Fitz 20 year old?

[dcbt]

Application indicates 375mL bottles. I assume availability will render this one a myth to most of us.

https://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/viewColaDetails.do?action=publicFormDisplay&ttbid=15105001000051

[bourbonfoot]

Expect the "distilled by Stitzel-Weller distillery DSP-KY-16" to be quite the hot topic coming up here.

[squire]

Well why not? When they bought the brand they also got some stock and if they've still got some (apparently they do) no point in blending it away in the Old Fitz line.

[fishnbowljoe]

Uh oh….. :skep: Fu**in' A Bubba, here we go again. :shithappens::falling::drinking::cry::deadhorse::coffeedrinker::searching::bs::smil41df29a15fb35::22::27::27::27::27::27::27::27:

[squire]

Joe I don't understand your post. HH has some old Stitzel stock they choose to bottle identified as such. Sounds like a gift shop offering so what's the big deal?

[dSculptor]

I would imagine it's going to have a hefty tag attached to it also.

[Spade]

Seems like a gift shop offering to me too. And, given their gift shop prices, I'm sure it will be absurdly expensive for even 375mL.

[Richnimrod]

Anybody wish to start a betting pool on price-tag? Above or below 3-bills......?

[garbanzobean]

Anybody wish to start a betting pool on price-tag? Above or below 3-bills......?

Above. Charge anything you want, just keep larceny cheap . . .

[flahute]

Joe I don't understand your post. HH has some old Stitzel stock they choose to bottle identified as such. Sounds like a gift shop offering so what's the big deal?

Squire, I think what Joe is getting at is what most of us are thinking - the Stitzel Weller hype train will once again roll hard and flippers will fall all over themselves to over sell how legendary it is and all those new guys to the hobby will fight for a bottle and proudly proclaim how legit they are for acquiring one.

[Josh]

If it was any good, they would have sold it to Zoeller or Van Winkle already.

[fishnbowljoe]

Joe I don't understand your post. HH has some old Stitzel stock they choose to bottle identified as such. Sounds like a gift shop offering so what's the big deal?

Squire, I think what Joe is getting at is what most of us are thinking - the Stitzel Weller hype train will once again roll hard and flippers will fall all over themselves to over sell how legendary it is and all those new guys to the hobby will fight for a bottle and proudly proclaim how legit they are for acquiring one.

Exactly Flahute.

JRPS 17. JRPS 18. JRPS ????. The Orphan Barrels, etc… The SW juice is all gone. Ooops, someone found some more in their warehouses. :bigeyes: Okay then, all the SW stocks are now gone. Ooops, again, someone else found some more. :skep: All the SW distillate is now definitely gone. Damned if someone else didn't find some more. It's all a bit crazy and very distended if you ask me. Stizel Weller distillate, or aged at Stitzel Weller??? We've gone over this time and again. This sort of thing goes back all the way to when the JRPS 18 was bottled. Again the speculation arises as to aged at SW, or SW distillate??? And no one knows the answer for sure. The stocks of SW distillate are not finite, and how distilleries keep finding it is beyond me, and probably most others that have any sort of clue at all. This is regardless of who says they have, or (may) have found whatever SW distillate in their warehouses. I've had a few different offerings of SW stuff over the years. I bought a couple of the JRPS 17's. Good stuff, and more than likely SW distillate IMHO. I tasted the JRPS 18, and I agree with those that thought the JRPS 18 probably wasn't actually SW. And so it goes. A freight train on the tracks to nowhere, seemingly out of control if you ask me.

I also have a question for you squire. How is it that you're privy to exactly what stocks HH has in their warehouses? Do you have a direct line to Parker and Craig Beam, or the Shapira family? Pardon me if it seems as if I'm calling you out. I'm not. A lot of folks here speculate about a lot of things, but none of us really knows for sure. Myself included. Been there, and done that. I've seen and been told many things over the past few years. While I'm very hopeful about much of what goes on, I've learned to take things with a grain of salt, and to not read much into what is supposedly said, posted or speculated about. I've been wrong too many times before in believing things, and taking them at what I thought was face value. :deadhorse::soapbox:

Just my thoughts FWIW.

Joe

[squire]

I also have a question for you squire. How is it that you're privy to exactly what stocks HH has in their warehouses? Do you have a direct line to Parker and Craig Beam, or the Shapira family? Pardon me if it seems as if I'm calling you out.

Not at all Joe, I don't mind answering. Over the years (even pre-internet) Mr. Parker and I believe Craig have mentioned that when HH acquired the Old Fitzgerald brand they also acquired some Stitzel-Weller stock along with it. Well before the current boom this wasn't considered a big deal and I understand was common industry practice (Beam with Old Grand Dad for instance) to buy stock along with the brand to keep the same profile until the new owner's make is gradually blended in. Since they say they bought stock along with the brand I see no reason to speculate that they didn't.

Whether this SW stock was moved in barrel to HH, or remained stored in SW warehouses, or if at age 20 or so was tanked and now sits in totes is, I think, largely irrelevant. They said they bought it so it's logical to conclude they still own it (whatever amount remains) and if they choose to bottle it now as a separate expression that's their prerogative.

As for the posers and flippers I really don't give a rodent's patoot. Not even on the list of stuff I have to think about.

