Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 89 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 50% |
| Availability | Year Round |
| Price | $60.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Review Updated | 2025-06-16 |
Old Fitzgerald 7 Year Bottled In Bond Review
Since 2018, Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series has stood out as one of American whiskey’s most memorable — and sought after — bottles. The bottled-in-bond, wheated bourbon series has ranged in age from eight to 19 years, with releases dropping twice per year. And while flavor can vary pretty significantly from batch to batch, it’s a lineup that’s generally as renowned for its quality as its striking bottle design.
It turns out, the modern-day “Old Fitz” is becoming a lot more accessible, at least in some version. Heaven Hill recently announced a new seven-year-old Old Fitzgerald as a permanent addition to the lineup (the distillery calls it a “new signature expression").
Like all contemporary Old Fitzgerald bourbons, this one is made from a mash of 68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, and 12 percent malted barley. And unlike the Decanter Series, this bottle is intended to be an always-available, regular release distributed nationwide. The release also coincides with the launch of a new brand website for the entire Old Fitzgerald line.
The new seven-year expression comes in a 700-milliliter bottle that evokes the related (but allocated) Decanter Series, with a narrower profile and wooden (as opposed to glass) topper. Each batch will display its distillation year and season on the neck. With a suggested retail price of around $60, it’s also the most wallet-friendly Old Fitz in current rotation.
As with most bottled-in-bond products, there will likely be some variance from one release to the next, as distillation seasons can result in slightly different profiles. Let’s see how the first batch — distilled in Spring 2018 — tastes.
Old Fitzgerald 7 Year Bottled In Bond Bourbon: Stats and Availability
Old Fitzgerald 7 Year Bottled in Bond hit some U.S. markets early, and due to the pedigree of the much rarer Decanter Series, bottles were immediately listed on the secondary market for large markups. However, this is a bottle that is intended to be quite findable long term, with an MSRP right around $60. As such, don’t be too surprised to see some early price tags carry markups. Longer-term, I’d expect these releases to settle close to the distiller’s suggested retail price in most markets.
Old Fitzgerald 7 Year Bottled In Bond Bourbon Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
]The nose starts with equal parts citrus and spice: freshly expressed orange oil meets ground cinnamon, along with whispers of both grapefruit peel and nutmeg. It’s a little more tart than I might have guessed, but early on, that element elicits complexity as opposed to imbalance. Even here the bourbon is aged well past the risk of any overly youthful or off-putting scents, particularly anything too vegetal or overly green oak. (Though at points, the whiskey does exhibit some herbal qualities, specifically lemongrass, sassafras, and a light component of dried hay.)
While the first smell is especially bright and spicy, second and third sniffs move into a more familiar Kentucky straight bourbon profile. Seasoned, aromatic oak meets stewed peaches and treacle, and the whiskey smells gradually sweeter with more time in the glass. The backbone of spice never fully recedes, resulting in a nose that eventually settles into freshly baked gingersnaps.
Taste
Approachable, sweet, and notably viscous on the first sip, the new-look Old Fitz boasts many qualities present in some of the better decanter releases. A pop of honey syrup glides front to back across the tongue with a silky mouthfeel that helps the whiskey hit most sections of the palate equally.
Up next is more baking spice and dried fruit, a combination that reminds me of cinnamon raisin bread. By the midpalate, there’s a small amount of dark, tannic cherry; it’s not quite the robust, borderline-medicinal cherry common to some older wheated bourbons, but one gets the sense this whiskey was on the way there before bottling. The rest of the mid-palate itself is slightly less sweet and a tad bit nutty, like walnut-studded multi-grain bread. Fruit and residual honey dissipate further on, leading to a back-palate where cinnamon and clove predominate.
Finish
Dried orange rind punctuates the finish before moving back toward cinnamon spice. Ultimately, the finish is close to an unglazed cinnamon roll, spicier and once again breadier than sweet. It’s not a terribly long finish, which separates the pour from some of its brethren in the Decanter Series. (To be fair, I had very high hopes from the early mouthfeel alone.) That said, the final act feels close to on par with the very enjoyable palate, and it’s a pour that quickly beckons for another taste.
Old Fitzgerald 7 Year Bottled In Bond Bourbon Rating
89/100
Recap
Old Fitzgerald’s newest and most available bourbon is an admirable nod to its more expensive relatives. And while it doesn’t hit the (sometimes near-superlative) highs of those harder-to-find decanters, it boasts a captivating nose and moderately complex palate that give drinkers plenty to ponder when enjoyed neat. I thought the finish came up a half-step short of the other elements, though it’s easy to attribute some fits and starts to inevitable variance between batches. I’m excited to compare it to the next release — presumably the Fall 2018 distillation — for the subtle or not-so-subtle differences that make bottled-in-bond expressions so fun.
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