Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 93 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 50% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $130.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Reviewed | 2025-06-17 |
Old Fitzgerald 9 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Spring 2025) Review
Released twice per year (Spring and Fall), the Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series is one of Heaven Hill’s most sought-after whiskeys. Each entry is a bottled-in-bond Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, distilled from a wheated mashbill before aging between eight and 19 years. At least, that’s the range we’ve seen thus far, and the manufacturer tends to keep folks guessing as to the exact age of upcoming releases.
The latest version (Spring 2025) is a nine year expression, batched from barrels laid down in the spring of 2016. It’s the 15th national release in the Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series, and like all Spring versions, it features a green label. Fall bottlings are indicated with a black label, while the much rarer and somewhat irregular "Very Very Special" releases are indicated with red labels.
Let’s see how it tastes!
Old Fitzgerald 9 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Spring 2025): Stats and Availability
In the Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price oscillates up and down depending on age. For example, while the 11 year old Fall 2024 release carried an MSRP of $155, this latest version is priced at around $130. However, it’s quite common to see these bottles command more than MSRP at retail and on the secondary market. Like all contemporary Old Fitzgerald Decanter releases — a separate line from the newer 7 year bottled-in-bond Old Fitz — this latest offering is a limited, highly allocated product, where demand generally well outstrips supply.
Old Fitzgerald 9 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Spring 2025)
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 off strong with unfiltered apple cider and baked fruit pastries. A medley of cooked apricot, pear, and green apple joins buttery, flaky pastry dough for a mix of aromas that’s both sweet and tart. It also boasts an additional component of fattiness, with that butter component continuing on even as more tannic and spiced notes develop.
Over time, the baked fruit fades just slightly while apple cider remains, eventually joined by a moderate amount of seasoned oak, pine needles, and whole cloves. A relatively small amount of hot porridge wafts in and out among the more tannic scents, along with richly spiced apple butter (which is once again heavier on cloves than other familiar spices like cinnamon).
Overall, it’s a sweet and bright nose with just enough wood influence to elevate the expression above the recent and younger (and presumably more widely available) 7 year-old addition to the Old Fitzgerald line.
Taste
A first sip is still sweet, but much more spiced and wood-forward than the nose might suggest. Brown sugar-crusted gingersnaps, buttercream frosting, and dark apple butter form a sweet backbone that progresses from the early tastes through to the middle and back palates. Cinnamon-dusted, dried apple rings are up next, which takes the bourbon’s fruit-forward narrative in a slightly punchier direction compared to the nose. That fruit is further bolstered by a barely-there taste of green apple peach ring candy; it’s a small element here, and one that would risk taking the whiskey in a cloying direction were it significantly more pronounced.
By the midpalate, this latest Old Fitzgerald Decanter release lands squarely in familiar territory for the line. (That’s certainly a nice zone to occupy.) French vanilla ice cream lends sweetness with structure and a notably creamy mouthfeel, especially for 100 proof. Residual flavors of ginger, brown sugar, and cinnamon build, such that the bourbon’s profile gets progressively darker and more heavily spiced with each return to the glass.
Finish
The finish continues to highlight ample baking spice, in addition to scraped vanilla pod, apple skins, and touches of menthol/eucalyptus oil. Remnants of barrel char and wood sugars remain, though overall, spice and apple butter remain in the driver’s seat through this Old Fitz’s final act.
Old Fitzgerald 9 Year Old Bottled in Bond Decanter (Spring 2025) Rating
93/100
Recap
Overall, I found this delicious 9-year-old bourbon about on par with the (significantly older) Fall 2024 release — but if we’re splitting hairs, this latest one is probably even better. It’s a bourbon with depth, character, and even pizzazz, pairing a very sweet profile with enough complexity to keep drinkers engaged at almost every turn. It’s another entry in the line showing age is at best an imperfect indicator of quality, and Spring 2025 likely stands above some of its much-older predecessors. Enjoy accordingly!
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