There are bottles you drink, and there are bottles that stop you in your tracks. The Very Xtra Old Fitzgerald 1958, a 10-year-old bourbon bottled in 1969, is firmly in the second category. This is a piece of American whiskey history — distilled during an era when bourbon production was still shaped by post-war grain availability and old-school techniques that most modern distillers can only read about. At 45% ABV, it sits at a proof point that suggests careful, deliberate bottling, and the 10-year age statement tells you someone thought this liquid deserved patience.
Old Fitzgerald as a brand has always been associated with the wheated bourbon tradition, and that lineage matters here. Wheated bourbons from this period were made in a very different landscape — fewer massive column stills, smaller operations, and a market that hadn't yet discovered the collectibility of aged American whiskey. What you're holding, if you're lucky enough to get your hands on one, is bourbon as it was before the category became a global phenomenon. The "Very Xtra Old" designation was Old Fitzgerald's way of flagging their most aged, most premium expression, and a full decade in barrel during the late 1950s and 1960s would have produced something with real depth.
Tasting Notes
I won't fabricate specific notes I can't verify for a bottle this rare and this old — the chemistry of a 1958 distillation aged through the 1960s is something that deserves honest reporting rather than guesswork. What I can tell you is that bourbon of this era, at this age, and at 90 proof, typically delivers a richness and integration that modern releases chase but rarely catch. The 45% ABV is a sweet spot: enough strength to carry barrel influence without burning through the subtlety. If you ever get the chance to taste it, pay attention to how the weight sits on your tongue — that's six decades of bottle aging layered on top of ten years in oak.
The Verdict
At £4,000, this isn't a casual purchase. But let's be honest about what you're buying: a bourbon distilled in 1958, aged for a decade, and bottled over half a century ago. The number of surviving bottles shrinks every year, and the intersection of provenance, age, and historical significance makes the price understandable, if not exactly accessible. I'm giving this a 7.9 out of 10, and that score reflects both what this bottle represents and the reality that without confirmed tasting data, I'm rating the pedigree and the liquid's potential rather than a fresh pour I can break down note by note. For collectors and serious bourbon historians, this is a genuine artefact. For drinkers, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience if the bottle has been stored well. The condition of the fill level and the integrity of the cork matter enormously with bottles this old — inspect before you invest.
Best Served
If you open this — and that's a significant "if" at this price — drink it neat at room temperature in a Glencairn or a small tulip glass. Give it ten minutes to breathe after pouring. No ice, no water, no cocktail. This isn't an Old Fashioned bourbon; this is a sit-down, shut-up, and listen bourbon. Pour small, sip slow, and take notes. You won't get a second chance at a bottle like this.
