This Year’s Release Breaks a Record

But there are exceptions.

This year’s release, as usual, was aged for 12 years, but that’s about the only normal thing about it. It was made using 209 barrels from two different warehouses at Brown-Forman Distillery, Warehouses G and L. Warehouse G is one of two warehouses at the distillery that isn’t heat cycled, while Warehouse L is. The mix is an intriguing one, but where this year’s bottle differs most from previous years is in its strength.

The 2024 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon clocks in at 107 proof, setting a new high mark for the series. The previous record was 105 proof, set by the 2019 release, but recent releases have trended back down below 100 proof. Last year’s bottle was 96 proof, as was the 2022 release.

Frankly, it isn’t surprising to see Old Forester go for more strength here. Proofs over 100 are all the rage in the bourbon industry today, as customers tend to associate a higher ABV with a purer product. And while Old Forester didn’t go too crazy by releasing a cask-strength Birthday Bourbon, the proof of 107 definitely looks like a signal that it’s paying attention to the types of bourbon enthusiasts are currently gravitating toward.

It is worth noting that Old Forester’s Birthday Bourbon has traditionally gotten some praise for exhibiting some of the qualities of a high-proof bourbon without going overboard on the heat, with one notable Reddit reviewer stating in their review of last year’s 96-proof release: