Very Special Old Fitz 12 - soon to be dusty?

[suntour]

I keep seeing mentions of this but had not seen a thread or other "real" confirmation...

rumor has it that this is going away. Any truth to the rumors? There's a pinch on any aged stocks, and this one has never been big or really too beloved by the bourbon world so I'm not surprised to see it go. I've got a bottle I like that I probably wouldn't replace, but a bummer if true because another age stated wheater will go the way of the dinosaur.

[Kyjd75]

I keep seeing mentions of this but had not seen a thread or other "real" confirmation...

rumor has it that this is going away. Any truth to the rumors? There's a pinch on any aged stocks, and this one has never been big or really too beloved by the bourbon world so I'm not surprised to see it go. I've got a bottle I like that I probably wouldn't replace, but a bummer if true because another age stated wheater will go the way of the dinosaur.

[Richnimrod]

I too, think it's a nice dram. Unique enough that I almost always have at least one on hand.

If true, (probably, given recent history) I'll be sorry to see yet another traditionally well-aged brand go the way of the dodo.

Especially one of the few aged wheaters out there. At leat that was commonly available and decently priced.

[MyOldKyDram]

Uh, why? What else do they need that for?

[suntour]

They've got an investment in those rebate tags, after all.

[393foureyedfox]

i find the OFitz BIB better anyway

[OutlawSW]

Man that sucks, iv been looking for this one for a few years every time I'm out of MI and now prob won't find it ever...

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Uh, why? What else do they need that for?

I would imagine that aged stock will be used in the gift shop and for limited releases with a much higher rate of return.

[dementedavenger]

VSOF12 is not a good value relative to W12 and has traditionally been harder to find in most markets. I'm not crying over this one.

[bourbonfoot]

I bought a bottle of this recently thanks to an unlikely special delivery to the VA ABC. I like it, and it's nice to see something different pop up every once in awhile. But at $40 I'm not sure how often I would pick it up when OFBIB is $39 for a handle around here.

[qman22]

I like VSOF, maybe not quite as much as Weller 12, but I like it. With the current treding of climbing prices, I think $35-$40 is still a fair deal for a 12 year age stated wheater. I stocked some up, though I wish I could have stocked up more.

[Gentleman Racer]

No great loss in my opinion. A nice whiskey. But significantly overpriced.

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[smokinjoe]

I adore HH's Larceny. So, if the VSOF 12 gets sacrificed in order to maintain the beauty of current Larceny, I am 110% on board.

[Old Dusty]

I adore HH's Larceny. So, if the VSOF 12 gets sacrificed in order to maintain the beauty of current Larceny, I am 110% on board.

Joe, you may have just divulged HH's business plan. Their 12 year was getting creamed in price, quality and distribution by Weller 12. So why not consolidate labels to the better received and NAS product.

[Brisko]

I wouldn't mind seeing Larceny get national distribution. we don't get VSOF up here anyway. Of course I hate to see an age stated expression go away.

[PaulO]

I enjoyed the last bottle I had. I have one unopened in my collection. I would get some more, but that involves a trip out of state. $40ish did seem a little high. On the other hand, what else is comparable? There's not much W12 around, and the quality is not what it was only a few years ago. We know some other age stated wheaters go for really crazy prices. I hope VSOF is not discontinued.

[cowdery]

I don't have any inside information, but here's my prediction. Heaven Hill has owned the Old Fitzgerald brand for 15 years. They make it, they distribute it, but they haven't done anything (that I've seen) to promote it. Then they introduced Larceny, which carries its Old Fitzgerald connection lightly, and that they actively promote. I read that as meaning they will continue to allow all of the Old Fitzgerald expressions to find their own sales level. They will continue to make it and distribute it where it sells and not worry too much about where it doesn't sell. They will constantly make adjustments, so if sales fall below a certain level in a certain market, they might stop selling it to that market, but basically if distributors keep ordering it, they'll keep selling it. They obviously have the price of all Old Fitz expressions at a level where they are profitable, so there is no reason not to. They have allocated stocks for VSOF. That whiskey is already in the pipeline. They have also allocated stocks for Larceny based on their sales projections but as it is NAS, they have plenty of flexibility if it does better than expected. Considering all of the above, there is no reason for them to discontinue VSOF. These rumors tend to be started by people who don't really understand how the business works, which goes for a lot of people who work in the business.

Now one or more of my assumptions above may be wrong and they may, in fact, discontinue VSOF, and they make those kinds of evaluations about every six months, so in six months circumstances might have changed. The point is, as long as there is nothing to gain by discontinuing VSOF, it will most likely continue.

All of that said, it's not likely to get any easier to find, so if you like it and have access to it, you wouldn't be crazy to stock up a little, but I don't believe it is going away.

Edited March 8, 2014 by cowdery

[suntour]

Thanks Chuck, appreciate the insight and perspective. The nature and tone of the "its going away!!" posts combined with where I saw them, made me hope someone had something more than hearsay. I did actually endeavor to get some more of this, and found to my disappointment there's only a few bottles left in the state and its not on the price list for next month.

[Kyjd75]

In Kentucky the distributor is saying it is going away for the foreseeable future. I picked up a case today from Eric just to be sure I have some for awhile. 31.99 a bottle before case discount.

[cowdery]

That's more like it. A shortage, allocation, price increases, those I can see. A lot of these 'going away' rumors get started when a retailer can't reorder something and assumes the product is being discontinued, when it's only temporarily unavailable. It also wouldn't surprise me if some distributors do a poor job of communicating the difference to their customers.

[theglobalguy]

That's more like it. A shortage, allocation, price increases, those I can see. A lot of these 'going away' rumors get started when a retailer can't reorder something and assumes the product is being discontinued, when it's only temporarily unavailable. It also wouldn't surprise me if some distributors do a poor job of communicating the difference to their customers.

Poor communicating, or hoping that store will snag a few extra cases since it's "going away"?

[P&MLiquorsEric]

That's more like it. A shortage, allocation, price increases, those I can see. A lot of these 'going away' rumors get started when a retailer can't reorder something and assumes the product is being discontinued, when it's only temporarily unavailable. It also wouldn't surprise me if some distributors do a poor job of communicating the difference to their customers.

[brettckeen]

This years batch I did not enjoy as much as years past or as much as some batches of larceny. I have in the past loved batches. As of now it is annual and a bit higher priced than I think it should be. When a local spot complained on being out of w12 I suggested they bring in old fitz 12 to replace but at $50 retail they are more so pushing it on pappyphiles.

[suntour]

interesting, are heaven hill products laser-coded? i'd be curious to see when mine's from, though I suspect its recent since it came from a high-volume store that sold out of it almost immediately.

[Vadertime]

On the authority of an international Heaven Hill official agent, I have also been informed that Old Fitz BiB is discontinued. Sad to me, I have wanted to try it for quite some time.