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Next Auction starts Friday 29 March. Bottle Deadline: 18 March.

Old Fitzgerald '1849' Kentucky Straight Bourbon 2012

Lot: 281998

Old Fitzgerald '1849' Kentucky Straight Bourbon 2012

Winning Bid: £190

Currency Estimate

Important: Currency exchange rates are constantly changing; this feature is to be used as a guide price only. All final transactions occur in British Pounds (£).
Lot:
Distillery: 
Heaven Hill Bernheim
Age: 
n/a
Vintage: 
n/a
Region: 
Kentucky, USA
Bottler: 
Official
Cask Type: 
N/A
Bottled Strength: 
90 US Proof
Bottle Size: 
75cl
Distillery Status: 
Operational
product Details

Old Fitzgerald '1849' Kentucky Straight Bourbon 2012

Originally registered as "Jno. E. Fitzgerald," the Old Fitzgerald brand was devised by S.C. Hebst in 1870. Hebst was a rectifier by trade (using grain neutral spirit with colouring and flavourings to make "whiskey"), but he also had a passion for sourcing high quality barrels of pot still bourbon and rye, which he bottled as Jno. E. Fitzgerald. When the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 was passed, rectified whiskey fell out of favour and Hebst went into the distilling business, purchasing a distillery which he named Old Judge after his best-selling flagship brand. Old Judge did not survive Prohibition however, and Hebst sold the Old Fitzgerald brand for just $10,000 to a former customer, a certain Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle, who was sourcing label for his new Stitzel-Weller venture. Van Winkle had a near-religious belief in the importance of quality above all else in the bourbon he produced and under his guidance, Old Fitzgerald became and remains to this day, one of the most sought-after and respected labels in American whiskey. Stitzel-Weller was eventually shut down by United Distillers, and as their successor, Diageo, sold the Old Fitzgerald brand was sold to current owners, Heaven Hill.

While under his management, 'Pappy' Van Winkle refused to bottle Old Fitzgerald at anything less than the domestic requirement of 100 proof, set out by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. When he stepped back from management in 1964 however, the board put pressure on Julian II to meet the market demand for a lighter style product, and Old Fitzgerald Prime was launched later that year. This label was introduced in the early 1970s and is named 1849 after the year in which W.L. Weller & Sons was founded. This is the Heaven Hill version, distilled at Bernheim and bottled in 2012.

Bernheim is a historic Kentucky distillery. It was established by the Bernheim Brothers in the late 19th century, before passing into the hands of the Schenley company following the repeal of Prohibition. When Schenley were bought over by United Distillers in 1987, the distillery was rebuilt as the new owners looked to consolidate their production to a single facility. When United Distillers became Diageo in 1997, the new parent company were interested in bourbon, and sold the distillery to Heaven Hill. Heaven Hill were established in 1935, but their long-serving Bardstown distillery was lost in a devastating fire in 1996. Homeless for three years, the company acquired Bernheim in 1999, and have produced all of their whiskey there ever since.

This bottle is being sold from the Pat's Whisk(e)y private collection which, numbering in excess of 9,000 bottles and over 2,000 miniatures, is the single largest collection of whisky ever to be brought to auction. Pat's Whisk(e)y is the result of over fifteen years of passion and dedication to the goal of creating one of the most complete libraries of whisky and whiskey ever amassed by an individual collector. It contains bottles from over 150 different Scottish distilleries, as well as bourbon, rare Scotch releases from sought-after independent bottlers in Europe, and whisky from other distilleries across the globe. Whisky Auctioneer is delighted to have partnered with Pat's Whisk(e)y to offer this collection across a number of exclusive and spotlight auctions. For more information, please click here.

Important Notice

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Please note: Due to the various ages of bottles and their seals, condition of liquid is at the buyer's discretion and no claim can be lodged against failure/leakage in transit.