Old Fitzgerald 1849 with new "Charcoal Filtered" s

[MikeK]

Yesterday I picked up a couple bottles of Old Fitzgerald 1849 at a store in Boston. This is an unusual find up in these parts. When I got home I noticed with that there was small, easily removable, sticker on the label, covering the "aged in wood" statement that read "Charcoal Filtered".

My spirits dropped (but I held on tight to the bottle). Oh no, they didn't mess with this fine product did they?!

I find this very curious. If it did change, why would the distillery spend any money or effort to change the production process like this? If not, why would they spend money and effort to add this stupid little sticker which would be ignored by the masses and offend the knowledgeable?

I took out a slightly older bottle I've been drinking and made these very unscientific comparisons. The new bottle does appear lighter in color. The new bottle also has a more watery taste while the older bottle definitely has more body and flavor.

I really hope this is a difference in batches and they have not started filtering the heck out of this product.

Does anyone know the truth about this?

Thanks, Mike

[BourbonBalls]

One difference, if you compare the bottle labeling, is that you WON'T see the 8 year statement on the label and on the neck.

Could be why the new is lighter in color.....not in the barrel as long!

[bourbonv]

I suspect that Heaven Hill wheat recipe is being put into the barrel at 125 proof, thus it is thinner and watery compared to the UD version. I also suspect that they are putting some whiskey that is less than 8 years old in the product and that is why they dropped the age statement. The charcoal filtering statement on the label is a marketing decision because they always charcoal filtered the Old Fitzgerald products at UD with an activated charcoal filtering system. I would venture to guess that since all bourbon is aged in wood, they decided to change this statement to charcoal filtered instead. This change also takes the focus off of age and since they dropped the age statement, they would want to distract people from that fact. It is still a very good product, just not as good as it used to be under UD. It is being made cheaper and the taste reflects that fact.

Mike Veach

[MikeK]

One difference, if you compare the bottle labeling, is that you WON'T see the 8 year statement on the label and on the neck.

Could be why the new is lighter in color.....not in the barrel as long!

Ah, I should have been clearer on this. Both my new and older bottles are post-8yo labeled bottles. Neither have an age statement.

Mike