[The Black Tot]

Prediction: $400. I'm confident it will taste awesome, but it again clashes with my no support for 375s philosophy.

[garbanzobean]

Prediction: $400. I'm confident it will taste awesome, but it again clashes with my no support for 375s philosophy.

I think they could get $500 without much effort. In unrelated news, I just purchased a world class 21 year old Italian brandy for $89.

[squire]

If it was any good, they would have sold it to Zoeller or Van Winkle already.

Who sez they sold the good stuff.

[sku]

I think they could get $500 without much effort. In unrelated news, I just purchased a world class 21 year old Italian brandy for $89.

Was that the Villa Zarri? I'd love to hear how it is. (Sorry for thread drift).

[Harry in WashDC]

What's with the "key" on the label? Back in March 2015, Diageo got approval for a series of labels for bottles allegedly containing SW distillate (or, maybe distillate stored there, I dunno or really care which, I just drink:cool: it if I like it at its price), and those labels had one or more keys on them depending on which expression was in the bottle. See https://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/viewColaDetails.do?action=publicFormDisplay&ttbid=15063001000491 and also sku's March 2015 blog.

Does the key have something to do with SW? Just curious - not gonna fret if I don't find out.

[garbanzobean]

Was that the Villa Zarri? I'd love to hear how it is. (Sorry for thread drift).

Yes it is! Ordered the 10 and the 21, since I've been enjoying aged brandies of various types so much lately. I'll be happy to provide notes once it makes it to me. I can't order from K&L because of their unwillingness to update their shipping policies when state laws change, but I found another place that realizes it is legal for them to ship to the DC/NoVA area. I have taken bigger risks on the words of hypemaster Dave, and not been sorry so far.

What's with the "key" on the label? Back in March 2015, Diageo got approval for a series of labels for bottles allegedly containing SW distillate (or, maybe distillate stored there, I dunno or really care which, I just drink:cool: it if I like it at its price), and those labels had one or more keys on them depending on which expression was in the bottle. See https://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/viewColaDetails.do?action=publicFormDisplay&ttbid=15063001000491 and also sku's March 2015 blog.

Does the key have something to do with SW? Just curious - not gonna fret if I don't find out.

I'm not sure about the Diageo version, but the Fitzgerald mythology is explained here, and the key generally fits in with that:

http://larcenybourbon.com/our-legacy/

Diageo explains the key in their spiel somewhere, but I am too lazy to go find that.

Edited May 24, 2015 by garbanzobean

[Harry in WashDC]

Eric - About the time I hit "send" I remembered that we are writing about Old Fitz (and the easy-to-hold Larceny bottle). BUT, the Diageo use of the keys still stuck in my head. I'll go look (now that Nats-Phils is over) and see if I can answer my own question.

Thanks.

[squire]

Well do share when you find out Harry, now you've got me wondering.

[Josh]

The "Key to Hospitality" logo has been on Old Fitzgerald for years. It's all a riff on that.

[Paddy]

in other news... If one were to steal all the keys of the neck of the B&B bottles, would the flippers still want it?

Not that I would have ever considerd doing this...:grin:

[Harry in WashDC]

AHA!! Straight from Diageo's advertising comes the answer about the keys on Blade and Bow, et al.

Here's the link. http://bourbonandoak.com/2015/05/13/diageo-unveils-blade-and-bow-kentucky-straight-bourbon-whiskey/

Here are two sentences from the press release of 13 May - "Named after the two parts of a skeleton key, the blade shaft and the ornate bow handle, Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey derives its inspiration from the Five Keys symbol that can be found throughout the Stitzel-Weller Distillery. Representing the five steps of crafting bourbon – grains, yeast, fermentation, distillation and aging – these keys have grown to symbolize the southern traditions of hospitality, warmth and enjoying the finer things in life."

[DELETED a sentence from my original post as not really reflective of my state of mind; i.e., I screwed up. Instead, I should have written, "SO, the keys DO have something to do with S-W which is why both HH and Diageo are using them. AND, the Old Fitz/Larceny connection makes it that much more relevant."]

Edited May 25, 2015 by Harry in WashDC
deletion

[mark fleetwood]

AHA!! Straight from Diageo's advertising comes the answer about the keys on Blade and Bow, et al.

Here's the link. http://bourbonandoak.com/2015/05/13/diageo-unveils-blade-and-bow-kentucky-straight-bourbon-whiskey/

Here are two sentences from the press release of 13 May - "Named after the two parts of a skeleton key, the blade shaft and the ornate bow handle, Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey derives its inspiration from the Five Keys symbol that can be found throughout the Stitzel-Weller Distillery. Representing the five steps of crafting bourbon – grains, yeast, fermentation, distillation and aging – these keys have grown to symbolize the southern traditions of hospitality, warmth and enjoying the finer things in life."

[DELETED a sentence from my original post as not really reflective of my state of mind; i.e., I screwed up. Instead, I should have written, "SO, the keys DO have something to do with S-W which is why both HH and Diageo are using them. AND, the Old Fitz/Larceny connection makes it that much more relevant."]

.Somewhere (maybe here) I had read Diageo's thesis on Blade and Bow and was so disinterested within 5 minutes that I actually turned on the NBA playoffs... first round! Hoping more out of HH. Will reach out to Larry Kaas about the actual living conditions of these sacred barrels and will report back.