{"product_id":"old-forester-birthday-bourbon-2002-release","title":"Old Forester Birthday Bourbon - 2002 Release","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne of the very first releases in the modern Old Forester Birthday Bourbon series. Released September 2nd, 2002 — the birthday of founder George Garvin Brown — from a small batch of hand-selected 12-year-old barrels. The founding vintage of the annual series.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eOld Forester Birthday Bourbon was introduced in 2002 as an annual tribute to founder George Garvin Brown, who established Old Forester in 1870 as America's first commercially bottled bourbon. The series — now one of the most anticipated annual American bourbon releases — began with modest fanfare and pre-dated the era of premium bourbon collecting entirely. The 2002 is therefore not merely a rare surviving vintage but the founding edition of a series that would become a defining annual event in American whiskey culture.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eFinding surviving 2002 stock requires a specialty retailer with legacy inventory going back more than 20 years. Most 2002 bottles were consumed as a novelty release before the Birthday Bourbon series established its collector status. The 2002 now commands among the highest values of any Birthday Bourbon vintage precisely because of its founding significance and near-complete attrition of surviving stock.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003ch3\u003eSpecs\u003c\/h3\u003e \u003cul\u003e   \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eDistillery:\u003c\/strong\u003e Old Forester Distilling Co., Louisville, Kentucky (est. 1870)\u003c\/li\u003e   \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eStyle:\u003c\/strong\u003e Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey\u003c\/li\u003e   \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eAge:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12 years\u003c\/li\u003e   \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eRelease:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 2nd, 2002 — inaugural Birthday Bourbon\u003c\/li\u003e   \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 750ml\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e  \u003cp\u003eBrowse the full \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/woodencork.com\/collections\/old-forester\"\u003eOld Forester collection\u003c\/a\u003e or explore all \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/woodencork.com\/collections\/bourbon\"\u003ebourbon at Wooden Cork\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003ch3\u003eFrequently Asked Questions\u003c\/h3\u003e \u003cul\u003e   \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eWas 2002 the very first Birthday Bourbon?\u003c\/strong\u003e The modern Birthday Bourbon series began around 2002, making the 2002 release one of the inaugural editions. It predates the era of premium bourbon collecting by nearly a decade, meaning almost no one was saving bottles when it was released.\u003c\/li\u003e   \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eWhy is the 2002 so valuable today?\u003c\/strong\u003e Founding editions of major annual bourbon series carry both historical significance (the origin point of the series) and extreme rarity (virtually all were consumed before collecting infrastructure existed). The 2002 commands among the highest prices in the Birthday Bourbon lineup for both reasons.\u003c\/li\u003e   \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eWhat is the Birthday Bourbon series?\u003c\/strong\u003e 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.\u003c\/li\u003e   \u003cli\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eIs Old Forester America's first bottled bourbon?\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes — George Garvin Brown began sealing bourbon in glass bottles with his signature in 1870, establishing the commercial bottling standard the entire industry follows today.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e  \u003cscript type=\"application\/ld+json\"\u003e {   \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",   \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",   \"mainEntity\": [     { \"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Was 2002 the very first Birthday Bourbon?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": { \"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The modern Birthday Bourbon series began around 2002. It predates the era of premium bourbon collecting by nearly a decade \\u2014 meaning almost no one was saving bottles when it was released.\" } },     { \"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Why is the 2002 so valuable today?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": { \"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Founding editions carry both historical significance as the series origin point and extreme rarity because virtually all were consumed before collecting infrastructure existed.\" } },     { \"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What is the Birthday Bourbon series?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": { \"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"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.\" } },     { \"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Is Old Forester America's first bottled bourbon?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": { \"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Yes \\u2014 George Garvin Brown began sealing bourbon in glass bottles in 1870, establishing the commercial bottling standard.\" } }   ] } \u003c\/script\u003e","brand":"Old Forester","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49132293423356,"sku":"old-forester-birthday-2002","price":5034.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0800\/6605\/2348\/files\/old-forester-2002-birthday-bourbon.png?v=1779708154","url":"https:\/\/thebourbonvaulthq.com\/products\/old-forester-birthday-bourbon-2002-release","provider":"THE BOURBONVAULT HQ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}