On Tuesday, Bardstown, Ky.’s Heaven Hill Distillery announced the latest addition to the Old Fitzgerald Decanter Series: the Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond 25th Anniversary Edition.
The release honors the 25-year anniversary of Heaven Hill’s acquisition of the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville as well as the Old Fitzgerald brand in 1999. The barrels used for this particular release were produced that same year, then emptied in March 2013. At the time, the distillery team taste-tested the distillate, and decided that due to its outstanding profile, it should be reserved for a momentous occasion — like this anniversary. It was bottled in February of this year.
The Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond Decanter Series consists of three types of releases: Spring, Fall, and VVS (Very Very Special). The Bottled-in-Bond 25th Anniversary Edition is the first VVS release since 2020. It meets the strict requirements of a bottled-in-bond bourbon, and employs Heaven Hill’s wheated bourbon mash bill of 68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat and 12 percent malted barley. According to a brand press release, the bourbon carries notes of cinnamon toast, nutmeg, and sweet oak on the nose followed by rich honey and vanilla character on the palate.
Heaven Hill purchased the Bernheim Distillery and Old Fitzgerald just three years after a catastrophic fire had decimated the Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery in Bardstown. The Bernheim Distillery quickly became the heart and soul of Heaven Hill, and proved to be a saving grace in the brand’s post-fire rebound. Now, Heaven Hill has plans to reopen the long-shuttered Springs Distillery site.
“We are honored to have been able to continue the Old Fitzgerald legacy since that time and look forward to many more years of exceptional releases from Bernheim Distillery and from the Heaven Hill Springs Distillery set to open early next year,” Executive Chairman Max Shapira said in the release.
But until then, bourbon aficionados can flock to Kentucky to seek out this special release from Old Fitzgerald. Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond 25th Anniversary Edition will be available in 750ml bottles on an allocated basis in select Kentucky retailers and at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience in Bardstown, Ky. for an MSRP of $229.99.