Old Forester Rye arrived in February 2019 as the distillery’s first new grain recipe in nearly 150 years, revived from Normandy Rye — a brand Brown-Forman acquired in 1940. The mash bill is 65% rye, 20% malted barley and 15% corn, and the producer is explicit about why the malt figure is so high: it allows a wholly natural fermentation using Old Forester’s proprietary yeast strain, without the artificial enzymes that high-rye recipes usually require, and it yields the floral character that balances the grain’s spice. President’s Choice itself dates to 1964, when Old Forester president George Garvin Brown II offered customers private single barrels — a purchase then meant the entire barrel. The label relaunched in 2018 and went national in 2025, the year a rye joined the bourbon; 2026 was the second consecutive year of both. Barrels are selected in-house by Master Taster Melissa Rift and Assistant Master Distiller Caleb Trigo and bottled at their own strength. The 2026 release was announced from Louisville on 8 June and reached national allocation on 13 June.

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.

What is the mash bill of Old Forester President's Choice Rye?

Old Forester's rye recipe is 65% rye, 20% malted barley and 15% corn — the distillery's only rye mash bill, and its first new grain recipe in nearly 150 years when the rye launched in 2019. The malted barley proportion is unusually high for a rye, and the producer states it allows a fully natural fermentation without the added enzymes most high-rye recipes need, while giving the whisky a floral character that balances the grain's spice.

How is the rye different from the President's Choice bourbon?

Two ways. The grain recipe is a rye bill rather than a bourbon one, built on Old Forester's revival of the Normandy Rye recipe acquired by Brown-Forman in 1940. And the history is much shorter: President's Choice dates to 1964, but a rye expression only joined the label in 2025, making this its second year. Both are single barrels bottled at their own strength.

What strength is this bottle?

Whatever is written on its label. President's Choice is a single-barrel release bottled at each cask's own strength, and the front label leaves the strength, the age and the barrel number as blank fields completed by hand. Any figure quoted generally would belong to a different barrel, so read your own bottle.