Very Old Fitzgerald, Barreled 1959, Bottled 1967

Have an old/rare bottle you'd like some more info on?

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Very Old Fitzgerald, Barreled 1959, Bottled 1967

Unread postby tcouchcpa » Thu Feb 01, 2007 5:19 pm

My Mother-In-Law, God bless her, just cleaned out her liquor cabinet and gave me everything she doesn't drink. This included a bottle of Very Old Fitzgerald Sour Mash Kentucky Bonded Bourbon. The label says it was Barreled in 1959 and Bottled in 1967. She said my deceased Father-In-Law got it off a Southern Railway office car back in the day.
Does this stuff continue to improve with age? Was it very good to begin with?
It's in a nice presentation box and wrapped in paper and a card around the neck says "A collector's Item International Award for Bourbon Connoisseurs."
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Unread postby Mark » Thu Feb 01, 2007 5:36 pm

Unofrtunately, no, bourbon does not continue to age in the bottle. The good news is this bourbon was made by Julian Van Winkle's grandfather Pappy Van Winkle at Stitzel Weller. This is very very good bourbon as I am sure many here will attest to. Open it, enjoy it and toast your late father in law for having great taste in his pours! :cheers:
Last edited by Mark on Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Unread postby TNbourbon » Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:57 am

The current Julians -- Julian P. III and Preston, who is Julian P. IV -- are grandson and great-grandson of Pappy, aka Julian P. Van Winkle.
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Old Fitzgerald

Unread postby da genius » Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:52 pm

I recently opened opened a bottle of Old Fitz that was put into the barrel in 1952 and bottled in 1960. It was some of the smoothest tasting bourbon I had ever consumed.

Ambrosia.

I concur, I would open, give a toast and enjoy.
crisp, clean, refreshing...and in lifelike size
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Unread postby bunghole » Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:01 pm

:!: DRINK IT MAN, DRINK IT :!:

:drink: :snorting: :partyman: :cabbage: :beer: :cheers:
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Re: Old Fitzgerald

Unread postby EllenJ » Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:37 pm

da genius wrote:I recently opened opened a bottle of Old Fitz that was put into the barrel in 1952 and bottled in 1960. It was some of the smoothest tasting bourbon I had ever consumed...

You have... and deserve.. the envy of just about everyone here, MOI most certainly included.

The Stitzel-Weller distillery, where Old Fitz was created, is nearly mythical in American whiskey folklore. Those who study even more closely are able to distinguish quality differences during its lifetime, just as there are those who can tell you why a 1963 'Vette is better (or worse) than a 1998 'Vette. The Old Fitz you were lucky enough to have sampled would have been, in my opinion, just about the most perfect possible. There has been a 12-year Old Fitz and even a 16-year-old (Stoopsie can tell you more about that one -- ouch!), but the 16 wouldn't have been available in 1960. I'm not even sure the 12 was around yet -- it would have had to be distilled in 1948 and I don't know if S/W was able to distill yet (everyone closed for the war). Your eight year old (and that's quite old for Old Fitz -- it's usually about five) might just have been the best they every bottled at that age and perhaps even the same whiskey that became the first 12's and 16's. Mike Veach (bourbonv) would have better info on that.

Anyway, congratulations!
What the hobby needs is more people like you who appreciate whiskey for its TASTE, and not just because it looks pretty in the bottle. Or worse... because they're cheap, and afraid of losing the money they THINK the unopened bottle is worth.
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Unread postby TNbourbon » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:03 pm

John, I've had Stitzel-Weller BIB -- albeit as an 8yo Weller SR -- distilled in 1942; and an Old Fitz BIB from 1947 (bottled at 5yo in '52).
I have never found any Stitzel-Weller dated as distilled between those two years, so until I acquire further knowledge, my assumption is that interim was the industrial alchohol/war years of distillation.
By the way, ironically (or, perhaps, not), I shared the first bottle with Julian, Preston and others, and traded the second to Julian, who'd never seen one before.
The couple of VOF 8yos I've opened (Chuck tasted from the second) were stellar, and I have a couple more -- 1954/1962, and '59/'67 -- just waiting here for the appropriate, appreciative 'audience'. Hope you make it to the Sampler later this month, or that I can swing a trip north to Cincy during the summer.
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Unread postby EllenJ » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:48 pm

Joe,
We won't be at the sampler this year (too busy to get away), but it would be great if you can find time to visit. Some others here are coming up on Monday the week before (4/21), and we'd love to see you here, too. P.M. me if you're interested. I have a bottle of the first Old Fitz (distilled 1936) available for tasting. Frankly, I've never been that impressed, but MikeV loves it. But we have other examples we'd love to share with you!
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Unread postby bourbonv » Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:18 am

John,
I am not sure where you are getting the 16yo Old Fitzgerald. To my knowledge they have never made a 16yo - just 8,10, 12 and 15yo versions and the 15yo is extremely rare. I have never seen one on the market and have only tasted it in the QC lab at Stitzel-Weller. Great stuff though if you can find any.

