Old Forester Birthday Bourbon - 2007 Release

94 proof (47% ABV). Released September 2nd, 2007. The first Birthday Bourbon vintage that benefited from meaningful collector awareness — and still one of the harder years to find today.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is released once a year on September 2nd from a unique small-batch of 12-year-old barrels chosen by the master distiller. The 2007 at 94 proof represents a specific barrel selection from that year's approval — slightly higher proof than the standard Old Forester lineup, reflecting the natural strength of the selected barrels.

The 2007 marks the transition from the founding-era vintages (2003–2006) into the period of growing collector awareness. Premium bourbon demand was beginning its dramatic rise, and the Birthday Bourbon series was gaining recognition among enthusiasts. Surviving 2007 stock is substantially rarer than more recent vintages but more accessible than pre-2007 years.

Specs

• Distillery: Old Forester Distilling Co., Louisville, Kentucky (est. 1870)
• Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Age: 12 years
• Proof: 94 (47% ABV)
• Release: September 2nd, 2007 — Annual Birthday Bourbon
• Size: 750ml

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

Frequently Asked Questions

• How does the 2007 fit in the Birthday Bourbon series chronology? The 2007 is the transition vintage — later than the hardest-to-find founding-era years (2003–2006) but still well before the series reached its peak collector demand in the 2014–2018 era. At 94 proof it sits in the middle of the series' proof range across vintages.
• Why do Birthday Bourbon proofs vary by vintage? Each edition is a different barrel selection chosen by the master distiller. The natural proof of the selected barrels varies, and Old Forester bottles Birthday Bourbon at or near the barrels' natural proof rather than standardizing to a fixed number. The proof is therefore a genuine data point about that year's specific selection.
• What is the Birthday Bourbon series? Released annually on September 2nd — founder George Garvin Brown's birthday — each edition is a unique small-batch of 12-year-old barrels. No two vintages share the same barrel selection or proof.
• Is the 2007 still available? In limited quantities. The 2007 is over 17 years out of primary release and appears only through specialty retailers with legacy stock.