Old Fitzgerald 19 Year Bottled in Bond Bourbon (Fall 2022)

This bottle has eluded me for over a year. Finally tracked one down at a non-insane price, and boy was it worth the hunt. TL;DR: If you like (or can moderarely tolerate) oak, this is top tier bourbon. The only thing holding it back from 5/5 perfection is proof. Nose: Oak, leather, spice, chocolate, and caramel. This baby smells dark and thick [insert immature joke here]. Palate: Dusty oak up front gives way to leather, then to a sweet and spicy mid-palate. Really rich in flavor. Not as much viscosity as I’d like; but, then again, for a Bib it could definitely be thinner. Finish: Nice vanilla and sweeter notes trailing off into a seasoned, spicy oak note that stuck with me long after the sip. Overall: Honestly, if you can find this below $500 and want to splurge on something, you could do much much worse than this bottle. As mentioned, if this was a tad higher proof and brought more viscocity, it would probably be the perfect pour.

Small pour from a local liquor store owner...will remain anonymous, but nevertheless, much appreciated. Nose is an oak bomb with some sweetness, some spice, and some fruity tobacco...its intriguing if nothing else. The oak is heavy on the palate...having recently had a nice sized pour of the 17 year, that one was light and vibrant, and while this certainly has character, the extra two years makes this one a bit more of an gentle, slow, and somewhat overweight ambler than a lively dancer. Tobacco and other pipe notes (clove?) seem prevalent, and there's some fruit underneath that maybe, just maybe, a bit more juice with a bit more time may have brought forward a bit more. Is this a good pour...certainly! But I'll put it out there...this didn't hold a candle to the 17-year...hopefully that isn't too sacrilegious.

So grateful to be writing this Nose: baking spices and caramel. Some raisin and or fig. Palette: first off, the body is amazing. Like maple syrup coating the tongue. Some cola and char in there, anise, cinnamon, dried fruit. Slight nutty flavor in the back with good dry oak tannins. Not overly dry, but helps to bring out the other flavors. Candy peanut and toffee help to round off the tannins, but the dryness stays around, along with the sweetness. So well balanced, with a great mouth feel. Some critics have written about this one maybe being too long in the barrel, but maybe there sample loses something compared to a full bottle. This is wonderful.

Loads of oak on the nose, along with more reticent notes of cocoa, vanilla bean and pipe tobacco. The initial tasting reveals a whole lot of sweet, with a unusual floral bent. The oak comes through here as well, but not as aggressive as one might expect. There are actually a lot of disparate elements that keep popping up as the tasting progresses, but they are more curious than distracting. Everything is tied together with a friendly malted barley character that exudes southern hospitality. A different expression from what we have come to expect in this series, but a winner nonetheless.

Nose: rich caramel and oak. A touch of cinnamon. Touch of vanilla. Body: thin to medium Palate: lot of oak, followed by flat cola, caramel. Finish: long, oak and caramel. I really liked the length. Note: one ounce sample from don. This is a good dram but fairly one dimensional. Ate this after a lot of hot Thai food so maybe that affected my taste buds. The 17 with its dark berry flavor I think is better. This is good not, not great.

Nose apple, dark chocolate, cedar, toasted caramel, vanilla, campfire, cloves, warm pie crust, flowers? Rich and fruity palate, dark fruits, baking spices, vanilla, caramel, chocolate, berry jam, charred oak. Wood and spice and lightly sweet finish. @twostal thanks!! This is really good in Dr. Pepper. 🫢 … 🤣 as if… Seriously though, this is some top notch shit. Almost exotic.