Brian’s Old Fitzgerald 11 Year Bourbon Review:
reviewed 01-March-2022
OLD FITZGERALD 11 YEAR BOURBON REVIEW:
Since early 2018, each spring and a new edition to the Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond decanter series is released. While the age of each bottling varies, all have the Bottled-in-Bond designation.
The black labeled fall 2021 release, Old Fitzgerald 11 Year (Old Fitz 11) offers the nose a slight nip of alcohol as well as a hint of sherry wine. It is herbal with notes of roasted corn and wheat and one can smell fruits of current and plum and taste a mixture of sweet and Maraschino cherries with some allspice, light cinnamon and pepper. There are sweets of yellow cake, vanilla, brown sugar, woody honey and dark toffee as well however to me, this is a simple bourbon, and frankly, I feel a let down. For me, the aromas and flavors are too blended and it provides only a medium throat warming herbal and floral finish.
OLD FITZGERALD 11 YEAR VITAL STATS:
Category: Bottled-in-Bond Wheated Bourbon
Region: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Distillery: DSP-KY-1 (Bernheim Distillery)
Mash Bill*: 68% Corn, 20% Wheat, 12% Malted Barley
Barrel Char: #3
Barrel entry proof: 125
Age: 11 Years Old
ABV: 50% (100 Proof)
Release Date: August 2021
NABCA CSC #: 16373
Price: $109.95 (Idaho, February 2022)
Learn more at Heaven Hill Distillery and
*Bourbonex – Heaven Hill Distillery Info
ENJOYMENT METHOD FOR THE REVIEW:
Alternate pours, equaling about four ounces, were added into two Glencairns from a newly opened bottle. My daughter and I enjoyed the bourbon neat for this review.
Check out her review for this bourbon here!
OLD FITZGERALD 11 YEAR NOSE:
Old Fitz 11 gives my nose a slight nip of alcohol in a hint of sherry wine. As I inhale, roasted corn and wheat, and fruits of current and plum topped with allspice and white pepper drift up from the glass. With more careful nosing, fresh baked wheat bread and vanilla infused cake wafts from the glass. With heavy draws additional sweets of brown sugar, woody honey and faint light toffee drizzled over pecans waft as well. Any wood I detect is faint, as light oak and hazy toasted wood and sweet smoke fade in and out. This bourbon has a simple and gentle nose.
OLD FITZGERALD 11 YEAR PALATE:
Old Fitz 11 warms the mouth and offers faint notes of herbal roasted corn and wheat. There is also a mixture of sweet and Maraschino cherries with allspice, light cinnamon and pepper. Sweets of yellow cake, vanilla, brown sugar, woody honey and dark toffee treat the taste buds as well. With an aggressive Kentucky chew, the whiskey becomes almost coppery and effervescent with lots of black pepper and a pronounced alcohol presence. To round out the taste I sense dry oak, toasted wood and barrel char. To me this is a simple bourbon, and frankly, I feel a let down.
Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Old Fitz 11 seems blended to the point of masking aromas and flavors in my mouth. It is mellow, viscous and oily and easy to hold. After each sip, extremely long clinging legs cling as the liquid passes back to the auburn colored pool leaving behind only a few clinging droplets inside the Glencairn.
OLD FITZGERALD 11 YEAR FINISH:
Old Fitzgerald 11 Year offers a medium throat warming herbal and floral finish. With careful thought I feel sweet and Maraschino cherry juice dusted with allspice and pepper sliding down my throat. There is a soft sensation of vanilla and light brown sugar drifting on dry oak and hazy toasted wood as well. And when emptied, the Glencairn smells almost fruity with a nice dose of sugared cinnamon dusted over drying oak.
MY RATING: 87/100
Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
Click 87/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
WHISKEY TRAITS, FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
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