Old Fitzgerald 11 Year Bourbon Review
I found this bottle at a badass store in South Carolina after talking with the owner from everything from racing 4-wheelers, which I don't know jack shit about, to the absurdity that is the current bourbon industry. For a VERY quick catch-up the bourbon world has become Beanie Babies, baseball cards, Pokemon, Tickle Me Elmo, etc. etc. all wrapped into one greedy, sneaky, delicious hobby. Bottles like this aren't on the shelves for retail (this one wasn't technically on the shelf) and when you find them you buy them. Anyway, the owner and I hit it off and he brought out this and a few other kickass bottles and told me I could buy one of them with one caveat - I had to open it right then and there. I didn't miss a beat - OPEN THAT BITCH!
This Ol' Fitzy 11 year is owned by the Heaven Hill empire (the entire Fitzgerald line included) and is part of a bi-annual, limited release. This is a bottled-in-bond bourbon that comes in an absolutely awesome bottle paying tribute to the ornate designs of the 1950s decanters of the same name. You'll notice "John E. Fitzgerald" on the front - the story is he was a Treasury Agent with the distillery in this line's early days and he happened to be a great judge of whisky. They would call his selected barrels that he liked to sample from "Fitzgeralds" and thus the name began as a line over time. I'm probably wrong but whatever.
Now that you know how I came to acquire this bottle AND a bit of its history let's type about it. The first thing I got on the nose is cinnamon and licorice which are two of my least favorite things. HOWEVER - those two on this bad boy paired beautifully. The palate was full of wheat and Werther's candy which made me think I'm an old ass dude just tryna watch Wheel of Fortune. Even my dad who doesn't traditionally like bourbon had great things to say about it which means IT'S GREAT, YO! No water needed but if you wanna by a bitch ass baby then go 'head.
If you ever get the opportunity to buy this offering I sure hope you pull the trigger (at retail). Have you had it? Tell me how right I am about the assessment!