BOTM 6/11: Very Special Old Fitzgerald

[RaylanGivens]

Went searching for this, no love.

Noob question, is there a chart on any site that details distribution by company or anything along those lines? It would be nice to know what is actually distributed in this state to hunt for.

[jburlowski]

IMO, the current version is just (sigh) "OK". After tastng and loving the recent PHC release, I have to ask again: why doesn't HH release a wheater worthy of the OF brand?

[mrviognier]

Cracked a bottle last night, and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe it's because my expectations were so low. I found it to show its age in a good way...offering nice layers of complexity, but the intensity of those layers left me wanting.

While it's not even a shadow of the originals, it was an enjoyable dram. That said, it pushes the limit of price vs. quality. I'll always have a bottle on my bar, though.

[jcg9779]

I've been surprised by the VSOF as well. I've never had the original, but I thought that this wouldn't be any good after trying the current OF 1849. I think the VSOF is a decent pour that I've gone back to a couple of times. I agree with John B's comment above though - why hasn't HH released a better wheater yet? Hopefully the PHC 2010 is a sign of things to come...

[CaptainQ]

I've been surprised by the VSOF as well. I've never had the original, but I thought that this wouldn't be any good after trying the current OF 1849. I think the VSOF is a decent pour that I've gone back to a couple of times. I agree with John B's comment above though - why hasn't HH released a better wheater yet? Hopefully the PHC 2010 is a sign of things to come...

HH is also working on another wheater with the Fitzgerald name. Fingers crossed.

[G.H.Adams]

That can't come soon enough for me.

[PaulO]

I found some VSOF in Louisville. It cost $31.39 plus tax. As you might expect; it's more red colored than the B.I.B. version. This whiskey goes down very easily. It doesn't have as much carmel and vanilla type flavors as Weller 12 (another 90 proof 12 year old) but those flavors are there. When I was drinking VSOF, I was thinking this tastes like some charecteristics of Weller 12, also Makers Mark.

[gblick]

I'm working on a bottle of the BHC and it must have had a tiny cork issue, as some of the juice evaporated. Truthfully, this bottle ain't great--the whiskey has a prune-like quality that prevents me from fully enjoying it. I have one other still-sealed bottle of BHC-era VSOF and will crack it open to do a side-by-side comparison when the other bottle gets down to the last pour or two.

I once bought a BHC VSOF that was a little low from evaporation (got the merchant to knock $5 off the price). The oxidation had a pretty negative effect on the taste and it was not very good at all to me. The others I've had that didn't have evaporation tasted much better.

[PaulO]

The current version looks like it has a cork, but it's actually a screw cap.

[Ian S.]

The current version looks like it has a cork, but it's actually a screw cap.

Indeed. Still good though.