction.

Taste

A first sip doesn’t boast a huge burst of flavor, and it takes another taste for things to really settle in. Spiced apple butter and cream soda slide from front to back across the palate, along with faint notes of green apples and pears. By the midpalate, flavors settle into smoked butterscotch candy, mostly sweet with tiny hints of mesquite, burnt ends, and caramelized BBQ sauce. Those meaty flavors also oscillate back and forth to clove-studded, pineapple-glazed ham; fortunately, at no point does the umami character drown out the sweet fruit. Ultimately, the bourbon’s main flavors coalesce at the intersection of cooked pineapple, berry-infused tea, glazed meat, and a dark butterscotch, right on the verge of burning. It’s certainly pleasant, but with a catch: there’s not quite enough viscosity for those flavors to stick around very long. We’re left with a pour that takes a few sips to find its stride. Once it does, there are some flashes of brilliant, complex balance — but those fall away quicker than expected on the midpalate, leaving behind some lingering yet indeterminate sweetness.

Finish

Despite the quick back palate, the finish is defined enough to stand on its own — but again, not for terribly long. Tropical fruit carries a lot of weight here, with pineapple juice punctuating the very end of the sip.

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon Rating

87/100

Recap

Kudos to Old Forester for taking a swing and trying something new with one of its most premium expressions. This year’s Birthday Bourbon features some impressive flavors, and there’s notable complexity on the nose and palate alike. But while it’s easy to shake one’s glass and demand more proof, frankly, 46 percent ABV feels like a modest disservice to the dram. I found myself enjoying each taste, yet also wanting more punch, more viscosity, and more time to taste those fascinating floral components. It tastes like very good whiskey, just slightly underproofed.

Reviewed On: 09-16-2025