When Heaven Hill Distillery acquired the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky on April 28,1999, it also acquired the Old Fitzgerald bourbon brand. Starting in 2006, under the guidance of Master Distillers Parker Beam and Craig Beam they started the barrel aging process for the Old Fitzgerald bourbon made with a “whisper of wheat.”
Bottled in Bond Bourbon Has Two Seasons
The Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 has many rules. You can read the complete list of Bottled in Bond rules here but one of the things that’s in there is the concept of two seasons, Spring and Fall. At first you might think, what about the other months of the year? Well, that’s not quite how it works. For the Bottled in Bond Act, Spring is January 1 through June 30 and Fall is July 1 through December 31. Now that we’ve refreshed you on the rules, it’s a little easier to understand the Old Fitzgerald Spring and Fall release. Now, to slightly complicate things, the 2018 Spring and Fall releases for Old Fitzgerald were not actually distilled in the same years. The 2018 Spring release was distilled in 2006 making it an 11 year old bourbon while the 2018 Fall release was distilled in 2008, making it a 9 year old bourbon. Ok, now that we got that out of the way, here’s the “rest of the story.”
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2nd Release in the Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Series
Bottled in an ornate decanter, the fall edition denotes a black label vs. green for the Spring release, which will stay consistent across all fall releases. As was the case for the spring edition, this edition’s tax strip, which has always been a signature of transparency on bottled-in-bond products, will disclose when the liquid was produced and bottled. It meets the strict requirements of a bottled-in-bond: the product of a single distillery from a single distilling season, aged a minimum of four years, and bottled at 100 proof or 50% alcohol by volume.
This second edition of Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond fall edition will be available in the 750ml bottles with a suggested retail price of $90. As with the Spring edition it will be available on an allocated basis.
Founded in Kentucky by the Shapira family in 1935, Heaven Hill Distillery continues its legacy as one of the foremost American Whiskey producers. It is home to a collection of whiskeys including Elijah Craig Bourbon, Larceny Bourbon, Evan Williams Bourbon, Pikesville Rye Whiskey, Rittenhouse Rye Whisky and Parker’s Heritage Collection. Heaven Hill Distillery maintains over 1.3 million barrels aging in 55 warehouses.
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