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is a Kentucky distillery best known for its lineup of affordable, high-quality bourbons sold under brand names like and . But it also has a few highly collectible unicorn whiskeys in its portfolio, like the Bottled-in-Bond decanter series. Today, the distillery announced the launch of 7-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond, a new member of that family of whiskeys that will be much more affordable and widely available.
Earlier this month, we covered the about the launch of the spring 2025 edition of Bottled-in-Bond, the 15th release since the biannual series began in 2018. That was a 9-year-old wheated distilled in 2016 that was bottled at 100 proof—remember, the requirements for bottled-in-bond are that it must be at least 4 years old, exactly 100 proof, and the product of one distillery and one distillation season. The Old Fitzgerald name dates back to the 1800s, and during the mid-20th century the whiskey was produced at the famous Stitzel-Weller distillery. That was where himself turned it into a wheated bourbon, meaning that wheat is the secondary flavoring grain instead of rye which gives it a softer, sweeter flavor profile. After a few other owners, acquired the brand in 1999 and continued to produce it as a wheated bourbon.
This new version of Old Fitzgerald is actually closer to older versions in terms of age and price. For example, when the whiskey was produced at Stitzel-Weller it was bottled in bond, and there was an 8-year-old expression called Very Old Fitzgerald. This new whiskey is actually not so far off in terms of age from other Old Fitzgerald releases. The decanter series comes out in the fall and spring of every year, and while some releases have been aged as long as 19 years there have been a couple of 8-year-old expressions as well. But according to master distiller Conor O’Driscoll, seven years of maturation is dialed in.
“Seven years proved to be a sweet spot for a whiskey that already transcends expectations for a wheated bourbon,” he said in a statement. “This refined bourbon carries the same layered elegance its longer-aged sibling made famous, and the same commitment to excellence found in every bottle from Distillery. It was pulled from the barrels at just the right time to appeal to a wide array of palates, making it the ideal bourbon for a new generation of Old Fitzgerald fans.”
Old Fitzgerald 7-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond is made from a mashbill of 68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, and 12 percent malted barley, and aged in level three char new oak barrels. We have not been able to try it yet, but according to the tasting notes there are graham cracker and honey aromas on the nose, followed by fresh bread, brown sugar, and baking spices on the palate, with brown sugar and cinnamon on the finish. Though this whiskey is a bit younger than your typical Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond decanter, if it’s close to the same level of quality, could that diminish the value of the biannual release? Or might that force those whiskeys to be bottled at a much older age? We’ll have to wait and see, but in the meantime you can find this new Old Fitzgerald bourbon available at retailers starting this summer for a suggested retail price of $60, and you can find previous releases of the decanter series available to purchase at now.
Authors
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Jonah Flicker
Credit: robbreport.com
