John Fitzgerald - Stitzel Weller

[T Comp]

Tanked in 2013 from 12 barrels per the HH press release: "BARDSTOWN, KY—Heaven Hill Brands, the nation’s largest independent family owned and operated distilled spirits supplier, announces the one-time release of a Bourbon that will thrill both whiskey aficionados and history buffs—John E. Fitzgerald Very Special Reserve. Comprised of 12 barrels of wheated Bourbon produced at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery, original home of Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald and direct ancestor to the celebrated Larceny brand, the ultra-rare, highly allocated release will offer both an extraordinary sensory experience and a glimpse at the DNA of Bourbon lore.Heaven Hill acquired the Old Fitzgerald line of wheated Bourbons—the flagship brand that legendary whiskey man Pappy Van Winkle produced at his original Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, KY—in 1999, seven years after these barrels were filled and put up in the Stitzel-Weller rickhouses. After Heaven Hill acquired the Old Fitz line, these barrels were transferred to Warehouse Y at Heaven Hill’s Bardstown campus where they aged on the first floor, allowing long, slow and balanced maturation. They were transferred into inert tanks in 2013 to arrest the aging process and preserve the incredible taste until they were bottled."

[KyleCBreese]

Where does one sign up to receive all of these press releases?

[Josh]

Thanks for the post, Thad. It does sound like the stuff we saw and tasted. I thought it had a good nose, but the palate and finish were all oak, ash and char to me.

[Paul W]

I know I risk triggering outrage about the existence of the secondary market by mentioning this, but if I really wanted S-W and was willing to pay $400, I would much rather buy a $400 750 bottle of old S-W on the secondary market than spend the same money for 375 of this stuff -- unless the point is to get 20 year old S-W, in which case I suppose you could say this is your only option outside of massively expensive secondary market PVW20.

[JohnHansell]

Well, I got my press release sample two days ago and tried it three times already. I'm not sure what you guys tasted, but my sample is very good. Much better than any of the past few years release of Pappy 20 (or 23 for that matter). There's a lovely sweetness that balances the oak. I was impressed. Last night I lined it up against this year's BTAC and it's better than all of them.

[fricky]

Well, I got my press release sample two days ago and tried it three times already. I'm not sure what you guys tasted, but my sample is very good. Much better than any of the past few years release of Pappy 20 (or 23 for that matter). There's a lovely sweetness that balances the oak. I was impressed. Last night I lined it up against this year's BTAC and it's better than all of them.

Thanks John for your comments. I would like to personally evaluate it; however, it is a bit too expensive for me.

[T Comp]

Well, I got my press release sample two days ago and tried it three times already. I'm not sure what you guys tasted, but my sample is very good. Much better than any of the past few years release of Pappy 20 (or 23 for that matter). There's a lovely sweetness that balances the oak. I was impressed. Last night I lined it up against this year's BTAC and it's better than all of them.

Ka-Ching goes the secondary market :grin:. Thanks for your impressions John. Of course only HH knows if a barrel a few of us were fortunate to taste in 2012 (found a note it was 130 proof), and after a morning of other barrel proof samples, became part of the tanked 12 and I have my suspicions not.

[RWBadley]

Well, I got my press release sample two days ago and tried it three times already. I'm not sure what you guys tasted, but my sample is very good. Much better than any of the past few years release of Pappy 20 (or 23 for that matter). There's a lovely sweetness that balances the oak. I was impressed. Last night I lined it up against this year's BTAC and it's better than all of them.

Wow, that is high praise indeed!

[kjbeggs]

Well, I got my press release sample two days ago and tried it three times already. I'm not sure what you guys tasted, but my sample is very good. Much better than any of the past few years release of Pappy 20 (or 23 for that matter). There's a lovely sweetness that balances the oak. I was impressed. Last night I lined it up against this year's BTAC and it's better than all of them.

John, I find that pretty hard to believe. Please send me samples of the JF and all of this year's BTAC for verification of your above claim.

(Hey, worth a shot... right? :slappin:)

[ThirstyinOhio]

I'm hoping to find one of these before they get all snatched up. It is awfully pricey at $300 for 375ml, but you only live once.

[shoshani]

That press release, though.

The legend goes that Treasury Agent John E. Fitzgerald was allowed free access to the bonded bourbon warehouses, and helped himself from only barrels containing the finest bourbon. The agent’s selections became known around the distillery as “Fitzgerald barrels” and were used to create a softly wheated bourbon known as “Old Fitzgerald.” The agent’s larcenous behavior was kept secret until the unveiling of the Larceny line, which revealed his story in full. John E. Fitzgerald Very Special Reserve honors both the superb taste of this lawless gauger and the legacy of the Old Fitzgerald line of distillers, who have exceeded the agent’s already high standards.

Good story. Great for marketing. Never happened, and the alleged larcenous behavior was outlined in "But Always Fine Bourbon" (as told in a letter in the 1940s by someone who'd heard it from one of the Bixler family, who'd been told it by Herbst) at least a decade before Larceny was unveiled. But it's about as truthful as Tom Bulleit's Grandfather's Frontier Recipe, or Templeton's claim to being made in Iowa from the old bootleg recipe.

There *was* a treasury agent named John E. Fitzgerald, who worked in Milwaukee as a gauger for many years until he was removed from his position in 1875 and indicted in 1876 for his involvement in the Whisky Ring scandal. One very important thing to remember about gaugers is that, unlike the spiritous Larceny legend, they had no access whatsoever to the rickhouses. Gaugers worked in the cistern rooms where the new make was received, and where they measured the alcohol content as the whiskey was barrelled, and stamped and certified the heads with the alcohol content (which was taxed) and the amounts of grains in the mashbill (which were also taxed). Fitzgerald was old, feisty, and colorful at his trial, according to contemporary newspaper coverage, threatening to take down all the distillers and rectifiers with him, but his crime was withholding paper records to skim off tax revenue, which he then used for political manipulation.

