Notes: Old Fitzgerald is an older brand by bourbon standards. A wheated bourbon ( wheat is used instead of rye in the mash bill ) Old Fitzgerald was acquired by Heaven Hill in 1999 to add to their stable of already very solid to great brands. Heaven Hill itself dates back to 1932 and the repeal of Prohibition.
Some of their many other brands and line extensions include Elijah Craig Bourbon, Larceny Bourbon, Evan Williams Bourbon, Pikesville Rye Whiskey, Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey, and Parker’s Heritage Collection. We have over 100 Heaven Hill products that we have reviewed altogether. Please use our search function and key in Heaven Hill  to seek them out !

This is the eleventh  edition we have reviewed so far. There have been a total of fifteen releases altogether, but we missed a few. We started with the  Old Fitz Spring 2020 Edition, The Old Fitz Fall 2020 Edition, Old Fitz Spring 2021, The Old Fitz Fall 2021, The Old Fitz Spring 2022, the Sixth Edition the Fall of 2022,, The Old Fitz Spring of 20203 ,The Old Fitz Fall of 2023, The Old Fitzgerald Bottled In Bond Fall of 2024  , The Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Spring 2025 ,  and, finally, for now, The Old Fitzcerald Bottled in Bond Fall of 2025,  this  release is 11 year old which puts it in the mid range of the releases in terms of age.

It is a Bottled in Bond release, which has some strict requirements to qualify for.Essentially it guarantees the age and genealogy of your whiskey- Not a bad thing these days-

Appearance: Clear, muted gold copper in color with a slight red shift that denotes an older whiskey.Light to medium coating on the glass on swirling. Slow retreat of liquid on the edge line with few legs or drops forming, just a gradual descent much like the last few samples.

First Impression: Slight oiliness , honeyed grain and malt notes on entry with a touch of corn honey, malt,  then the wheat, provide some nice structural bones to the overall bouquet . Oak char andyenidje tobacco notes playing a supporting but important underpinning role.

Taste: Oiled silk type entry with a heavy corn presence  followed with a slightly aggressive wheat ( frankly I think they need to switch to soft white winter wheat – but that is a minor point) and barley following up at the end of a medium to  finish. Mint, orange, honey, Vietnamese  cinnamon, oak char, a touch of  old leather and a hint of  yenidje balkan  tobacco are part of the melange of flavor .

Drinks: Works in all the usual cocktails, but given the price most people would probably sip this- very much of a snifter and sip release for our taste. But makes a Manhattan or a Old Fashioned that is singular if maybe not life changing – will ruin you for anything less!

Bottle: We were not sent a production bottle so cannot comment. Seems like their standard bottle for this particular release.

Other: Overall the releases of this Old Fitzgerald seem to range in age, proof, and in the profile itself to a larger degree than most of their range. While this is not necessarily a bad thing in principle, the release’s return to what I consider to be an earlier (and better)  overall style hopefully signals a change in the palette of the blenders.

Final Thoughts: A delicious and excellent whiskey ! but a bit disappointment at the price really .Wish I could convince myself otherwise but I don’t wish to do any of us a disservice by not saying what I think. Not that it won’t sell out quickly – and be traded heavily on the secondary market ( a separate consideration altogether and not something I wish to encourage). For people who actually buy and drink their whiskies they buy I would definitely encourage the splurge and buy it if you can – I just wish that great whiskey could still be had for $100 or so but this is increasingly rare – and frankly unlike some others Heaven Hill is not charging the bigger money straight out of the gate ( leaving that to those pond scum secondary market denizens) . I guess I need to recalibrate/update my price to value scales a bit ?

Website: HeavenHilldistillery.com This is a direct link to the Old Fitzgerald pages. If you back up you can see all their brands – which are quite a few!

Both this link and the other pages have a plethora of information and photos. Well laid out and fast loading. Heaven Hill has one of the easier-to-navigate and visually pleasing websites in the industry.