Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 92 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 50% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $140.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Review Updated | 2024-07-17 |
Old Fitzgerald 10 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Spring 2024) Review
Heaven Hill releases the Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series twice per year. The bottlings are always 100 proof (it’s a bottled in bond product, after all!) and distilled from a mash bill of 68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, and 12 percent malted barley. Since this particular version was launched in 2018, ages have ranged from 8 to 19 years.
The Spring 2024 bottling carries a 10-year age statement and consists of barrels filled in 2014. Overall, it’s the 13th national release in this series. It’s the second such Decanter Series release clocking in at exactly the decade mark, with the first coming in Spring 2023.
Let’s dive in and see how it tastes!
Old Fitzgerald 10 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Spring 2024): Stats and Availability
Price varies among Decanter Series releases, with older age statements generally commanding higher MSRPs. Fortunately for consumers, inflation is nowhere to be seen here (yet): This year’s 10 year expression carries a suggested retail price of around $140, the same as in 2023.
Of course, finding a bottle for that price is another story. This is a popular, highly allocated release from a storied Kentucky distillery. Add in the quality of one of whiskey’s most recognizable bottles, and you’ve got a recipe for retail and secondary markups. I’ve seen last year’s 10-year expression sit for as high as $400 on some retail shelves. (To be clear, it wasn’t exactly flying out of the store at that price.) Especially if last year’s 10-year edition is still sitting on shelves in your area, I wouldn't be surprised to see many marked up prices come back down closer to MSRP.
Old Fitzgerald 10 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Spring 2024) Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
Sometimes — but not always — I find the nose on the Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series to be a little subdued, necessitating some extra care as the aromas take their time to develop. Not so much here. This 10-year wheated bourbon starts off with punchy, oak-forward aromas that actually nose a touch above the whiskey’s 100 proof.
Toasted barrel staves, lightly tanned leather, and burnt pan caramel intersect right at the middle of some classic bourbon scents. Heavy clove is next up and ultimately forms the backbone with oak. Some rosemary and lavender bring in floral notes, which provide a little balance compared to the oaky tannins. There’s a significant amount of fruit here, too. It’s mostly dark cherry but also features stewed peaches and apricots, the latter combining with the caramel notes to form something bordering on Dutch oven fruit cobbler.
On the nose, I found last year’s 10-year expression brought a lot of peppery spice and Concord grape. I smell far less grape here, but the pepper spice is fully accounted for via ground black and white pepper, as well as some lightly numbing Szechuan peppercorns. In addition, the 2024 version boasts far more sweet wood and caramel than 2023’s 10-year bottling, putting it closer in line with some of the expression’s better releases.
Taste
The palate begins with honey-sweetened jasmine and mint teas, a floral zig where I expected an oaky zag. Wood sugar and caramel build quickly thereafter, though that initial jasmine-and-honey aspect creates an early perception of bright and herbal flavors that never quite leave. The nose was punchy, but I agree with the brand’s own tasting notes here: the palate is downright subtle to start.
About that oak: it’s noticeably younger (some might say “green” or more popsicle stick instead of toasted wood) on the palate compared to the nose, and generally, this bourbon smells older than it tastes. To be clear, that’s not always a negative mark. The light and bright floral quality on the palate lends itself to a more refreshing sip. (Though I could be biased reviewing this during a very hot July.)
However, the slight lack of richness on that oak potentially comes at the expense of richer fruit flavors. Dark cherry is largely absent here, though the apricot character carries over from the nose. Instead of baked cobbler, the midpalate here tastes like fruit compote topped with fresh mint leaves.
Finish
Mint builds toward the back of the palate and leads the transition through the finish, becoming increasingly wintergreen. Here, flavors lean back toward wood tannins and baking spice, particularly clove and pink peppercorns. There’s far less honey than on the early palate, and the final note is much closer to a white sugar-sweetened black tea.
Old Fitzgerald 10 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Spring 2024) Rating
92/100
Recap
I found the Spring 2024 Old Fitzgerald 10 year to be noticeably superior to the Spring 2023 version. And for me, it’s about on par with the Fall 2023 release, a surprisingly fun 8-year version that struck good balance across virtually all aspects of the pour. I probably wouldn’t place this in the top quartile of the Decanter Series overall, and it’s not in the same range as the superlative and ultra-limited 25th anniversary edition. That said, this is a very good bourbon that walks a line between refreshing and richly satisfying. I’ll be on the lookout for more.
*Image retrieved from Heaven Hill
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