Nothing here is new information about either whiskey — each expression’s selection, grain recipe and release detail is documented and verified on its own product page, and this set inherits those two records. What the set states at its own level is the nature of the pairing. Old Forester announced the 2026 President’s Choice bourbon and rye together, in one release, on one date, with a shared suggested retail price, marking the second consecutive year the label carried both. Barrels for both were selected in-house by the same team, and each expression is bottled from a single cask at that cask’s own strength. The label itself dates to 1964, when Old Forester’s president offered private single barrels and a purchase meant the whole barrel; the modern form relaunched in 2018 and went national in 2025, the year the rye arrived. Old Forester did not issue a two-bottle pack, so the assembly and the single SKU on this page are Midnight Whiskey’s.

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.

Were the President's Choice bourbon and rye released together?

Yes. Old Forester announced both 2026 expressions in a single release, on the same date, at the same suggested retail price — the second consecutive year the President's Choice label has carried a bourbon and a rye. That shared release is a producer fact, and it is why this pairing exists. What Old Forester did not do is sell them as a two-bottle pack, so the assembly under one SKU is Midnight Whiskey's.

What is the difference between the two bottles?

The grain recipe, and the individual cask. One is a Kentucky straight bourbon and the other a Kentucky straight rye built on Old Forester's own rye bill, which revives a pre-war recipe with an unusually high proportion of malted barley. Beyond that they share a distillery, a selection team, a release year and a bottling philosophy — each is a single barrel bottled at that barrel's own strength.

What proof are the bottles in this set?

Each carries its own, written by hand on its front label along with the barrel number and the age. President's Choice is a single-barrel release bottled at each cask's own strength, so the two bottles in a set will not match each other and no general figure would describe either. Read both labels.