Old Forester President's Choice Goes National: America's Most Storied Distillery Just Changed the Rules
For the better part of seven years, the only way to get your hands on a bottle of Old Forester President's Choice was to make a pilgrimage. You had to show up, in person, at the distillery on Louisville's Whiskey Row — stand in the shadow of that handsome brick building on West Main Street, fork over your money, and carry the bottle home knowing you had something most bourbon drinkers would never taste. That exclusivity was, by design, the whole point. But in June 2025, the brand made a decision that is already reshaping conversations about what "rare" and "accessible" mean in the American whiskey market.
Old Forester announced the national debut of one of its most coveted and rarest expressions, President's Choice — previously available only at the Old Forester Distillery in Louisville — marking the first time President's Choice Bourbon and a new expression, President's Choice Rye, will be offered at select retailers nationwide in limited quantities. This is not a cosmetic change. It is a structural shift for a brand that has, since its very founding, understood that access and scarcity are two levers that cannot be pulled simultaneously without consequences.
A Tradition Rooted in 1964 — and Much Further Back
To understand why the national release of President's Choice matters, you have to understand what the program actually is and where it comes from. The lineage here is genuinely old by American whiskey standards.
The President's Choice selection was officially introduced in 1946 by George Garvin Brown II, who picked each barrel himself. The product was chosen by Brown until his death in 1969; stocks chosen by Brown were gone by 1972. Those original bottles, the ones that disappeared from back bars in the early seventies, have become the stuff of bourbon legend — the kind of whiskey that turns up at private tastings and leaves everyone in the room silent for a moment before someone starts talking again.
Launched in 2018, the modern bourbon is "inspired by private single barrels offered in 1964 by former Old Forester president George Garvin Brown II." Since its launch, the bourbon has only been available at the Old Forester Distillery in downtown Louisville. The relaunch was timed to coincide with something equally significant in Old Forester's history.
With the opening of its new distillery on Louisville's Whiskey Row, Old Forester reintroduced The President's Choice, a single barrel expression of Old Forester's most exceptional barrels, selected by the president of Old Forester. At the time, it carried a price of $89.99 — a far cry from where it sits today, but the philosophy behind the selection process was the same then as it is now.
When Campbell Brown revived the program in 2018, it carried deep personal resonance. "As we made plans for our new downtown distillery, we knew we wanted to offer some very special whisky for our visitors. I remembered seeing bottles selected by my grandfather through The President's Choice program on family back bars for years," said Brown. That kind of institutional memory, passed down through five generations of the same family, is rare anywhere in American business. In bourbon, it is almost without parallel.
The Founding Brand and What It Carries
Old Forester's credibility as the steward of a program like President's Choice does not come from marketing language. It comes from documented history that predates almost every other recognizable bourbon brand on shelves today.
Founded in 1870 by George Garvin Brown, Old Forester holds the distinction of being the first bourbon sold exclusively in sealed glass bottles to ensure its quality and consistency. It is the only bourbon continuously distilled and marketed by the founding family before, during, and after Prohibition. That last detail — continuous operation through Prohibition — sets the brand apart in a category where historical claims often require asterisks. Old Forester needs no asterisk.
Old Forester is Brown-Forman's founding brand, founded in 1870 by George Garvin Brown. Brown believed Old Forester was so pure and consistent that he sealed it, signed it, and pledged, "There is nothing better in the market." That pledge, made over 150 years ago, is embedded in the brand's DNA in a way that no amount of rebranding or repositioning could manufacture today. The President's Choice program is, in many ways, the fullest expression of that original promise.
During the economic boom following the Civil War, Louisville's Main Street was the hub of the bourbon business in Kentucky. Once home to 89 bourbon distilling companies, only one of those companies has operated continuously to the present day — Brown-Forman and its founding brand, Old Forester. That singular continuity gives the current President's Choice release a context that few American whiskey releases can claim honestly.
What the 2025 Release Actually Is
The Barrel Selection Standard
President's Choice is not a blended product, and it is not a marketing category. Each release is a single barrel — which means each bottle in the series is technically its own distinct whiskey, sharing a name but not necessarily a flavor profile.
The President's Choice is a single barrel expression of Old Forester's most exceptional barrels, historically hand selected by the company President. Inspired by the first private single barrels offered in the industry in 1964 by former president George Garvin Brown II, this modern offering is specifically selected from matured barrels that show exquisite quality and distinct characteristics. These barrels will typically be aged between 7-9 years and will vary within the traditional range of 110-125 proof based on optimal flavor. Because President's Choice expressions are hand-selected barrels which have showcased truly exceptional character and represent the foremost of quality, this bourbon will be released only when such distinct barrels come of full maturity and develop the taste profile deserving of this label.
That last condition is worth sitting with: the whiskey is released only when the right barrels exist. There is no production schedule driving the selection, no marketing calendar that forces the team to go to the warehouse and pick something adequate. If the right barrels are not there, the product does not come out. That is a genuinely uncommon level of discipline for any producer operating at commercial scale.
A Shift in Age Range
One detail in the 2025 release has generated real discussion among serious bourbon followers. With this change of availability, the company also changed the age range of the barrels selected for this release. Since its launch, the barrels used were aged 7-12 years; however, going forward, the range of age of barrels selected will be 7-9 years. On paper, that looks like a step down. The older upper limit — twelve years — gave some previous releases a degree of deep oak development that younger barrels simply cannot replicate.
The counterargument, and it is a fair one, is that age does not guarantee quality in a Kentucky rickhouse. Heat cycling, barrel position, wood grain character, and the original distillate profile all play roles that simple time in wood cannot override. While some may decry the fact that the company lowered the age range of barrels selected for President's Choice compared to the previous release, the honest retort to that is: while each single barrel will be slightly different, if the line delivers a delicious, classic-tasting sip, why does it matter what the age range used is? At the end of the day, excellent bourbon is excellent bourbon.
Bottled at Cask Strength, Uncut and Unfiltered
The 2025 release continues this historic tradition, offering a bourbon that is uncut, unfiltered, and bottled at a cask strength ranging from 110 to 125 proof. Those are not incidental details. Chill filtration, a process used to prevent hazing at cooler temperatures, strips a whiskey of some of the fatty acids and esters that contribute to mouthfeel and flavor complexity. Skipping that step and bottling at natural cask strength means what is in the bottle is as close to what is in the barrel as possible — every oil, every congener, every edge left intact.
"Uncut" means the whiskey is bottled at its natural cask strength, without any water added to lower the proof. "Unfiltered" means it has not been chill-filtered, preserving all the natural oils that contribute to its rich flavor and mouthfeel. For enthusiasts who have watched the broader market trend toward lower-proof, more approachable releases, the President's Choice 2025 is a deliberate counter-statement.
The People Behind the Selection
The 2025 release sees the selection duty shared between two of Old Forester's most respected technical voices, and the dynamic between them is interesting in its own right.
Master Taster Melissa Rift has been clear-eyed about what this expansion means for the program's audience. "President's Choice has always been an incredibly rare and cherished bottle, and most consumers have never seen it, let alone tasted the whisky," Rift said. "We are honored to bring it to a wider audience." That framing — honoring the audience rather than monetizing the moment — matters. It signals that the expansion was not purely driven by commercial pressure but by a genuine desire to let the whiskey be tasted rather than hoarded.
Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo has been equally direct about the standard the program demands. "Every barrel selected for President's Choice tells a story," Trigo said. "These are the barrels that showcase an extraordinary depth of character. Whether it's the bourbon or our new rye, each bottle represents the pinnacle of Old Forester's craftsmanship." Together, Rift and Trigo carry forward a selection process that, at its best, is less about technical specification and more about finding the barrels that say something a consumer will remember years later.
The New Expression: President's Choice Rye
If the national release of the bourbon is the headline, the debut of President's Choice Rye is the story running just beneath it — and arguably the more surprising development.
Old Forester announced the nationwide release of its rarest single barrel whiskey, President's Choice, along with the debut of President's Choice Rye. The move marks the first time either expression will be available beyond the Old Forester Distillery in Louisville. The rye represents a meaningful expansion of the program's scope. Where the bourbon is deeply rooted in Old Forester's 155-year history with corn-forward Kentucky whiskey, a rye expression opens an entirely different flavor conversation.
President's Choice Rye Whiskey 2025 is bold and balanced. On the nose, spice meets sweetness with maple bark, ginger and orange sherbet. Those tasting notes suggest a rye that leans into its grain character without sacrificing sweetness — a profile that will play well against the bourbon for enthusiasts interested in comparing how the same selection philosophy translates across different mash bills.