If any Treasury agent was going to do larceny on barrels of whiskey in the rickhouses, it would have been the only person with the keys: the Storekeeper, which was also a Treasury position. That was not Fitzgerald's position; as gauger, he did not have access to aging barrels, honey or otherwise, and at any rate Treasury gauger John E. Fitzgerald, with his sleight-of-hand political machinations, had much bigger fish to fry.

(This leaves two other potential candidates for Namesake of Jno. E. Fitzgerald/Old Fitzgerald that I can think of: distiller John E. Fitzgerald, who worked for some 20 years in his first job at Chicago's Henry Shufeldt distillery before co-starting the Hammond Distillery in 1901 and becoming very prominent in the trade, and indeed growing his plant into one of the largest distilleries in the United States [requiring the presence of 15 government men, according to a 1904 profile in the Hammond Daily News] before it was forced to close in 1918, or the Milwaukee shipbuilder Capt. John Fitzgerald. The latter is a tricky choice, especially since his middle initial doesn't seem to be recorded anywhere [the names Edward and Edmund run in the family though; his grandson was the namesake for the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald]. But. S. C. Herbst was a yachting enthusiast, and even had an eponymous trophy for an annual yacht race between Milwaukee and Chicago. If you ask me, it seems far more likely that yachting enthusiast Herbst originally named his Jno. E. Fitzgerald whiskey after the shipbuilding captain, then later changed it to Old Fitzgerald [with the "Jno. E." name taking secondary prominence] possibly due to confusion with the Hammond Distillery's superintendent. And this is all presuming that Herbst actually named his whiskey after someone, rather than just making up a name out of thin air and then crafting a backstory...which is not unknown in the whiskey trade.)

[Richnimrod]

Thanx, Shoshani for that concise history lesson. I'd heard some of that before, and thus never believed the HH story line(s); but never read a simple gathering of the factual points all so nicely placed.

Again; Thanx! :grin:

[JacksonMack]

Top notch investigative/research work there, shoshani. Awesome info. Thank you for that.

[shoshani]

I completely forgot to mention that gaugers, storekeepers, and other Treasury personnel were assigned their posts in advance, and were often rotated, at least in the late 19th century. While looking online at Frankfort newspapers from the 1880s and 1890s as I traced the Origins of the Old Judge distillery, I found that a list was published every week outlining which Treasury agents were assigned to which facility for the week. I'm guessing this was an accountability move in the wake of the Ring. (There were no Fitzgeralds that I spotted.)

[s8ist]

Found one on the shelf at Binny's just this past weekend. The packaging on this is right up there with what you find on some of the most expensive scotch you can buy. Even Macallan 25 doesn't get a wood box and it's twice the price (per volume)!

Haven't opened it yet...Special occasion (coming up in about 6 weeks...definitely looking forward to tasting it!

[HOF44]

I put in an order for a bottle at my local Virginia ABC store. Not expecting anything though.

[tanstaafl2]

I had the chance to try a couple of decent sized sample tastes this past weekend at the World of Whisky gathering that Heaven Hill very kindly made available. While I truly enjoyed the opportunity to taste it I am glad I turned down the opportunity to buy it. I intentionally made it my first taste of the night (to have a fresh palate and because I knew it would not last long!) and it had a solid nose and it was pleasant enough on the front of the palate with a touch of cinnamon to me at the back of the palate and surprisingly little wood for the age (it was there but nowhere near older EC levels for example). But it seemed really soft (it is 90 proof) and the finish was relatively short and unremarkable. Just wasn't "wowed" and at $300 a half bottle that somehow seems important!

Despite the relatively high cost (although not close to the Fitz!) and low but more or less barrel proof I greatly prefer the WT Masters Keep as a nice occasional "luxury" older bourbon pour.

It sure was a purdy package though! :cool:

[Auracom]

but more or less barrel proof I greatly prefer the WT Masters Keep as a nice occasional "luxury" older bourbon pour.

Keepin' things in perspective. Great notes and feedback, Bruce.

[HOF44]

Talked to my local ABC manger in Virginia today and they said there is supposed to be a meeting in Richmond to decide how to handle the distribution of this bourbon. One of 3 possibilities. Special order by the store, sent out and put on shelves, or online order only.

[mouch]

http://kybourbontrail.com/heaven-hill-offers-ultra-rare-john-e-fitzgerald-very-special-reserve-bourbon-release/

[dcbt]

I'm guessing you are not one of the "been lurking around a long time but just now posting" variety?

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?24333-John-Fitzgerald-Stitzel-Weller

[mouch]

No not long. Spend a lot of time on multiple sites for reviews and opinions. This add was actually on the chive today under a category of "I want that" or something to that affect. Not that I'd ever spend that much on a single bottle when there are so many I could get in multiples instead.

[B.B. Babington]

I put in an order for a bottle at my local Virginia ABC store. Not expecting anything though.

I bet ya get one. Let us know what ya think of it. I'm curious.

[meadeweber]

I'm guessing you are not one of the "been lurking around a long time but just now posting" variety?

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?24333-John-Fitzgerald-Stitzel-Weller

Nice. Really funny dcbt. I think you and I must have a similar sense of humor. :cool: