Old Forester Birthday Bourbon - 2011 Release

Released September 2nd, 2011. A 12-year small-batch selection from the era when Birthday Bourbon began its transition from a specialty release to one of the most sought-after annual bourbons in the market.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is released once a year on September 2nd from a unique small-batch of 12-year-old barrels. By 2011, premium bourbon collecting was accelerating rapidly and the Birthday Bourbon series was gaining significant enthusiast attention. The 2011 vintage reflects this transitional moment — released with greater awareness than earlier years but before the series reached full allocated scarcity status.

Surviving 2011 stock is meaningfully rarer than the 2014–2018 era vintages that benefited from peak collector infrastructure. Finding the 2011 today requires a specialty retailer with deep legacy inventory.

Specs

• Distillery: Old Forester Distilling Co., Louisville, Kentucky (est. 1870)
• Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Age: 12 years
• Release: September 2nd, 2011 — Annual Birthday Bourbon
• Size: 750ml

Browse the full Old Forester collection or explore all bourbon at Wooden Cork.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Birthday Bourbon series? Released annually on September 2nd, each edition is a unique small-batch of 12-year-old barrels. No two vintages share the same barrel selection or proof.
• Why is the 2011 harder to find than 2015 or 2016? More recent vintages were released when collector infrastructure (allocation lists, secondary market tracking, specialist retailers) was more developed, meaning more bottles were saved. The 2011 was released during the transitional period — many were consumed before the full extent of the series' collectability was understood.
• Is the 2011 still available? In limited quantities. Over 13 years out of primary distribution.
• Is Old Forester America's first bottled bourbon? Yes — George Garvin Brown founded Old Forester in 1870 as America's first commercially bottled bourbon.