Stitzel-Weller was just like the other distilleries during WWII. They had to produce alcohol for the war effort and did not produce beverage alcohol from about 1942 to 1945. There were a few months that the government allowed production but not everybody did so. By the end of 1945 the industry had sued the government to allow production of whiskey again and bourbon was produced again. I have seen bottles of Stitzel-Weller produced in 1946 but many of them are private label products. Stitzel-Weller depended heavily upon the private label business in that period.
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Faux 16yo Old Fitz

Unread postby Stoopsie » Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:07 pm

I think John was talking about this bottle of Old Fitz. His memory might be a little cloudy afterward. He did take quite a blow to that shiny dome.

It is actually a Very Old Fitz. I was young and dumb and relying on the wise sage John Lipman, I bought it thinking that it might the the elusive Very Very Old Special Fitzgerald. But alas no, only a VOF. I may open it someday, but until then, John and I will use it as a running joke.
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Some people see the glass as half full, some see half empty, but I prefer to drink straight from the bottle.
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Unread postby Mark » Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:07 pm

haha great pic guys
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Unread postby bourbonv » Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:49 am

Howie,
I think when John finds something he really likes, then he does start getting confused. I remember talking to him on the phone one day when he was trying to perfect a cocktail recipe using Basil Hayden and it was quite amusing...
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Unread postby EllenJ » Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:22 pm

Howie,
Mike seems to be the confused one. The cocktail was invented as my contribution to his "Scorpio Club" get-together, to which the Goddess & I were graciously invited, despite not being Zodiacally-qualified. We had recently returned from a tropical island and, wanting to bring something "different" to the party, I attempted to create a version of the classic tropical "Scorpion" cocktail, only using Kentucky bourbon instead of rum. Lacking both the experience and the skills of say, Dave Wondrich, I tried several brands, all of which sucked big-time. I believe that Bourbon does NOT get along real well with most of the ingredients found in tropical drinks (except for Kentucky's version of the Mojito, of course... also known as a Mint Julep).

Anyway, I was lamenting about that one evening on the phone to Mike, which he does correctly remember. However, what he seems to have forgotten is that I DID come up with a combination that worked.
And we did bring unto the ScorpioFest party a gallon pitcher of it.
And verily Mike did partake of it.
And he saw that it was good...

And it was only THEN that I told him I'd finally found a drink with Basil Hayden in it that he liked!!
(and Mike has never accepted a mixed cocktail from me since, hee hee; life is like a box of chocolates... :roll: )

Anyway, I'm sorry we didn't get together last week. Linda and I just ended up spending too much time at the kite thing and there was no way we'd have been able to go and not be late. Especially with me hobbling around slowly on my bum leg. And of course, that would make our running joke more of a "limping joke" for the moment. Someday I'm gonna find a bottle of Very Very Old Special Unique Very One-of-a-Kind Very Very Ancient Very Rare Old Fitzgerald, or whatever it is Mike wants, and get it for you. Until then, I remain,

=El KaBonk=

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2 oz Basil Hayden Bourbon
1 oz Gin
1 oz Apricot Brandy or Southern Comfort
½ oz Orgeat or Almond syrup
3 oz Orange juice
3 oz Lemon juice
A few dashes Angostura Bitters
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Unread postby bourbonv » Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:09 pm

Hey John,
For the record buying that bottle was Howie's idea, not mine. I simply told him favorite all time bourbon was Very Very eXtra Old Fitzgerald bottled in bond 1969-1984 (for the record, that is 15 years old.) Great stuff. I wish I could find a bottle. I think Howie was going to try to suprise me (Howie is like that you know!)

Julian's father had a great distiller by the name of Roy Hawes who made that whiskey and he made damned good bourbon. It was rich in caramel toffee flavors with ripe apples, vanilla, hazelnuts and a hint of dark chocolate. 100 proof with flavor - I wish they made them like that again. A bourbon from the Golden Age of Bourbon.
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