Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Bourbon Review (Fall 2022)

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A

My first thought when I read about the Old Fitz Bonded coming out this season looked back on when the series was first launched, and how the croakers derided the series as a rip-off, complaining that one of their old favorites had been replaced by an ordinary bourbon with a heavily marked up price tag. As usual, the croakers were wrong, and never more so than they are in Fall 2022.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond was never ordinary, as the bi-annual series is always bottled in bond and has produced middle aged (12 to 15 years old) bourbon for the most part. Middle aged bourbon ceased to be ordinary when Elijah Craig went from 12 years old to NAS, and middle aged bonded bourbon was never ordinary. Now add that Old Fitzgerald is a wheated bourbon brand. But this current installment underlines why you should never take advise from an anonymous toxic nerd on the internet with a Sharpie, because it’s 19 years old.

I’m not from the school that preaches older whiskey is always better. For example, I’d be the first to tell you Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old was consistently too oaky, at least for my taste. Still, it’s worth noting that this oldest-yet Old Fitz is in the same age range or older than all the bottles bourbon fans are so passionate about. Moreover, I think Heaven Hill has a pretty good track record for releasing ultra-aged bourbons that avoid over-oaking, and that was certainly the case with this Old Fitz Bonded 22.

The Bourbon
The look of the 100 proof pour is a deep reddened amber. The nose spoke to the long resting period in white oak straight away. Sharing center stage with the traditional brown sugar and vanilla was a heap of earthy cocoa and hoary leather, these two things tied together by a modest tropical note reminiscent of coconut and jackfruit. The flavor builds on this by morphing the tropical note into something herbaceous, drawing in mint and anise. An oaky current runs throughout the experience, holding steady and never overpowering the pour.

I adored this batch of Old Fitz, so much so that after doing my evaluation I fetched my Norlan Rauk Tumbler and poured myself a double. And then I finished off my sample. The overpowering part of it wasn’t the aged oak; instead, it overpowered my sense of restraint, so I drank the entire 200 ml hip flask sample bottle in a single evening.

The Price
Officially, this bottle is $240. Good luck finding it at that price!