Cherry chocolate bark | Tobacco leaf | Dry aged oak | Aged cinnamon stick

Creamy chocolate Silk Pie | Aged leather | Aged dry oak | Peppercorn spice | Baked bread | Aged vanilla bean | A nice combination of flavors

Dry oak | Leather | Mellow spiced heat | Age shines through | Mouth-suckingly dry

Now in its 10th national release, Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Bourbon Fall 2022 Edition is the oldest to date for this brand line. The press release states that it is composed of barrels produced in September 2003 that were bottled in October 2022. It’s rare to see a bourbon release this old, and is somewhat of an event when it does. But the inevitable question always arises when tasting whiskey this old: Is it over-oaked?

‍Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Bourbon Spring 2022 Edition was a great release and managed its age well. Adding an extra two years however, may be the tipping point between a good bourbon and a great bourbon. The sip opens with more earthy drier notes that while noticeable, do little to stand out. The midpoint of the sip brings forth a palate that manages to walk the line of delicious creamy decadent flavors along with more traditional aged notes that you’d expect from a bourbon this old. However, it’s the finish that most prominently displays the age as a mellow spice that mingles with leather and dry oak, producing a combination that is mouth-suckingly dry. Overall this isn’t one of the strongest showings of the Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond series. I give the company credit for pushing the limits to see how far this can be aged, and while a 19-year-old bottled in bond bourbon is insanely unique, it’s past the tipping point in terms of the time it should have spent in the barrels.