Old Forester will release the 21st iteration of its limited-edition, vintage-dated Birthday Bourbon on Sept. 2 in celebration of founder George Garvin Brown’s birthday. This year marks the 151st year of the company he began in 1870.

The 2021 Birthday Bourbon will be bottled at 104 proof and is made up of 119 barrels, aged 12 years, and barreled on April 16, 2009. After showing exceptionally unique character during a tasting panel, the 12-year-old barrels were chosen specifically for this year’s Birthday Bourbon.

Tasting Notes

AROMA: A beautiful symphony of berry and dessert components. Red raspberry preserves join plump, juicy blackberries and dried strawberries to set the tone, nestled in a bed of dried herbs and balanced with vanilla creme brulee, subtle pecan, rich maple syrup, and cocoa.

TASTE: Rich and inviting, the velvety mouthfeel carries notes of buttery caramel, burnt sugar, and a touch of fresh baked linzer cookie. This silky palate quickly awakens into a bright, peppery, peripheral spice.

FINISH: Lengthy and warm with subtle dryness. Subdued notes of chocolate, raisin, and cool herbs linger in the shadow of stark oak spice.

In 1876, John D. Willett one of Kentucky's original bourbon aristocrats transferred his interest in the Willett & Frenke Distillery to his sons-in-law, Benjamin Mattingly, and Thomas Moore. Mattingly and Moore continued to operate the Willett & Frenke Distillery together until 1881 when Mattingly finally sold his stake in the company to a group of investors. Within a few years, Thomas Moore acquired complete control over the distillery and eponymously renamed it. Moore would continue to operate the distillery for another five decades until he was ultimately forced to close his doors at the onset of Prohibition. Today, the Barton 1792 Distillery operates on the same site as the historic Tom Moore Distillery and continues to use the same methods that Moore used over a century ago when distilling his own bourbon. 1792 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is made from a mash of corn, rye, and malted barley. While the use of corn in the bourbon's recipe adds classic notes of buttered bread, biscuits and roasted nuts, the heavy use of rye in the bourbon's mashbill yields a more complex and full-bodied whiskey. After the grains are harvested, they are mashed and fermented before being distilled through a copper-pot still. In 1897, the Bottled-in-Bond Act revolutionized the quality of American whiskey. Carrying on that tradition, this well-aged bourbon from barrels all filled during the same season was bottled at exactly 100 proof for a bold taste and lingering finish - a testament to the Bottled-in-Bond Act established over a century ago.

Freeland Bourbon pays homage to the South, and to Grandma Freeland, the namesake of Freeland Spirits. Soft caramel, vanilla and spice dance into the whiskey from charred American oak barrels. A final rest in Oregon’s Elk Cove Pinot Noir barrels adds an element of Pacific Northwest terroir. Blended with precision by our Master Distiller, Molly Troupe, to achieve balanced texture and harmony of flavors.

ABV: 46%

Finish: long and velvety

Mash Bill: 70% corn, 20% rye, 10% malted barley

Taste: Rounded and smooth, soft caramel and baked berries layered with vanilla bean, cocoa and spice

Aroma: Toffee, marmalade, smoked pecan and clove

Color: Rich mahogany

Crafted from select corn, barley, and a hint of rye, each small batch of Alamo Black Label Bourbon is aged to perfection in brand new American Oak Barrels.

Our recipe was designed to produce a bold bourbon, rich with sweet notes, and a smooth finish for a unique bourbon to enjoy on it’s own, or fashioned into a great cocktail.

Dovetail is blended to highlight some of our favorite flavors. Woody bourbon; terroir driven Dunn Cabernet; toasted French oak; Late Bottled Vintage Port pipes; black strap molasses casks; all working in tandem to create a buttery and deep whiskey as unique as it is delicious. 

TASTING NOTES

Appearance: Rose gold with highlights of worn copper.

Nose: Opens with mature aromas both sweet (canelé, panna cotta, crème de noyaux) and savory (walnut oil, leather). This is followed quickly by a vast array of fruit derived both from the spirit (smoked apricot, grapefruit peel) as well as the cask treatment (sloe gin, damson jam). The aroma is high toned, pungently floral and herbaceous, with subtle, balancing pops of minerality.

Palate: Darker (cocoa, molasses, burnt marshmallow) and spicier (cola, nutmeg, Tellicherry peppercorn) than the nose, an effect well-complemented by the cask treatment and rendered more complex by the savory and herbaceous themes running throughout.

