StPatricksDay

March 2024 Old Fitzgerald 1976 Decanter Tasting

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March 17, 2024
By Rebecca Herman McBrayer

Wayne and I were married March 17, 2020. Yesterday, Wayne surprised me with an early anniversary gift. It was an unopened bicentennial decanter of Old Fitzgerald. It had remained in a clear plastic carton and the bottle is pristine!

He shared that he spotted this bootle during our visit to Northern Kentucky and the Revival Vintage Bottle Shop in late January. He later contacted Brad Bonds and made the purchase.

About the Bottle: 1976 Old Fitzgerald American Sons of St. Patrick Bicentennial

The 1976 Old Fitzgerald American Sons of St. Patrick Bicentennial is a ceramic decanter that celebrates the 1976 American Sons of St. Patrick Bicentennial. The decanter is made of genuine porcelain by Fitzgerald Distillery, Inc. and is about 9 1/8 inches tall. The decanter is part of the Old Fitzgerald Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bicentennial bottling series and contains whiskey distilled at Stitzel-Weller.

Images on the decanter include: Com. John Barry, “Father of the Navy;” Maj. General John Sullivan; General Andrew Lewis, “Idol of the Army;” Andrew Jackson, First Irish President; Gustavus Conyngham, “The Dunkirk Pirate;” Col. John P. Fitzgerald, Finest Horseman in the Revolution; Tim Murphy, Hero of Bemis Heights 1777; Richard Montgomery, Hero at Quebec 1775; and Margaret Corbin at Ft. Washington, Nov 15, 1776.

Opening a Vintage Bottle

Opening a vintage bottle always requires care; however, even with the utmost care, corks can be brittle and break. This happened with this bottle on first touch of the ceramic lid.

Following what we had observed previously, I carefully placed toothpicks around the edge of the cork and carefully used a knife to loosen it. Unfortunately, I should have stuck the toothpicks in further as the cork broke off.

From this point, the main option was to allow the cork to fall into the bottle. We then strained it into a large glass a bit at a time to ensure removal of cork. An additional strain into a decanter was the final step.

The bourbon was clear, cork-free, and ready to drink!

Please be sure to read our approach to Tasting Whiskey if you haven’t already. 

Tasting Notes: Old Fitzgerald American Sons of St. Patrick Decanter

Mashbill – The researched mashbill for Old Fitzgerald Prime in the early 1970s was 70% Corn, 20% Wheat, and 10% Malted Barley.

Age – According to bourbon historian, Michael Veach, Old Fitz Prime was typically a blend of 4-8 year-old-whiskey with mostly 6-year-old.

Distilled – If this whiskey was bottled around 1976, and the dominate age was 6 years, it was likely distilled and barreled around 1970.

Proof – 86

Color – Deep golden to light amber.

Aroma – Caramel, apples, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Tasted Neat – Like a cinnamon candy apple that you get at the fair with a hint of leather and a very long and pleasant finish.

Tasted with dried cranberry –  Leather, tobacco, and a hint of apple.

Tasted with a pecan –  Apple, chocolate, baking spices, and tobacco.

Tasted with dark chocolate – Baking spices, apple, with light pepper on the finish.  

Additional note – About an hour after we finished the tasting, our empty glasses remained in front of us. The aroma from the glass carried a strong nose of tobacco and nothing else. It was fascinating.

Discussion and Final Notes

Tasting from a dusty bottle is always a unique experience. You quickly learn that what was made then may not taste like it does today. We have never owned a bottle of Old Fitzgerald but have had the opportunity to taste it. As wonderful as it is today, there is something about tasting history that brings it to a new level.

If you have the opportunity to taste Old Fitzgerald from this era, we highly recommend it. And if you do, let us know what you thought.

A huge thank you to our friend and bourbon historian, Michael Veach, who identified the bourbon as Old Fitzgerald Prime and the historical age of this bourbon at time of bottling.


If you are ever in the Northern Kentucky or Cincinnati area, please make plans to stop by and visit Revival Vintage Bottle Shop. It is an experience like none other.

When you first enter, you aren’t sure where to looks because you are surrounded by amazing dusty bottles that represent the history of spirits. They have great specials each day to taste these amazing dusty bottles.

If you decide you would like to take one home, Brad Bonds will guide you toward a great decision!

Cheers,
Rebecca & Wayne

Photos by Rebecca Herman McBrayer

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Spirt Requirements

This bottle contains Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Such whiskeys have all the requirements of bourbon: Made in the U.S, distilled at <= 160 proof, barreled at <= 125 proof, aged in new, charred oak containers, bottled at >= 80 proof. Straight bourbon means it is aged at least 2 years (and must have an age statement if less than 4). In addition, to be Kentucky Straight Bourbon, it has the additional requirement that it must be produced and aged at least 1 year in the state of Kentucky. For additional information, read Bourbon Whiskey, part of the Sunday Spirit Notes.

NOTE: The bourbon in this review was purchased by us. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is simply our opinion based on what we tasted on this day. Please drink responsibly.

March 2024 Irish Whiskey Tasting

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03/14/24
By Rebecca Herman McBrayer

Please be sure to read our approach to Tasting Whiskey if you haven’t already. 

