Old Forester President&
Old Forester President&
Old Forester President&
Old Forester President&
Price
Regular price $449.95
Regular price Sale price $449.95
/
  • ✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
  • ✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
  • ✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging
Age: 7–9 Years (Handwritten on individual labels) | Region: Kentucky, United States | Proof: 117.5
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  • Vault-to-door shipping
  • Adult signature (21+) at delivery
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Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Kentucky Straight Bourbon · Single Barrel

Old Forester

President's Choice Bourbon

2026 Release

Hand-selected single barrel · Proof set barrel by barrel · A label from 1964

Single
Barrel
1964
Label origin
Jun 13
2026 national debut
700mL
Format
Handwritten
Label fields

Old Forester President's Choice Bourbon is a single-barrel Kentucky straight bourbon whisky, and Old Forester calls President's Choice its rarest annual release. For 2026, Master Taster Melissa Rift and Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo tasted barrels chosen for their maturity, complexity and distinct character and set a proof point for each one; every label then records its own barrel's age, number and strength by hand. The release went on sale nationally on June 13, 2026, ahead of National Bourbon Day.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

01

Each bottle of President's Choice Bourbon is drawn from a single barrel, chosen for its maturity, complexity and distinct character.

02

Proof is set barrel by barrel. Rift and Trigo pick the proof point that best shows each barrel's flavour, so strength varies from barrel to barrel.

03

The label is finished by hand: the barrel's age, its barrel number and its bottling strength are written in for each bottle.

04

The name goes back to 1964, when then-president George Garvin Brown II introduced President's Choice, selling each barrel whole and choosing every one himself.

05

Revived in 2018 and sold at the Old Forester Distillery in Louisville until 2025, when it reached select retailers nationwide for the first time and a rye joined the label.

06

Announced from Louisville on June 8, 2026 and on sale from 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 13, a date Old Forester set to mark National Bourbon Day and the eighth anniversary of its distillery on Main Street.

Nº 02

A Label from 1964

Private barrels to a national release

George Garvin Brown II, then Old Forester's president, introduced President's Choice in 1964: each barrel was sold whole and chosen by him personally. After his death in 1969, the last barrels he had selected ran out in 1972. Old Forester revived the label in June 2018, the month its distillery opened at 119 West Main Street in Louisville, in the building the brand had called home from 1882 to 1919. The 2026 release pairs this bourbon with the President's Choice Rye from the same June release, and we also offer the two together as our two-bottle President's Choice set for 2026.

Nº 03

Selection & the Label

How a barrel qualifies
Criteria

Maturity, complexity, distinct character

The three qualities Old Forester names for a President's Choice barrel.

The tasters

Melissa Rift and Caleb Trigo

Old Forester's Master Taster and Assistant Master Distiller taste the barrels and choose each one's proof point.

In their words

Tasting each barrel

“Our process of tasting each barrel is rooted in the history of this label, and this year's release is no exception.” Melissa Rift, Master Taster.

The label

Age, barrel, strength

Three fields completed by hand on every bottle, so each label names the barrel it came from.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

One barrel at a time
I

Character

President's Choice is described one barrel at a time: Old Forester's own shop has listed its bottles by barrel number, with tasting notes written for the individual barrel. What holds across the 2026 bourbon is the selection brief, barrels of maturity, complexity and distinct character, each bottled at the proof Rift and Trigo judged best for its flavour. The handwritten label is the record of the barrel this bottle came from.

II

Strategic Position

A single barrel has nothing blended in to even it out, so the choice of barrel carries the bottle. For a contrast in approach, the uncut George T. Stagg of 2025 is a batch drawn from many barrels rather than one.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance
→

The founder's guarantee

George Garvin Brown founded Old Forester in Louisville in 1870, sold it only in sealed glass bottles and signed each one as his personal guarantee of its quality. It is Brown-Forman's founding brand.

→

Where it sold in 2026

In person at the Old Forester Distillery on Main Street in Louisville, online through the distillery's shop for delivery to D.C., Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Dakota, and nationally in limited quantities.

→

The barrel number

The handwritten barrel number ties this bottle to the one barrel it was drawn from, and the age and strength written beside it are that barrel's.

“Craftsmanship is at the heart of every Old Forester bottle and both this bourbon and rye selection are the peak expressions we offer.” Caleb Trigo, Assistant Master Distiller.

Collector Index2026 BOURBON
Release
President's Choice 2026 · bourbon
Announced
June 8, 2026 · Louisville
National debut
June 13, 2026
Tasted by
Melissa Rift & Caleb Trigo
Label origin
1964 · revived 2018
SRP reference
$225 — reference only, not an offer

It sits with the bourbon collection this 2026 President's Choice belongs to.

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification Detail
Whisky Old Forester President's Choice Bourbon, 2026 release
Class Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
Selection Single barrel; tasted, and its proof point set, by Master Taster Melissa Rift and Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo
Strength Written by hand on each label; the 2026 release runs 110 to 125 proof (55–62.5% ABV) — confirm this bottle's label
Age Written by hand on each label; 2026 barrels are aged 7 to 9 years — confirm this bottle's label
Barrel number Written by hand on each label
Release Announced June 8, 2026; national debut June 13, 2026
Label origin 1964, George Garvin Brown II; revived 2018
Producer Old Forester Distilling Company, Louisville, Kentucky
Brand Old Forester, Brown-Forman's founding brand (1870)
Format 700 mL
Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

President's Choice begins with tasting. Master Taster Melissa Rift and Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo taste barrels chosen for maturity, complexity and distinct character and set a proof point for each to highlight its flavour; each barrel is then bottled on its own, and three fields on its label (age, barrel number and strength) are completed by hand. Old Forester traces the label to 1964, when then-president George Garvin Brown II sold private barrels whole, and revived it in 2018. Since 2025 a rye has been released beside the bourbon, and 2026 is the second consecutive year of both.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Old Forester President's Choice Bourbon?

Old Forester President's Choice Bourbon is a single-barrel Kentucky straight bourbon whisky that Old Forester calls its rarest annual release. Its barrels are chosen for maturity, complexity and distinct character, and Master Taster Melissa Rift and Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo taste each one and set the proof at which it is bottled. The label traces to private single barrels introduced in 1964 by then-president George Garvin Brown II.

What proof is Old Forester President's Choice Bourbon 2026?

It depends on the barrel. Each bottle of the 2026 Old Forester President's Choice Bourbon comes from a single barrel bottled at a proof point that Melissa Rift and Caleb Trigo chose to highlight that barrel's flavour, and the strength is written by hand on the label, along with the barrel's age and number. The figures on the bottle itself are the ones that apply.

When was Old Forester President's Choice 2026 released?

Old Forester announced the 2026 President's Choice release from Louisville on June 8, 2026 and put it on sale nationally at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 13, commemorating National Bourbon Day and the eighth anniversary of Old Forester's distillery opening on Main Street. For the second consecutive year the release included both a bourbon and a rye.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Old Forester · President's Choice Bourbon 2026

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