Old Fitzgerald Questions

[MJL]

I stopped at an out of the way little Liquor Store today on the way home from work. They had a few 750ml bottles of Old Fitzgerald that I glanced at quickly but in reflection I think I ought to have picked up. From my memory this is what I recall. I think they were 80 proof and appeared to be old stock. I quickly examined one bottle and it had the number 91 on the bottom so I assume, please correct if I am wrong on this one, that this bottle may date from 1991. The bottles were $15. Are these something I should go back and get? I have never seen Old Fitzgerald in this area before and I suspect these bottles may date from the early 90s. Are these something I should go right back to and pounce on or pass? Is there any way to confirm a date from examining the bottles? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

[cowdery]

They could be some old stock from 1991, in which case they are Stitzel-Weller whiskey and certainly worth $15 a bottle. Although it seems impossible, people are constantly finding bottles that have been on the shelf 10, 15, 20 years, even more.

[MJL]

Thanks for the answer. Is there anyway to tell how old the bottles are? Is that price good if these turn out to be much later production?

[craigthom]

Do current HH Old Fitzgerald bottles say Louisville or Bardstown on the label? That would be an easy way to tell if they say "Bardstown".

Is there a fake tax strip across the top? The 1849 I found six weeks ago (for $13.99!) had fake tax strips and real Georgia tax decals.

[mozilla]

Check the UPC on the back of the bottle. Also, Gov't warning started in 1989....most Fitz's will say Louisville...not a good way of checking. I don't think 91 will have fuax tax strip, though I am not positive.

Bottle date should be accurate. How about a julian date? Style of bottle? Old price tag?

[barturtle]

I may be wrong, but I don't remember the UPC changing for Old Fitz products after the sell out...too lazy to actually look it up.

[ThomasH]

I have a Weller Antique 107 Gold Vein that was bottled around 1993 that has a faux tax stamp. If the bottom says 1991 it may very well be SW!

Thomas

[mozilla]

I may be wrong, but I don't remember the UPC changing for Old Fitz products after the sell out...too lazy to actually look it up.

Well, if it is something other than 88076....then it will be easy to track down. 88076 won't tell us too much.

The main thing is...if it seems to be before say 93-95 at a four year age statement....you should probably give it a shot.

[OscarV]

All Old Fitzgerald will say Louisville because after Heaven Hill got the label they also got Old Fitzgerald whiskey that was distilled in Louisville.
HH never distilled a wheater in Bardstown.
After the fire all HH is distilled in Louisville but they only label OF with the Louisville location.
This is to make it look like a separate independant distillery to the consumer.
All spirits, wine and beer producers do this to make a product look special.

Ever read the label of Land Shark beer?
It says it is from, Margaritaville Brewery, Jacksonville, FL.
No such thing as a Margaritaville Brewery, but there is an Anheuser-Busch brewery there.

[MJL]

Thanks for all the answers. I went back and picked up one of the two bottles they had. I am sorry to say that my memory was not good when I was writing up my original post. First the bottle is a one liter bottle. Second the bottom of the bottle is stamped 01 94 so I assume this means January 1994. The UPC on the back of the bottle is 88076 22540. I also got the price wrong. The price was $13.99. So, what do I have here? Is this worthy of going back to pick up the last bottle? Is this Stitz-Weller bourbon or Heaven Hill made bourbon?