Irish whiskey is made from a high grain mash of barley, wheat, and corn. The exact quantities of each grain depend on the type of whiskey. The most common primary grain is barley.  The barley and be malted, un-malted, or a combination of each.

The Irish Whiskey Act of 1980 defines the basic requirements for Irish whiskey. The act protects Irish whiskey by statute law and provides regulations and labeling for the spirit. The requirements include: produced and aged in Ireland; made from cereal grains that are fermented with yeast; distilled no higher than 94.8% ABV (proof of 189.6); aged in wooden casks for a minimum of three years; free of added substances with the exception of water and caramel coloring; bottled at a minimum ABV of 40% (proof of 80). For more information, please read Irish Whiskey.

Irish Whiskey for this Tasting

For this tasting, we selected expressions from Bushmills, Tullamore DEW, Jameson, Ha’Penny, and Redbreast.

Bushmills


Type – Malt Irish Whiskey; Made in pot stills at one distillery with only water and malted barley.
Distillation – Triple Distilled
Proof – 80
Age – Minimum of 3 years in seasoned bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry casks
Price Paid – $24.98

Color – light gold
Aroma – light citrus, apples, cinnamon
Taste – a hint of tea, citrus, vanilla, melon, honey, Granny Smith apple, with cinnamon on the finish
Tasted with dried cranberry – added a pepper flavor as well as allspice.
Tasted with a pecan – chocolate really came forward and the spice is gone.
Tasted with dark chocolate – creamy, buttery, caramel.

Tullamore DEW


Type – Blended Irish Whiskey; made from three styles of Irish whiskey, including grain, malt, and pot still. 
Distillation – Triple Distilled
Proof – 80
Age – Non-age statement (NAS); aged in Oloroso Sherry and old bourbon oak casks
Price Paid – $24.98

Color – light gold
Aroma – grains, sweetness such as toffee and fruit
Taste – citrus, spice, vanilla, honey, earthy
Tasted with dried cranberry – slight fruitiness comes through and there is a berry and orange flavor as well.
Tasted with a pecan – citrus and a slight white pepper on the back
Tasted with dark chocolate – did not add anything to the flavor and seemed to mute it quite a bit.

Jameson

Type – Blended Irish Whiskey; the whiskey is a blend from both column and pot stills.
Distillation – Triple Distilled
Proof – 80
Age – Non-age statement (NAS)
Price Paid – $28.98
Color – light gold

Aroma – tea, floral, light spice, herbs
Taste – citrus – perhaps grapefruit, herbal, light spices, somewhat floral.
Tasted with dried cranberry – a pop of citrus came through with some pepper on the finish.
Tasted with a pecan – citrus again but the pepper is gone.
Tasted with dark chocolate – not much difference except there is white pepper on the finish.

Ha’Penny

Type – Unsure
Proof – 86
Age – Non-age statement (NAS) blend of 4–10-year-old whiskies from four types of barrels… Bourbon, Port, Sherry and Double Charred. 
Price Paid – $54.99

Color – light gold
Aroma – honey, chocolate, dates, vanilla
Taste – grain, dates, clove, berries, chocolate, cinnamon.
Tasted with dried cranberry – a lot of citrus with the cranberry.
Tasted with a pecan – chocolate, similar to a chocolate covered orange.
Tasted with dark chocolate – no change, did not enhance or detract.

Redbreast 12 Year

Type – Pot Still Irish Whiskey; Denotes it was made from malted and un-malted barley and distilled only in a pot still.
Distillation – Triple Distilled
Proof – 80
Age – 12 years
Price Paid – $73.99

Color – light gold
Aroma – brown sugar, herbal, light spice, fruit
Taste – tea, citrus, maybe lemon tea, fruit, spicy notes, some toasted flavors.
Tasted with dried cranberry – not a lot of change but somewhat of a bubbly mouth fee.
Tasted with a pecan – adds a note of chocolate.
Tasted with dark chocolate – almost added the zest of a lemon or orange.

Discussion and Final Notes

**Bushmills: Clean, crisp, citrus, easy to drink, readily available, only $25.
**Tulamore: Nice, citrus, spice, vanilla, honey, earthy, easy to drink, readily available, only $25.
**Jameson: Good, grapefruit, herbal, light spices, somewhat floral, easy to drink, readily available, under $30.
**Ha’Penny: Very good, grain, dates, clove, berries, chocolate, cinnamon, smooth to drink, haven’t seen it in bars or prevalent in liquor stores (we acquired it on our Town Branch Distillery visit), a bit higher price point at $55.
**Redbreast: Excellent, tea, citrus, maybe lemon tea, fruit, spicy notes, some toasted flavors, very pleasant drink, readily available, highest price point at $74 but it is a 12-year-old.

Recommendations
All of these are good pours of Irish Whiskey. If you just want to shoot a few on St. Patty’s Day, we recommend going with any of the lower priced items. If you want to drink it neat and seek to acquire more of a taste for Irish Whiskey, Red Breast 12-year-old was the standout for this particular lineup.

Cheers,
Rebecca

Photos by Rebecca Herman McBrayer

NOTE: The whiskeys in this review were purchased by us. We were not compensated by the spirit producers for this review. This is simply our opinion based on what we tasted on this day. Please drink responsibly.