Old Fitzgerald 15 Year Bottled in Bond Bourbon (Fall 2019)

The aroma begins with a blend of powdered sugar, florals, and aged leather-bound books, evolving into Goetze's vanilla caramel creams, candied peanuts, and dark chocolate, then McDonald's apple pie, orange sherbet, and maraschino cherries, transitioning to ginger, cloves, and polished mahogany with a moderate ethanol burn. The taste offers a medium and creamy mouthfeel, starting with a mild bitter and sour spice that quickly recedes, revealing a mix of powdered sugar, florals, and aged leather-bound books, followed by dark chocolate gelato with creamy peanut butter, then sautéed apples, candied orange peel, and maraschino cherries, culminating in ginger, cloves, and polished mahogany with a moderate ethanol burn. The finish is of medium length, featuring mild ashy oak, chocolate-covered toasted marshmallow, sautéed apples, cloves, ginger, and aged leather-bound books. This is a superb aged bourbon that masterfully combines aged oak with traditional bourbon character in near-perfect balance, though there is a mild bitter and sour spice at the start of the taste and finish that quickly fades, allowing those classic bourbon notes to emerge. If you managed to acquire one of these at the original $150 price, it would be an outstanding purchase. Unfortunately, these tend to sell out quickly, and at today's prices exceeding $700 on the secondary market, I'll simply savor this sample and let someone else consider acquiring one of those attractive decanters.

The aroma has a delightful toasty character - a bit nutty, but primarily pleasant and roasted, almost like barley tea. It also possesses tart and vanilla scents that add to its complexity. It smells fantastic with a huge fullness of flavor. The palate is consistent. This is smooth and rich with some spiciness and a moderately strongly viscous mouthfeel. It tastes delightful, and that toasted flavor has a mild barrel presence, preventing it from tasting over-oaked. I don't detect as much complexity as I anticipate, but the richness is sublime. The notes of white pepper provide liveliness without being overwhelming. This is what I imagined certain other bourbons would taste like. This isn't what I expect of a wheater, but now I understand my enjoyment of a certain other wheated bourbon. There are elements here that remind me of another bourbon, so that bourbon could be a good substitute. There are flavors of toastiness, mild pecan and almond, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, white pepper, brown sugar, maple, vanilla, a touch of banana, and light spearmint. There's also something tart. There's a bit of tannin, but not much. I love it. It's easily a 20 and might even be a 22. I don't think it's a 23, but that possibility exists. Everything here is in amazing balance. I'm deciding between 21 and 22. I think I'm leaning towards 21. I've raised it to 22. It's so, so good, but so tragically expensive!

If this is bad, at least I have a nice bottle. Nose: Very sugary with oak, gumballs, and a hint of cherry. It smells like a typical wheated bourbon, but with more alcohol and oak than the younger versions. After a bit, the aroma develops a strong French vanilla finish. Taste: A very complex bourbon; sometimes wheat-forward bourbons aren't this rich. A subtle nutty note adds pleasant depth throughout. Cherries, deep oak, caramel, scorched brown sugar, and just a whisper of vanilla are present. The 50% ABV is spot on, providing a full body and intense flavors without the harsh burn of heavily oaked cask strength whiskeys. For an older wheated bourbon, choose this instead of Pappy. It's superior, although it's a more classic bourbon profile compared to the sweeter Pappy line. As usual, there's no true substitute for a 15-23 year old Pappy, but this is closer than a Weller due to longer barrel aging. Score: 3.75. Almost outstanding, but perhaps I'm being too critical. As always, I reserve the right to change my score later.

Review after 2 weeks of opening. Complex aroma once you get past the shoe leather and oak. A drop of water brings out the sweetness. Vanilla, Werther's Originals, cinnamon, mint, pipe tobacco, and hints of citrus. Quite potent and interesting nose. The palate shows leather, vanilla, French Toast, caramel, sweet cream, mint, orange, and sweet tobacco. It lingers for quite a while with significant tannins, but it has enough sweetness to maintain balance. Super round and full-bodied, I loved the mouthfeel with minimal burn. Lasting mint and Nutella on the finish, very good. Don't give up on this one if at first you don't get much or are disappointed; this one definitely was lacking right out of the gate. Taste it again after a few weeks and see if you're still disappointed. It is an oak bomb, but it displays complexity and balance. You've got to be in the mood for an aged bourbon, but this hits the spot.

Nose: Caramel sweetness, rich oak, vanilla toffee, candy corn, honey, peanut oil, molasses. Palate: Confectioners sugar, honey sweetness, cinnamon, deep dark caramel, wet oak. Finish: Long, drying finish on the tongue, with a pleasant creaminess filling the rest of the mouth. Tasty notes of dark, rich caramel, candy sweetness, and toasted oak round it out. Absolutely wonderful. I will say, I'm a huge fan of certain other Fitz releases, so I may be biased, but this is the best of all of them. Excellent throughout, and perfectly balanced. Finish is drying in just the right way. The tongue dries out, while the rest of the mouth is introduced to a beautiful creamy mouthfeel, which, in my opinion, is everything you want in a finish. I will always strive to keep this on my shelf, delicious stuff.

Very unusual nose. Evokes old lead paint. Spicy oak hits first. The palate is more subdued but still complex. The finish is medium in length and heat. It's very distinct, but not to my preference. I use the rating scale below. A certain site uses a scale of 5 and I use a scale of 10, but I’m sure you’re not too drunk to do the math! 1. Disgusting - So bad I poured it out. 2. Poor - I wouldn't consume by choice. 3. Bad - Multiple flaws. 4. Below average - Not bad, but many things I'd rather have. 5. Good - Just average. 6. Very Good - Better than average. 7. Great - Well above average. 8. Excellent - In a league of its own. 9. Incredible - An all-time favorite. 10. Perfect