Old Fitzgerald is one of bourbon's storied old names, born in the rickhouses of John E. Fitzgerald and later carried through the legendary Stitzel-Weller distillery, where it became one of the great wheated bourbons of the twentieth century. When Stitzel-Weller closed and the brands were sold off, Old Fitzgerald eventually came to rest at Heaven Hill, who continued producing it as one of their flagship wheated expressions.
In 2018 Heaven Hill relaunched the line as a biannual Bottled in Bond series, presented in a tall diamond-cut decanter that echoes the elegant pre-Prohibition bottlings of the original brand. Each spring and autumn release carries a different age statement — anything from eight to seventeen years — but every one of them must meet the strict Bottled in Bond standards: the product of one distillery, one distilling season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof.
The 9 Year Old expression sits in the welcoming middle of the range. The wheated mash bill — corn, soft red winter wheat and malted barley — gives it the pillowy, honeyed character that wheat lovers chase. The nose is gentle and dessert-like, full of honey, vanilla, soft red apple and brown sugar with a faint floral lift behind the spice.
The palate carries that softness through honeyed shortbread, baked pear and caramel, with gentle cinnamon and nutmeg keeping the sweetness in check. The bonded 100 proof gives it weight and length without ever turning hot. The finish is long and warm, fading on vanilla, brown sugar and a slow drift of toasted oak.
A beautifully presented wheated bourbon that honours one of Kentucky's great old names with quiet, traditional craft.
