Whiskey Review – Old Fitzgerald 12 Year Old

Booze Review

By The ROK on March 10, 2011 • ( 5 Comments )

This is the second of three reviews of whiskey samples provided to us by our new friends at Master of Malt. For those not familiar with Master of Malt, they are a specialist retailer of fine malt wisky established in 1985. They offer low prices & next day delivery. They can be found online at their website , facebook page, and twitter feed. I really have to hand it to the folks at Master of Malt. The samples arrived in a well designed package that cradled and protected the bottle. Included in the shipment were high quality printed materials explaining the Mast of Malt philosophy, provided an overview of the products they carry, and provide clear and easy instructions on how to place an order. As demonstrated by our samples, they have a well designed program of providing samples to would-be customers that gives the buyer extra assurance that they will like what they order.

Before we get into the review, we’ll take a bit of a history lesson. If you’re not familiar with Old Fitzgerald, it comes to us from our friends at Heaven Hill. According to the Heaven Hill website, “Old Fitz” is made with a “whisper of wheat” that gives Old Fitzgerald its critically acclaimed, distinct, complex nose and taste. By substituting wheat for the more traditional rye in the grain recipe, or mashbill, Old Fitzgerald finishes with a rounder, softer profile. Old Fitzgerald was first produced for rail and steamship lines and private clubs before being made available to the public around 1900.

Old Fitzgerald comes in several varieties, but tonight, we’ll be sampling the 12 Year Old. The samples provided by Master of Malt come in 3 centilitre bottles that appear to be hand dipped in wax. It pours with a nice amber color and has a sweet, but not overpowering nose. I’ve let it sit for a few minutes to see how it opens up. So here’s the results:

Pour: As mentioned before, the pour is nice deep amber color that one would expect from bourbon that has spent twelve years in the cask.

Nose: The nose is sweet floral with hints of dried apple as well as some citrus undertones. Let this one sit for a few minutes before tasting. Swirling around in the glass like you would with brandy releases much more complex aromas than when the seal was first broken. Mrs. ROK picked up hints of sweet oak.

Taste: It hits up front, but then ends with a long, clean finish. It is slightly chewy with nice hints of caramel. Adding a bit of water made the finish that much cleaner and softened it up front.

Before now, I had not had the pleasure of sampling this whiskey. If you’re a bourbon lover, this whiskey deserves a spot in your cabinet.

If you’ve tried any of the “Old Fitz” varieties send some feedback below.

Categories: Booze Review, Old Fitzgerald

Tagged as: Bourbon, Heaven Hill Distillery, Kentucky, Master of Malt, Old Fitzgerald, Review, Whiskey, Whisky