Old Fitzgerald 1849

Old Fitzgerald 1849 is a wheat mashbill bourbon currently distilled at Heaven Hill. It is 8 years old.

Nose: maple sugar, honey, vanilla, caramel, a trace of wheat

Taste: the first part of the delivery is a 5 second long dull thud of sweet caramel, followed by some spiciness and vanilla which must come from the wheat and the oak respectively. The spice is piquante in character and strong in intensity, but not particularly pleasant tasting. It has a sort of a cloying edge to it, which does not make me want to immediately drink more of it.

Finish: the cloying quality just sort of hangs around for a good while, with some gradually increasing sweetness, and the continuation of a high level of spiciness.

Balance: Better quality spice flavours and some additional bass notes from the oak would greatly improve this whiskey. Jim Murray commented in his 2011 Whisky Bible that this was a very good whiskey 4 years ago, but not now. I agree.

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