Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 93 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 50% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $155.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Reviewed | 2025-01-09 |
Old Fitzgerald 11 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Fall 2024) Review
Like clockwork, Heaven Hill closed out 2024 with one of its most sought-after bottles: the Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series. The “Old Fitz” line generally features two releases per year: Spring and Fall, though additional Very Very Special (VVS) bottlings are usually Kentucky-specific releases reserved for special occasions.
Like all contemporary versions in this line, the Fall 2024 version is a bottled-in-bond release featuring a faux tax strip and ornate decanter. The Fall releases feature a black label in contrast to green for Spring and red for VVS. They feature Heaven Hill’s standard wheated bourbon mash bill of 68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, and 12 percent malted barley.
What changes from one release to the next is the age statement. This particular release is aged 11 years, meaning it was barreled in the back half of 2013. It’s the 14th nationwide release under this label.
Let’s see how it tastes!
Old Fitzgerald 11 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Fall 2024): Stats and Availability
Chalk it up to scarcity, demand, quality, and a downright breathtaking bottle: Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series is among the most sought after releases in bourbon. While the MSRP will vary a bit by age, this 11 year version carries a suggested price of about $155. It’ll almost certainly go for more than that on some retail shelves, and I’ve recently seen some Old Fitzgerald decanters listed for $400 or more in metropolitan areas. Pricing markups tend to increase with older age statements for this line.
That said, I’m seeing a general softening on markups for premium bourbons, so I’d expect more folks to find this within $100 of suggested retail than 18 months ago.
Old Fitzgerald 11 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Fall 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
Black cherry syrup, spiced fruitcake, rum-soaked raisins, pure vanilla extract, chocolate dust, and sourdough starter lead on the nose. Pronounced oak buttresses each and every one of those notes, adding a barrel-forward depth from nearly the first sniff; here, the wood influence is almost equal parts toasted oak and barrel char. The bready sourdough note especially provides an accessible bridge from sweet to tannic.
In reviewing previous Old Fitzgerald Decanter releases, I’ve noticed some (but not all) bottlings reveal wood-forward scents only after a lengthy rest in the glass; even then, a drop of water is often needed to unlock the full expression of age. This Fall 2024 release acts every bit its age, showcasing the light astringency and earthen, aromatic qualities of a bourbon that’s spent over a decade in wood. Those hints of cherry and rum raisin dot in and out of the nostrils, providing a bit of fruity sweetness to complement the impact of more tannic wood sugars.
Last year’s phenomenal and highly limited “Very Very Special” Old Fitzgerald leaned heavily into cigar and book bindings, transporting me back in time with its “dusty funk.” This latest 11 year version doesn’t quite live in that bygone era but the intensity of scents certainly evokes depth and quality through and through.
Put simply, given the proof, mash bill, and age, it’s close to a fast pitch down the middle: not knock-your-socks-off exciting, but a near textbook example of how Heaven Hill’s wheated bourbon can excel on the nose.
Taste
The first few sips aren’t quite as complex as the nose, though I’m quickly convinced there’s a lot to like. Classic brown sugar and dark caramel introduce a palate friendly and familiar to bourbon drinkers, followed by cinnamon-dusted vanilla sugar cookie and small morsels of peanut butter. Spiced fruit compote — cranberries, strawberries, and bright red cherries — add a little tartness. Fruit eventually settles somewhere close to dried, sweetened cranberries, the kind you might toss on top of a salad for a little flavor contrast.
Oak and herbal components build gradually as the palate acclimates to the bourbon’s initial sweetness. It’s a little pipe tobacco and a little menthol cough drop, both sprinkled with cracked black and white pepper. At most points across the tongue, this whiskey doesn’t exactly scream its age; in that aspect, it’s perhaps more restrained than on the nose. But there’s enough wood to write home about, and while last Fall’s 8-year release relied on near-saccharine sweetness, this 11-year-old version is assembling a combo instead of one or two big punches.
Frankly, I wouldn’t mind more oomph across the midpalate. (I’m really measuring that aspect against the aforementioned Very Very Special version’s incredibly high bar.) That said, there’s still a pleasant, proof-appropriate viscosity here that keeps flavors around long enough to land.
Finish
For the Old Fitzgerald line, this finish is just moderately long. But the final act is elegantly spiced, with a little more peanut character than expected. It even wraps with enough semi-sweet chocolate flavor to beckon more sips.
Old Fitzgerald 11 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Fall 2024) Rating
93/100
Recap
There’s always some variation among Old Fitzgerald releases, and fortunately for today’s customers, the Fall 2024 version stacks up well against most of its predecessors and the larger bourbon market. This is a downright tasty wheated bourbon, showcasing Heaven Hill’s distillate with depth and poise. Happy drinking.
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