Old Fitzgerald 11 Years Aged
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bottled-in-Bond
Heaven Hill began releasing the Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond decanters in the Spring of 2018. This Old Fitzgerald 11 Years Aged Bourbon was the first of the series. There are Spring and Fall releases every year, although the Spring release may arrive in Summer and the Fall release may arrive in winter. The Spring releases have a green label, and the Fall releases have a black label. So you might wonder what those red labelled ones you have seen are? Well, they are special releases. So far there have been two of them, a 16 year old and a 14 year old. This year’s Spring release, another 9 year old, is just hitting the market now.
History
The Old Fitzgerald brand has a long history. It was purportedly originally trademarked back in 1884. The brand was at one time owned by Stitzel-Weller, and they released Old Fitzgerald in elegant decanters beginning in 1951. Heaven Hill acquired the brand in 1999 when they purchased the Bernheim Distillery, along with a number of other brands, from Diageo. It’s a wheated bourbon, meaning it uses wheat instead of rye as the secondary grain, after corn. All the bourbons in the decanter series are Bottled-in-Bond.
Tasting Notes
🛏 Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn
👉🏻Nose: Rich, thick caramel, toffee, brown sugar, oak and a pinch of tobacco
👉🏻Taste: Light caramel, lightly sweetened tea and oak
👉🏻Finish: The flavor builds, light sweetness lingers on, and there’s plenty of oak and char. The finish lasts a long time, with maybe a little more warmth than I might expect from its 100 proof
Summary
This nose on the Old Fitzgerald 11 Years Aged Bourbon is full and rich, although the mouthfeel becomes a bit lighter. I wouldn’t call it thin, but there’s not quite as much to it as I might have expected from the nose. However, the full flavor comes back again in the finish, building and lasting for a fairly long time.
Want to read about another unique Heaven Hill Bourbon? Check out our review of the Parker’s Heritage Collection 12th Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in French Orange Curaçao Barrels.
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