Old Forester Sputnik Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon Decanter (Distilled 1952 Bottled 1957)

Distilled 1952. Bottled 1957. Bottled-in-Bond. Old Forester Sputnik Decanter — one of the most historically situated vintage bourbons in the Wooden Cork collection, bottled in 1957, the same year the Soviet Union launched Sputnik and inaugurated the Space Age.

The Sputnik name is not coincidental — Old Forester released this commemorative decanter in the spirit of the moment that defined 1957: America’s reaction to Sputnik’s October 4 launch, the dawn of the space race, and the cultural anxiety and ambition of the Cold War era. Bottled at Bottled-in-Bond standards — 100 proof, single distillery, single distillation season, federally bonded warehouse — the Sputnik decanter documents both Old Forester’s production standards of the era and the cultural moment it inhabited.

At over 70 years from original bottling, this is among the oldest American whiskey expressions in the current Wooden Cork collection. The liquid inside was distilled in 1952 — five years before bottling — when Old Forester was still operating under the Brown-Forman formula that had carried the brand continuously since before Prohibition.

Specs

• Distillery: Old Forester / Brown-Forman, Louisville, Kentucky
• Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond
• Distilled: 1952
• Bottled: 1957
• Proof: 100 (50% ABV)
• Format: Commemorative Sputnik decanter
• Size: 750ml

Browse all rare spirits at Wooden Cork or explore the full Old Forester collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why is this called the Sputnik decanter? Old Forester released this commemorative decanter in 1957, the year the Soviet Union launched Sputnik — the first artificial satellite — inaugurating the Space Age. The bottle documents both the production era and the cultural moment it was created to mark.
• Is the Old Forester Sputnik decanter still available? Yes — available now.