I have been looking forward to getting my hands on Old Fitzgerald Fall 2022 Bottled-In-Bond. Bottled at 50% ABV and priced at $240. Burnt amber, with thin and quick legs, it promises genuine character.
Nose
Burnt amber, with thin and quick legs. Warm and inviting. There is the briefest hit of alcohol, but its warming vs. astringent. This nose has a lot of pieces, they are extremely mature and difficult to parse out. Strong dark chocolate, with vanilla bean it seems to have a hint of coconut and a touch of hard caramel. It really doesnt have the over oak qualities youd expect for a 19-year bourbon, or char, or leather. Despite its age, it is vibrant and sweet. It is, I will distinguish, mature smelling. This is drying, syrupy and a bit of a punch of alcohol. I found soft spice, the oak that was missing from the nose, the softness of caramel in the wheat and sugar from the corn. The sip does what you want from an excellent bourbon. The front end greets your senses and really gets things going. It is followed by the mid palate, which adds the sweet notes of the nose with the complexity of the oak and mature compounds. The finish just holds. As your body warms up, so do the notes on the finish. You get oak, which gives way to tobacco, which gives way to chocolate and finally holds with caramel and spice.
Palate
There are no surprises here – this whiskey is a cut-above. The softness of a wheat bourbon is not lost from 19 years in oak. The alcohol content does not overwhelm or burden the drinker. There is a marriage between all the component elements of this whiskey to create a mature, consistent, and powerful drink.rnrnThere are elements I wish this whiskey had. Which is to say, how this whiskey could be my perfect whiskey, not actual flaws, or ways to improve this whiskey. I mean if I built my dream whiskey, this would be a large percentage of what Id want, with a few alterations. Again, no surprises here. This lineage has hit all the marks, and this one is no different.
Finish
Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by Whiskeyful or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.
The Bottom Line
Old Fitzgerald Fall 2022 Bottled-In-Bond is outstanding — one of those bottles that reminds you why you fell in love with whiskey in the first place. If you see it at $240. Burnt amber, with thin and quick legs, do not hesitate. This one earns a permanent spot on the shelf.
