After loving the Old Fitzgerald 9 Year I decided I wanted to track down the previous release, the 11 year. At that point the sip had sailed on finding it at retail and I’m not much of one for secondary so trading for it seemed like the best option. While I was in the UK I bought 3 bottles of Blanton’s Gold and this seemed like a good use for one of them (as of this writing 1 is 2/3 empty and one is waiting to be cracked). I’d read that the 11 year released was over oaked and not as good as the 9 but I tend to have more of a palate for sweet and oaky so I was still optimistic.
Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond 11 Year
Age: 11 years
Abv: 100 proof
Price: ~$120 (Traded a Blanton’s Gold I brought back from the UK)
Neat
Nose: Honey, vanilla, butterscotch and oak notes with some faint nuttiness
Taste: Butter scotch, peanut brittle, slightly bitter oak and vanilla notes with a thick and smooth mouthfeel.
Finish: Medium length very oaky finish that is slightly bitter but has some warm butterscotch to balance it.
2 Stars - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle
Conclusion
This was sweet, nutty and oaky which was great for me though that bitter note was a bit disappointing. I still really enjoyed this bottle and had no trouble killing it but it definitely wasn’t a great value and was just enough less impressive and more expensive to downgrade the value rating. That said I am still happy with the trade and still a fan of these releases and will continue trying to get a bottle of each release though I won’t be overpaying like I did for the 9 year again.
TL;DR: Not as impressive as the 9 year, still good, more expensive