What the 2025 Bourbon Actually Tastes Like
Given that each President's Choice release is a single barrel, describing the taste of "the 2025 release" requires a caveat: individual bottles will vary. But press samples have generated a consistent picture of what the selection team is hunting for.
The 2025 President's Choice Bourbon opens with a soft, floral nose — think vanilla, cherry, and blueberry scones — but leans much oakier and spicier on the palate. Tobacco, clove, and dark fruit lead the way, with a long, layered finish of oak, cocoa, and mint. That is a profile that rewards patience. The nose is inviting and almost delicate; the palate has weight and structure that more approachable expressions in the Old Forester lineup deliberately avoid. This is a serious whiskey meant to be contemplated, not knocked back.
A separate evaluation of the bourbon described the nose in terms that point to its classical pedigree. A fantastic classic aroma greets you right away, bringing a smile to any bourbon lover. Cinnamon sticks, baking spices, and oak scents waft out, while freshly baked raisin bread and vanilla extract pull through upon further inspection. Brown sugar adds a sweet note along with hints of nutmeg and spiced apples. That is an approachable complexity — notes that a casual drinker can name and a seasoned collector can dissect layer by layer.
Perhaps most interesting from a brand identity standpoint: what stands out as unique about this bourbon is the lack of red fruit notes that are so often found in Old Forester bourbons. This isn't a bad thing; however, it is interesting to see, considering this is the cream of the crop of what Old Forester has to offer. It's a small detail, but one that hardcore fans of the brand will instantly notice. Old Forester's signature fruit-forward quality — the notes that make the Birthday Bourbon and the 1920 Prohibition Style so immediately recognizable — is largely absent here. In its place is something drier, more structured, more tobacco-and-oak-forward. Different does not mean lesser, but it does mean the President's Choice speaks in a dialect all its own.
Where and How to Buy It
Launch Day Details
To celebrate the national debut, beginning at 10:00 am ET on Saturday, June 14, Old Forester Distillery released a limited number of bottles for in-person purchase at the distillery and at its online store for shipping to select states. The June 14 date was chosen deliberately. The expressions debuted starting June 14, as the brand celebrated National Bourbon Day and the seventh anniversary of its Whiskey Row distillery opening. Pairing the national launch with both National Bourbon Day and the distillery's anniversary is the kind of layered storytelling that Old Forester has always done well — every detail of the rollout reinforces the narrative of continuity and occasion.
Online and Retail Availability
Beginning at 10 am ET on June 14, Old Forester Distillery released a limited number of bottles for in-person purchase at the distillery and in its online store at shop.oldforester.com for shipping to states where it is legal — D.C., Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and North Dakota only. Those are tight restrictions, and they will frustrate whiskey hunters in most of the country who hoped "national release" meant immediate statewide availability. But the broader distribution picture is more expansive.
Limited bottles of both expressions are being released online — available in Washington, D.C., Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and North Dakota — and at select retailers across the country, as well as in person at the distillery. The rollout at physical retail is staggered and ongoing. For the first time, Ohio Liquor released Old Forester President's Choice Bourbon and President's Choice Rye at select locations in Ohio on August 23, 2025 — demonstrating that the distribution network is expanding progressively as the brand works its way through state control markets and private retailers.
The Price Question: Is $225 Justified?
There is no soft way to say it: $225 is real money for a bottle of bourbon, and in a market where consumer fatigue around high prices is palpable, the figure demands examination.
Prices continue to rise, and a majority of consumers scoff at them. Bourbons that used to cost $50 now cost four or five times that, and ultra-luxury bourbons costing a thousand dollars or more are becoming more and more common. Against that backdrop, the President's Choice MSRP looks different depending on where your frame of reference sits. For someone who still expects to find something great for under a hundred dollars, $225 is a jolt. For someone tracking the ultra-premium tier, where Brown-Forman's own King of Kentucky sits at $325 or more, it starts to look like a relative bargain.
In the case of Old Forester President's Choice Bourbon, its price is actually justified, especially when you consider that King of Kentucky, another exceptional bourbon by Brown-Forman, is priced $100 higher. In today's world of skyrocketing prices, it is well worth the price of admission. That comparison is instructive. Both are cask strength, single barrel expressions from the same parent company, selected with comparable care. The $100 gap is largely a function of King of Kentucky's older age statement and longer collector history — not an inherent superiority in what's in the glass.
What also matters here is what $225 gets you in concrete terms: an uncut, unfiltered, cask strength single barrel bourbon from one of the oldest continuously operating distilleries in American history, selected personally by the brand's top tasting and distilling talent, released in limited quantities with no guarantee of future availability at any price. On that math, the MSRP holds up.
What the National Release Means for the Industry
The strategic implications of this move extend well beyond Old Forester's own product lineup. The brand is making a statement about how a legacy distillery can introduce scarcity to a national audience without destroying the thing that made the scarcity meaningful in the first place.
For years, the bourbon industry's answer to demand outstripping supply was either to raise prices aggressively, launch new high-end expressions with minimal history behind them, or simply let secondary market prices do the signaling while keeping MSRP artificially low. Old Forester's approach here is different: they are bringing a historically rooted, genuinely rare expression out of its geographic cage while keeping the selection standard intact. President's Choice expressions are hand-selected barrels which have showcased truly exceptional character and represent the foremost of quality, and this bourbon will be released only when such distinct barrels come of full maturity and develop the taste profile deserving of this label. That conditional clause — released only when the barrels are worthy — is the part that matters most. It protects the program from becoming a production exercise rather than a curation exercise.
The simultaneous debut of President's Choice Rye also signals something about where Old Forester sees its premium tier heading. This year's release includes both President's Choice Bourbon and, for the first time, President's Choice Rye, offering whiskey enthusiasts a new way to experience Old Forester's most exceptional barrels pulled from its historic brick warehouses in Louisville. Extending the President's Choice framework to rye is a bet that the selection philosophy — barrel by barrel, on merit alone — translates across grain types. If it works, and early indications suggest it does, the program could become a platform rather than a single expression.
The Whiskey Row Distillery: Seven Years of Context
The timing of this release is inseparable from the physical place where it originates. The Old Forester Distillery on Louisville's Whiskey Row opened in June 2018, and the national release of President's Choice lands exactly on that building's seventh anniversary.
The $45 million, 70,000 square foot distillery guides guests through the bourbon-making process from fermentation and distillation to barrel-making, aging, and bottling. It's the only downtown distillery with a fully operational cooperage. Having an on-site cooperage is not a novelty detail — it means Old Forester maintains direct oversight of the barrel construction that determines so much of the final whiskey's character. The char level, the stave seasoning, the entry proof: all of it happens under one operational umbrella in the heart of Louisville.
For seven years, the distillery served as both a production facility and the exclusive sales point for President's Choice. Every bottle that left the building carried with it the story of that place: the restored Main Street facade, the open fermentation tanks visible through the glass, the copper pot stills gleaming on the production floor. Now, bottles will reach stores in states that have never seen this label before, arriving stripped of that immediate context but carrying the history regardless.
For the Collector and the Drinker: What to Actually Do
There are two audiences for a release like this, and they want different things. The collector wants to know whether President's Choice 2025 will appreciate in value, whether it is worth pursuing for the cellar, and whether the shift to wider distribution affects secondary market dynamics. The drinker wants to know whether it is worth $225 to open and pour.
On the collector side: wider distribution typically compresses secondary market premiums by increasing supply relative to demand. But President's Choice is still being released in limited quantities, and the selection standard is explicitly tied to barrel quality rather than production volume. Every bottle reflects the highest standards of selection, with only the finest barrels deemed worthy of carrying the President's Choice name. That conditionality keeps the release from becoming a commodity, even at national scale.
On the drinker's side: the tasting notes across multiple independent evaluations are consistently compelling. Bursting with rich oak, deep spice, and ripe fruit character, each offering is sure to please the sophisticated palate. The variance inherent in single barrel releases means no two bottles are identical, but the selection process is designed to eliminate the floor — every barrel that earns the President's Choice name has been vetted by the people who know this distillery's output better than anyone alive. The risk of a disappointing bottle is about as low as it gets for a single barrel expression at this price point.
If you can find it at MSRP — $225 for either the bourbon or the rye — buy it. Open it. This is a bourbon that rewards deep contemplation and celebrates the art of barrel selection at its highest level. That is not marketing copy. It is a fair description of what happens when more than 150 years of institutional knowledge gets compressed into a single barrel, bottled without apology at full cask strength, and finally allowed to travel beyond the city where it was born.