Finish: A sweet and elegant signature of rose jelly, chestnut honey, and Pineau des Charentes that also features hazelnut, eucalyptus, and Corsican mint.

AWARDS​​

BEST SPECIAL BARREL-FINISHED WHISKEY at the Ascot Awards - 2021

DOUBLE PLATINUM at the ASCOT Awards - 2021

BEST AMERICAN WHISKEY at the John Barleycorn Awards - 2021

DOUBLE GOLD at the John Barleycorn Awards - 2021

CHAIRMAN'S TROPHY at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge - 2020

TOP 100 SPIRITS (97 POINTS) at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge - 2020

Double Gold (96 POINTS) at the New York International Spirits Competition - 2020

Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition - 2019

Gold (Whiskey: Barrel Finished category) at Whiskies of the World - 2019

Whisky Advocate rating of 90

Traverse City Whiskey Co. was founded by Chris Fredrickson, Jared Rapp, and Moti Goldring. Fredrickson discovered his great-grandfather's whiskey distilling patents in the 1920s. This was the catalyst behind the passion project. The brand now has an extensive lineup. Distilled from a mash of corn, rye, and malted barley, this bourbon is amber and elegant. Traverse City Whiskey Co. Straight Bourbon is aged for 4 years in new American oak. This dram delivers warm vanilla and a little heat. Perfect for sipping neat, and shines in any signature craft cocktail.

Lovingly handcrafted and aged in Kentucky, Pinhook Bourbon was established in 2014 and has produced several small batch bottlings in their newly restored Castle & Key distillery in Frankfort, KY, to much critical acclaim. What makes their line unique is the brand's three distinctive characteristics: its limited availability, mass appeal and strong ties to Kentucky's legacy of horse racing. Each release of Pinhook Bourbon is named after a thoroughbred owned by Bourbon Lane Stable. The label also features the horses racing records on their brand's website. This first Cask Strength Pinhook release was bottled at 115.3 proof and has a deep and bright nose of Creme Brle, orange zest, and toasted coconut, which sets the stage for a rich and harmonious palate of pralines, brioche, cocoa, and candied cinnamon. Pinhook Bourbon Country Cask Strength won Gold at the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Kentucky Owl was founded by Charles Mortimer Dedman, a local pharmacist, in 1879. After marrying his wife, Dedman was given a large parcel of land on the banks of the Kentucky River, as a wedding gift from his adopted father who was a local town judge. C.M. Dedman Distillery was established here on the banks of the Kentucky River, producing "The Wise Man's Bourbon" under Distilled Spirits Plant Designation "No. 16," one of Kentucky's original distilleries and part of a booming industry. Kentucky Owl achieved much success and production continued until Prohibition halted distillation. The family-run facility was no match for the "forces of teetotalism, temperance and eventually, the Feds" (producer). In 1916, Prohibition left several local distilleries with ample reserves of bourbon. As for Kentucky Owl, approximately 250,000 gallons of bourbon were left over in various stages of aging. Today these reserves would be worth about $40 million in inventory. After Federal agents descended on the Dedman's distillery, the bourbon was seized and shipped up the river by barge to the state capital in Frankfort for "safekeeping" in a warehouse. Currently Kentucky Owl is in the midst of designing a stunning state-of-the-art distillery park with rickhouses for aging, a bottling center, as well as a vintage dinner train to stop on the property. Kentucky Owl Park will be built at Cedar Creek Quarry in Bardstown. The 420-acre site will boast beautiful lakes with crystal clear, limestone-filtered water that will be used in our whiskey production. The Stoli Group has turned to the world-renownedShigeru Ban Architects to oversee the project. Bottled at 96.4 proof, Confiscated delivers notes of floral gardenia and honeysuckle, along with grape, red apple, orange cuties, wet banana bread and toasty sourdough bread crust on the nose. The palate is reminiscent of graham crackers, toffee, muted sweet cinnamon spice, and fresh-squeezed orange juice balanced with white grapes and finishing with a hint of cayenne.

Heritage Distilling Co. (HDC) is a craft distillery based in Gig Harbor, Washington. HDC is the most awarded craft distillery in North America by the American Distilling Institute6 years 2014 - 2019). Each Heritage Distilling Co.product has a unique story. This family-owned Craft Distillery makes their spirits by hand. From working directly with the farmers to grow their grains, to ensuring the purity of their water source, to milling the grain, making their own mash and wort and running their own custom made stills. Heritage Distilling embodies a wholehearted Field to Flask ethos. Distilled to the most meticulous standards this Brown Sugar Bourbon is distilled from a corn, rye, and malted barley mash before being barreled at less than 125 proof for at least two years in new American Oak Charred Barrels. The whiskey is then cut to 60 proof with their private crystal clear water source and infused with natural brown sugar and cinnamon flavors.This Brown Sugar Bourbon earned World's Best Flavored Whiskey from World Whiskies Awards in 2018 and 2019.

