Louisville, Kentucky · Founded 1870
The Louisville bourbon introduced in 1870 as the first sold exclusively in sealed bottles, now distilled again on Whiskey Row.
Old Forester began in Louisville in 1870, when George Garvin Brown sold bourbon only in sealed glass bottles rather than from barrels. The Kentucky Historical Society identifies it as the first bourbon sold that way, a quality-control response to adulteration and substitution in the barrel-whiskey trade. Brown-Forman still owns the brand, and its 2018 Whiskey Row distillery restored Old Forester production and visitor experiences to downtown Louisville.
George Garvin Brown introduces Old Forester in Louisville. It is sold only in sealed bottles rather than from barrels, a quality-control innovation intended to prevent substitution and adulteration.
Source: Kentucky Historical Society, Historical Marker #2103, 'Bottled Bourbon'; ExploreKYHistory, 'Bottled Bourbon.'
Brown-Forman's Old Forester history says the brand increased from 90 proof to 100 proof to comply with the Bottled-in-Bond Act.
Source: Old Forester, 'Our Legacy' timeline.
Prohibition begins. Old Forester remains available as medicinal whiskey under one of six Kentucky permits authorizing distillers to bottle bourbon for medicinal purposes.
Source: Kentucky Historical Society, ExploreKYHistory, 'Bottled Bourbon'; Virginia ABC, Old Forester 1920 Craft Bourbon.
National Prohibition ends. Old Forester resumes its post-Prohibition commercial bourbon business after its medicinal-whiskey period.
Source: Old Forester, 'Our Legacy' timeline.
Old Forester Distilling Co. opens to the public at 119 West Main Street on Louisville's Whiskey Row. The 70,000-square-foot working distillery returns the brand to the address associated with its pre-Prohibition downtown history.
Source: Whisky Advocate, June 14, 2018; Old Forester press release, June 14, 2018.
Old Forester remains a Brown-Forman brand, and the Whiskey Row distillery continues to offer production, bottling, retail and visitor experiences.
Source: Old Forester, 'Distillery at Old Forester'; Brown-Forman investor-relations materials.
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Old Forester was sold as medicinal whiskey under a Kentucky Prohibition permit, and Brown-Forman continues to market the brand. Brown-Forman and Virginia ABC use the same-company continuity formulation. However, this national 'only' claim requires a full comparative review of every eligible brand, permit-holder, corporate succession and operating interruption; that review was not completed in this audit.
The Kentucky Historical Society's historical marker states that George Garvin Brown created Old Forester as the first bourbon sold only in bottles, rather than from barrels. The claim is about exclusive sealed-bottle sale as a quality guarantee, not about being the first whiskey or bourbon ever placed in a bottle.
Kentucky Historical Society and Virginia ABC materials say six Kentucky distillers or brands received medicinal-whiskey authority during Prohibition, and that Old Forester continued under one of those permits. The specific designation of Brown-Forman's authorization as Kentucky permit No. 3 was not verified against the underlying permit record in this audit.
The frequently repeated Pendennis Club origin story is not sufficient evidence that the Old Fashioned was invented there, much less that Old Forester was used in an original version. The Old Forester connection depends on promotional retellings rather than a contemporaneous cocktail record.
Brown-Forman's 2026 SEC proxy states that entities controlled by Brown family members beneficially owned 71.1% of its Class A voting stock as of June 9, 2026. The proxy also says Brown-Forman qualifies as a controlled company under NYSE rules because Brown-family members hold more than half of the Class A voting stock.
Brown-Forman says its brand was originally spelled Old Forrester to associate it with Dr. William Forrester, a Louisville physician, and that the second 'r' was removed upon his retirement. The story is plausible and widely repeated, but this audit did not locate a contemporaneous advertisement, endorsement, correspondence or renaming record confirming the sequence.
Brown-Forman held one of only six medicinal-whiskey licenses in America during Prohibition.
Six was the Kentucky count. Kentucky Historical Society material describes Old Forester as one of six Kentucky brands bottled for medicinal purposes during Prohibition.
Source: Kentucky Historical Society, ExploreKYHistory, 'Bottled Bourbon'; Virginia ABC, Old Forester 1920 Craft Bourbon.
Old Forester was distilled continuously through Prohibition.
The defensible historical claim is continuous legal sale as medicinal whiskey under a permit. The sources reviewed here do not establish uninterrupted distillation at a particular Old Forester facility throughout Prohibition.
Source: Virginia ABC, Old Forester 1920 Craft Bourbon; Old Forester, 'Our Legacy' timeline.
Old Forester was the first bourbon ever put into a glass bottle.
The Kentucky Historical Society's precise distinction is that Old Forester was the first bourbon sold only in sealed bottles rather than from barrels.
Source: Kentucky Historical Society, Historical Marker #2103, 'Bottled Bourbon.'
Old Forester’s longevity rests on a brand identity built around quality control, continuity and family-controlled corporate governance. Its sealed-bottle model gave customers a named product rather than anonymous barrel whiskey, while the medicinal-whiskey permit kept the brand in legal commerce during Prohibition. Brown-family voting control remains decisive: Brown-Forman’s 2026 proxy identifies the company as controlled by Brown-family entities, allowing it to preserve long-horizon brands such as Old Forester rather than treating them as short-term assets.
Old Forester began in Louisville in 1870, when George Garvin Brown sold bourbon exclusively in sealed glass bottles rather than from barrels. The Kentucky Historical Society identifies it as the first bourbon sold only in bottles, a method designed to assure customers of consistent quality. The brand survived Prohibition through medicinal-whiskey sales and returned to a working Whiskey Row distillery at 119 West Main Street in 2018.
No statewide oldest-bourbon-brand title is established here. Old Forester began in 1870 and is one of Kentucky's oldest continuously marketed bourbon brands, but older bourbon names and predecessor distilling histories exist. Its strongest supported distinction is narrower: the Kentucky Historical Society identifies Old Forester as the first bourbon sold exclusively in sealed bottles.
Old Forester remained available as medicinal whiskey under one of six Kentucky permits that allowed bourbon to be bottled for medicinal purposes during national Prohibition. That legal exception kept the brand in the market while most Kentucky distilleries could not operate normally. The evidence reviewed here supports continuity of legal sale, but it does not prove uninterrupted distillation at a particular facility throughout the ban.
Brown-Forman says Old Forester was named for Dr. William Forrester, a prominent Louisville physician associated with the brand's early sealed-bottle medicinal positioning. The company says the original spelling used two r's—Old Forrester—and that one r was later dropped after the doctor retired. The account remains a company tradition because this audit did not locate a primary record confirming the naming change.
Old Forester is distilled at Brown-Forman facilities in Kentucky, including the working Old Forester Distilling Co. at 119 West Main Street in downtown Louisville. The modern Whiskey Row distillery opened in 2018 and provides a visible downtown production, barreling, bottling and visitor operation. The brand itself dates to 1870, so its founding date and the age of the current visitor distillery are different facts.
119 W. Main St., Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 779-2222
The active Whiskey Row distillery offers production, bottling, retail, George's Bar and bookable visitor experiences. Confirm tour availability, hours and reservation requirements directly with Old Forester before visiting.