A question about Old Fitzgerald

[mosugoji64]

The only problem I have with what Craig told you Brian, as it applies to wheaters, is what private selection program being suspended. Anybody seen or know of any private or even store picks on any of their wheaters? A couple years ago there were a few over the hill DSP-16 barrels still hanging in their rick house, and somewhat being offered at top dollar by them, but that's all I know. Maybe he really means the pipeline to Luxco for Rebell Yell.

Sorry, Thad, I should have stated at that point in the conversation he was talking about all of their products and having supply issues in general. I got the impression that they were particularly strapped for wheater stocks. But now that you mention it, aside from a goof with a barrel of OF that ended up in EWSB bottles I don't recall any of their wheaters being in the PS program.

OFBIB was available here in AZ when we moved a couple of years ago then it disappeared so we're one of the states that got dropped.

[squire]

. . . . I was told by my father (who is 89) that my granddad drank that stuff way back. He died in the late 60's. Has it been around that long?

Oh yeah, it's been around longer than me, which is to say slightly less old than dirt.

[alstevens]

HH really hit their stride with the Old Fitz line in the past 5 or so years, IMHO. Prior to that it was pretty rough. I still don't care for Prime as it's too thin and under-proofed but the others are very good. I had the opportunity to speak to Craig Beam about the shrinking availability of the Old Fitz line at the Bardstown Sampler last weekend. He said that they're doing all they can to meet demand in the current market but still struggling. He said that limiting distribution of some brands and suspending their private selection program are a couple of ways they're dealing with the issue. Presumably, the limited availability of the wheated bourbons is an early indicator of the trouble they're having with meeting demand given that they make less of it than their rye bourbons. While HH recently expanded distribution of Larceny, he didn't know when/if that would continue.

Cool! This entire thread is filled with participants that are WAY beyond my knowledge, but that's why I posted in the first place as to I'm a bit lost. So please pardon the questions that may sound ignorant to some of you pros.

2 questions:

1. What happened in your opinion to cause HH to hit their stride with Old Fitz BIB?

2. If HH is struggling with meeting the demand for wheaters why release Larceny? Was old Fitz struggling that poorly in areas it got cut from? Is it just a business move? Is it a fancy new name/bottle for a HH wheater and try to compete with Maker's level? If so that's sad that it may have caused the end of Old Fitz BIB. Again, I could be totally off on this.

I've bought 3 bottles of Larceny. 2 I finished and 1 remains at my girlfriend's house. Personally I think OF BIB tastes better.

[squire]

1. Increased production of wheat recipe Bourbon means they have a greater number of barrels to choose from. In years past Old Fitzgerald sales were lagging so there was no real incentive to work on the brand.

2. With Larceny they were able to launch a new label with a different flavor profile at a higher price point thus more profit potential.

[Hop]

I'll second that the BIB tastes better than Larceny

[cowdery]

The Old Fitzgerald brand is 130 years old. For most of its history it was considered a premium brand. I still would not consider it 'bottom shelf,' although it often winds up there simply because everything else has gotten more expensive. I've always been a fan, especially of the BIB. It's not as good as it used to be but what is? Today, while I might buy a bottle of Prime or BIB, I'm more likely to buy Larceny. People who say Old Fitzgerald has "always been a bottle shelf brand" don't know what they're talking about.

[mosugoji64]

Since distilleries make plans far in advance I'm sure they hadn't anticipated the huge bump in demand when they developed Larceny.

[JvW]

Definitely looking forward tasting the FITZ 12...

[Paddy]

Definitely looking forward tasting the FITZ 12...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]20776[/ATTACH]

[JvW]

You have to let it grow on you... It's richer, but in a good way (if you like the additional wood influence from the extra aging).

Thanks for the info Paddy; I have to get my open bottle collection under control, but looking forward to it.

Jan

[flahute]

Can't buy this in Washington State anymore, but a bar close to me has it in good supply. I like this one a lot. Has a bitter finish from time to time, but it usually delivers and makes me wish I could buy it locally. It seems that karma has decided that since we get ECBP out the wazoo here it will balance things out by denying us any and all HH wheaters.

[Hop]

Been meaning to post this somewhere on the forum so why not here.

This was given to me by an uncle who worked at and retired from the distillery when I was around 8-10 years old.

Thought it was pretty cool then and still do.

[CorvallisCracker]

Definitely looking forward tasting the FITZ 12...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]20776[/ATTACH]

Enjoy both the whiskey and that you live in one of the three states where it's still sold.

I used to buy the occasional bottle of VSOF; had I known it was going to become unavailable here I would have stocked up.

[ModernThirst]

I'm a fan of OFBiB. Have been for a while. It seems to get better for me after opening the bottle for a while, but really, it's just a nice sipping value bourbon I always keep on hand.

[alstevens]

Enjoy both the whiskey and that you live in one of the three states where it's still sold.

I used to buy the occasional bottle of VSOF; had I known it was going to become unavailable here I would have stocked up.

I'll have to try it. In my searching of a 100 or so local liquor stores for Weller 12 I've probably passed up VSOF at a good majority of them. Maybe it's time to enjoy what I have locally more.

[alstevens]

I'm a fan of OFBiB. Have been for a while. It seems to get better for me after opening the bottle for a while, but really, it's just a nice sipping value bourbon I always keep on hand.

Bill I thoroughly enjoyed your Budget Bourbon Battle Royale!

[dcbt]

I've never seen in person any bottle of Fitz so I'm curious what bottles are still made. In perusing this thread, I know they are only available in 3 states and there seems to be a BiB (100 proof but no age statement?), prime (80 proof NAS?), and a VSOF (12 year 90 proof if I googled right?) The Wikipedia page brought up a shizload of others that I presume are no longer made at all, so are those three I named the current productions? Or are there others?

[squire]

Just those three under the Fitzgerald label. Considering the long standing relationship between Heaven Hill and Luxco we could perhaps add Rebel Yell to the mix and of course Larceny is a close relation.

[dcbt]

Just those three under the Fitzgerald label. Considering the long standing relationship between Heaven Hill and Luxco we could perhaps add Rebel Yell to the mix and of course Larceny is a close relation.

Yep yep, got it, thanks.

[suntour]

Enjoy both the whiskey and that you live in one of the three states where it's still sold.

I used to buy the occasional bottle of VSOF; had I known it was going to become unavailable here I would have stocked up.

[5cents]

Found some old fitz prime in southern Illinois today.

[Ravensfire]

Been meaning to post this somewhere on the forum so why not here.

This was given to me by an uncle who worked at and retired from the distillery when I was around 8-10 years old.

Thought it was pretty cool then and still do.

That is absolutely cool - beautiful piece of history for your family and bourbon. And a great conversation piece!