Old Fitzgerald Fall 2023 (8 Year) Bourbon Review

As I’ve often observed when reviewing expressions of Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Bourbon in the past, the ever-moving age statements of this series are one of its most intriguing quirks. For a single series to contain expressions that range from merely 8 years old, to 19 years or more, while being marketed as the “same bourbon,” is a frankly crazy notion. And yet, Old Fitzgerald also has an odd way of not being particularly defined by each batch’s age statements, because the whiskey inside each of the beautiful decanter bottles doesn’t always seem to directly reflect those age statements the way one might expect it to. There are younger batches of Old Fitz that drink significantly older than they actually are, and vice versa, meaning you’re never truly certain of what you’re going to get, other than the reliable 50% ABV (100 proof), and Heaven Hill’s wheated bourbon mash bill.

The latest expression in the series, Old Fitzgerald Fall 2023, is an 8-year-old bourbon that falls on the youngest side of the series’ previous age statements. There’s only been one other 8-year-old batch, which arrived in the spring of 2021, but despite the fact that it was less mature, it was honestly an above-average batch of Old Fitz in my estimation. In a sign of the times, though, you can clearly see an illustration of how prices have continued their inexorable advance here: The Spring 2021 bottling had an MSRP of $85, while this Fall 2023 one is now $110, for a roughly $25 increase in just over two years, at the same age statement. The days of the $100 barrier being a sign of “ultra luxury” bourbon now feels like quite a remnant of the past, doesn’t it?

Regardless, let’s get to tasting the latest expression in this well-liked series of wheated bourbons.