Following the end of the American Revolutionary War, Johannes Reginald Beam emigrated from Germany to the United States, and eventually settled in Kentucky County. At the time, Kentucky County was still considered part of Virginia, and was overseen by a military governor named John J. Bowman. In order to encourage westward expansion, Virginia issued pioneers who agreed to settle in Kentucky County corn writs, which granted the pioneers 60 acres of land if they agreed to settle in Kentucky and start farming corn. After settling in Kentucky, Beam began harvesting corn and set forth a family tradition by distilling the excess grains he harvested into whiskey. Since then, seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in whiskey production for the eponymous company (the company is actually named after James Beam, who rescued it following Prohibition). Today, Fred Noe a seventh generation master distiller and the great-grandson of Colonel James B. Beam shepherds his family legacy forward. Jim Beam Peach is the epitome of ripe and fresh peaches, combined with the world's finest Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey to create a perfect blend of sweet and woody notes of bourbon. This Jim Beam Peach is a go-to refreshment for summer occasions, perfect for bourbon cocktails underneath the summer sun.

On the banks of the Salt River, nestled in the quiet Kentucky countryside near Lawrenceburg, Four Roses Distillery is a testament to American ingenuity and perseverance. Built in 1910 to resemble the architecture of California wineries, the distillery now listed on the National Register of Historic Places was one of six distilleries that were granted permission to operate during Prohibition. Following Prohibition, Four Roses Kentucky Straight Bourbon became the top-selling bourbon in the United States.In 1943, Seagram's bought the distillery and a decade later, discontinued the sale of Four Roses Kentucky Straight Bourbon. In 2002, the distillery changed hands again, and the new owner brought a renewed sense of purpose and vigor to Four Roses. Bottled at a solid at 104 proof, Four Roses Small Batch Select marks the first permanent addition to their portfolio of premium Bourbons since 2006. This extra proof and non-chill filtered Small Batch Select has a richer profile more robust profile than the signature Four Roses. Made from six of the ten: OBSV, OBSK, OBSF, OESV, OESK, OESF, each of the bourbons in this small batch selection are six to seven years old.

Traverse City Whiskey Co. was founded by Chris Fredrickson, Jared Rapp, and Moti Goldring. Fredrickson discovered his great-grandfather's whiskey distilling patents in the 1920s. This was the catalyst behind the passion project. The brand now has an extensive lineup. This flavorful Traverse City Whiskey is pure and uncut, bottled at full barrel proof. Distilled from a mash of corn, rye, and malted barley, this bourbon's proof varies from 115-120. Surprisingly smooth and complex, Traverse City Barrel Proof Bourbon earned 91 points from Wine Enthusiast in 2018. 

Local Choice Spirits was founded in 2010 by Paula Pixie Dezzutti Hewlette. They currently have a diverse range of quality spirits including The Legendary Hatfield & McCoy Family Brand Whiskey, Dwight Eubanks and his Eubanks Gin Collection, and Boosie Badazz's Boosie Juice Vodka. Tyler Boone is a singer, songwriter and multi-dimensional business entrepreneur from South Carolina. Boone teamed up with Paula Dezzutti Hewlette to create this homegrown Boone's Bourbon. This spirit is distilled from a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% barley at Striped Pig Distillery in Charleston. Aged in new, charred, white oak it is bottled at a high octane 58.5% ABV. Striped Pig Distillery's bespoke machinery was designed by distillers and owners, Johnny Pieper, Jim Craig and Todd Weiss who created state of the art, custom-made copper plate condensers and stainless steel boilers. Boone's Bourbon has pleasant aromas of sweet corn, vanilla and baking spice followed by a rich caramel flavored palate, kissed by a touch of smoke.

American Freedom Distillery was founded by four ex-Green Berets. Currently, they're building the distillery in St. Petersburg, Florida. For now, Horse Soldier Bourbon is distilled in Columbus, Ohio. Days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the USA deployed a small team of Green Berets mounted on horseback. These brave men are honored today by theAmerica's Response Monumentat Ground Zero. This bourbon honors the small unit, nicknamed the Horse Soldiers. Their story was depicted in the 2018 movie 12 Strong, as well as the CNN documentaryLegion of Brothersand the American Response Monument located at Ground Zero in New York City. Made in the heart of America with pride and patience, Horse SoldierBourbon is distilled from a mash of 70% yellow dent corn, 20% red winter wheat, and 10% malted barley, using water from limestone aquifers carefully filtered for purity. The spirit is matured for 8 years in new, charred American oak casks before being bottled at a staggering 113 proof.

EXTRAORDINARILY COMPLEX WITH NOTES OF VANILLA, GINGER, AND CHERRIES. THIS BARREL STRENGTH “WHEATED” BOURBON IS MADE FROM SMALL BATCHES OF METICULOUSLY BLENDED MATURE WHISKEY. HORSE SOLDIER® BOURBON IS NON-CHILL FILTERED TO PROVIDE A FULL-BODIED AND DECADENT FINISH.

AROMA

BUTTERSCOTCH, GINGER, CHERRIES

TASTING

BUTTERSCOTCH, OAK, STONE FRUITS, COLA, GINGER AND FLORAL NOTES.

PROOF

BARREL
STRENGTH

COLOR

DEEP AMBER

Available in different proofs of 123, 122, 123.9, and 124.6 if you are looking for specific proof, please email our customer support at info@royalbatch.com with your request, otherwise the available proof will be shipped to you.   

Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. traces their roots back to the 1880's, to the heart of Henderson Kentucky. Peerless Whiskey was founded by a businessman with a bold personality Henry Kraver, who revived the brand from the brink of ruin in the late 1880s. Under Kraver's guidance, rose from the ashes, increasing production 25-fold. But the growth of the brand was subsequently stunted by the very unforgiving era of Prohibition. Now, a century later, Peerless Whiskey is in the hands of Kraver's great-grandson Corky Taylor and great-great-grandson Carson Taylor. Keeping Kraver's legacy alive, the duo has resurrected the brand, even distilling under the original Distilled Spirits Plant number, DSP-KY-50 in a centuries-old warehouse in downtown Louisville, near the Ohio River. Two years after releasing its flagship 2-year-old inaugural straight rye Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. has launched its first bourbon. Crafted onsite from grain to bottle, Master Distiller Caleb Kilburn used a sweet mash process and non-chill filtration to craft this landmark release for the brand. Most bourbon on the market today is "sour mash" cooked with a bit of already fermented grains (and the consistent yeast and bacteria included) from a previous distillation cycle. In contrast, "sweet mash" bourbon uses a freshly cultured batch of yeast each time. "The launch of our bourbon marks the realization of so many dreams from the team at Kentucky Peerless" says Caleb Kilburn. Aged four years this new release is bottled at a low barrel proof 108.9, a factor of both a low distillation proof and a low barrel entry proof, setting this bourbon apart from the crowd.

Situated on a rolling ranch in Texas Hill Country, Garrison Brothers Distillery was founded in 2005. The distillery is the oldest legal whiskey distillery in Texas. "Like everything in the Lone Star State, our dreams were big from the start," says Dan Garrison, the distillery's owner. "We didn't want to make just any bourbon, we wanted to make the best bourbon ever made." Garrison Brothers Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey is made from organic corn, wheat, and barley. "We get about 30,000 pounds of corn, wheat and barley delivered a month," says Garrison. "The wheat comes from our own fields we have 65 acres of wheat on the other side of the property." In addition, the corn is harvested from local fields in Texas while the barley is sourced from the Pacific Northwest. Once the grains arrive at the distillery, they are milled and mashed before being fermented for four days. Following fermentation, the wash is distilled through an antique, copper pot still nicknamed the copper cowgirl. "She was made as an experimental still," says Garrison, "for Wild Turkey Distillery." After the bourbon has been distilled, it is aged in charred, American oak barrels. "The char softens the wood and allows the bourbon to expand into the wood. When it gets hot and it gets hot out here in Texas that bourbon will soak deep into the wood and extract the chemical compounds that are in there." Balmorhea is the latest release from Garrison Brothers, named after an iconic West Texas park. $5 for the sale of each bottle goes towards renovating the spring-fed pool situated nearly 40 miles south of Pecos, Texas. This magnificent Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey is bold but majestically-crafted, having been aged four years in new American white oak barrels, then transferred to a second new American white oak barrel, and aged for one year. Simply put, Balmorhea is bourbon candy in a bottle. 

After serving in the Louisville Brigade during the Mexican-American war, William Larue Weller returned home to his native Kentucky. His family had helped settle Kentucky in the late 18th century, and his grandfather, Daniel Weller, purchased a distillery in Nelson County in 1800. (When Daniel Weller died, his estate was inventoried and was said to contain three whiskey barrels, two stills, one mash kettle and numerous dry kegs.) Upon his return to Kentucky following the war, W.L. Weller joined the family business and began working at his grandfather's distillery. Weller had a sharp palate and a keen sense for business and in 1849, he introduced the first bourbon ever that used wheat as its secondary grain instead of rye. Wheated bourbons (including Pappy Van Winkle and Larceny Bourbon, which eventually imitated W.L. Weller's mashbill) have a softer and more gentle flavor profile as compared to bourbons that use rye as their secondary grain, and have a slightly sweeter taste. Weller's bourbon was incredibly popular in antebellum America and ultimately forced him to place a green thumbprint on his invoices and barrels as a certificate of authenticity. The Original Wheated Bourbon Whiskey features an exceptionally smooth taste, substituting wheat for rye grain. Bottled at 90 proof, W.L. Weller Special Reserve stands out with its burnt orange color. Its softer flavor notes make this bourbon great for sipping or making cocktails. This special bourbon earned a Gold Medal at the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and a Silver Medal at the 2019 World Whiskies Awards.

Situated along the banks of the East River, Kings County Distillery is New York City's oldest operating whiskey distillery and the first distillery in New York City since Prohibition. Wedged between Williamsburg and Vinegar Hill, Colin Spoelman and David Haskell, the master distillers at Kings County, make hand-crafted bourbon and moonshine out of the 113-year old Paymaster Building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. A typewriter the two distillers found on the sidewalk in Williamsburg is used to make the labels that adorn their clear, flask-like bottles, while a hairdryer (made by Revlon) is used to affix each bottle seal. Handwritten scrawls on a chalkboard keep track of different batches, and mesh laundry bags are used as strainers. Haskell and Spoelman use the first alcohol produced from each batch the "head" as a disinfectant and sell the used mash to a pig farmer who uses it as feed. "I still don't understand why it doesn't make the pigs drunk," Haskell says. Kings County Bourbon is made from a mash bill of New York State-grown corn and malted English barley. Twice distilled on Scottish copper pot stills it's then aged for at least two years in new oak barrels. Smooth, spicy, and complex, this bourbon is a precocious whiskey, surprisingly robust for its age with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and vanilla. Awarded three stars by the New York Times, and a double gold medal from the SF World Spirits Competition in 2019. Kings County currently produces about 150 gallons of bourbon a month. "We make enough to supply some of Brooklyn, some of Manhattan and that's about it," Spoelman says. After visiting their distillery, we bamboozled them into sharing some of their juice with the rest of the country. The bottles are filled, labeled and sealed by hand.

Situated along the banks of the East River, Kings County Distillery is New York City's oldest operating whiskey distillery and the first distillery in New York City since Prohibition. Wedged between Williamsburg and Vinegar Hill, Colin Spoelman and David Haskell, the master distillers at Kings County, make hand-crafted bourbon and moonshine out of the 113-year old Paymaster Building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. A typewriter the two distillers found on the sidewalk in Williamsburg is used to make the labels that adorn their clear, flask-like bottles, while a hairdryer (made by Revlon) is used to affix each bottle seal. Handwritten scrawls on a chalkboard keep track of different batches, and mesh laundry bags are used as strainers. After milling and mashing the grains, the wash is slowly fermented at their distillery in blue tanks that resemble oil drums and then double-pot distilled. Haskell and Spoelman use the first alcohol produced from each batch the "head" as a disinfectant and sell the used mash to a pig farmer who uses it as feed. "I still don't understand why it doesn't make the pigs drunk," Haskell says. What is Peated Bourbon It's bourbon whiskey that conforms to the American requirements for bourbon but it incorporates malted barley that has been smoked with peat, a tradition common to some Scotch whiskeys. Made from 75% organic New York State corn, and 25% Scottish peated malt. Peated bourbon will definitely appeal to the adventurous whiskey traveler who has had a whiskey or two in their life. Aged for two summers (14 to 24 months) in a five-gallon charred, new oak barrels, Kings County Peated Bourbon Whiskey has an aroma of bonfire and juicy corn, which leads to notes of buttered toast, raisins and caramel on the palate. The finish is slightly smoky with hints of biscuits and more sweet corn. Now available in full 750 ml bottles.