“Each year on September 2nd – in honor of our founder George Garvin Brown’s birthday – Old Forester releases a limited-edition, 12-year old vintage-dated expression. Old Forester Birthday Bourbon has become a must-have for bourbon enthusiasts who want to experience the ultimate in rare handcrafted bourbon. Since its introduction in 2002, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon has received unprecedented acclaim, with an impressive collection of national and international whisky honors.” – oldforester.com
Also, it’s interesting to note that all of the barrels used to create this bourbon are from a single day’s production. This year’s marks the 15th year it has been released. Happy 15th anniversary, Birthday Bourbon! ?
This year, the only one we got was the sample we left with from the Whiskey Catfish event. So, here we go…
Check out my review of last year’s here!
Company: Brown-Foreman Corporation
Distillery: Old Forester
Location: Lousiville, KY
Mash Bill: 72% corn/13% rye/15% barley
Age: 12 years
ABV: 48.5% (97 proof)
Released: 2016 (limited annual release every September 2nd)
Price: $80
Color: Golden Amber Lady
Nose: Very fruity, vanilla, cherry heavy, slightly astringent, hot. Not my favorite nose.
Taste: Strangely sour at first, hot, what am I drinking right now? This has a ton of barrel funk. It’s slightly thin. This tastes to me like Sour patch kids or sweet tarts? Sweet tarts, I think. Sour apple with some sugar on top.
Finish: Medium finish, slightly lingers on your tongue with some warmth. I wish it warmed my whole throat because that’s my favorite. The sourness moves into a sweetness in the finish.
Overall: Whoa, dude. So, I went and poured some of OFBB ’14 and ’15, and ’14 is still my favorite being the most balanced. The initial upfront sour taste really sort of throws me off, and I’m having a hard time getting over it. I’m not entirely sad I missed out on this one, although if I was lucky enough to find one on the shelf, I’d probably still buy it. I’m a sucker for those squat bottles and Birthday Bourbon in general. Honestly, I used to loves me some Birthday Bourbon more than any anything, now, I think my tastes have changed.
Note: The more it sits the less sour it gets.
Level: Medium
Rating: 3/5