Maybe you’ve heard this story…a 7-year old Bottled In Bond release from Heaven Hill that will be available pretty much year round on store shelves…sure, that was the Heaven Hill Bottled In Bond. And joining it on store shelves, albeit very slowly, is their Old Fitzgerald Bottled In Bond 7 Year. If you’re not familiar with the Old Fitz line, it’s probably because the only way to get it more recently is the already expensive “Decanter Series” that has become one of those that is almost impossible to find at MSRP…$125 – 200 easily becomes $300 – 600 in many places.
One thing Heaven Hill does exceptionally well is get multiple whiskey brands out of the same mash bill. This wheated mash bill is 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. From that, they distill their white dog and put it into barrels…depending on where those barrels spend their time aging (Heaven Hill does not rotate barrels…where they are placed when they get to the rick house is where they spend their time aging until they’re done) they may get bottled as Larceny Small Batch, Larceny Barrel Proof, Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series, or now, Old Fitzgerald Bottled In Bond 7 Year. Like all Bonded whiskies this is 100 proof.
I also noted that this was making its way “slowly” to store shelves. It was announced in June (I think) and just showed up in a decent quantity in the Chattanooga area in September. The bottle I procured is from the Spring 2018 distilling season.
Despite its age, it appeared medium-light amber in the glass, although the nose had instant vanilla notes, along with brown sugar, honey, and a light oak. It seemed viscous and thick when I swirled it around, with the legs taking a long time to develop, then drip slowly down the inside of the glass. On the tip of the tongue it had a muted sweetness with a touch of hard fruit, like apple…then as it slipped to the mid-palate, it took on a much more milk chocolate notes, before grabbing me a bit by the throat with some alcohol vapor heat (it was my first sip of the day). And it had a long, slow, and thoroughly delightful finish with the tastes of fruit and vanilla remaining on my palate for minutes afterward.
MSRP for this is $60, I believe, and I’d say it’s well worth that price. Most places around me have it for $70 right now and I’ll pay that much…until I can find it for less, and I hope that day comes. I do think this is worth the price…Larceny Small Batch is about $28 these days and is very nice, but their barrel proof expression is $65-80 and the Old Fitz Decanter is always north of $125. This fits right in the middle of all that and gives an impression that, to me anyway, is right on par with the Larceny Barrel Proof.
