Spring vs Fall Old Fitzgerald; Ep. 47

Daniel AI: Welcome to Bourbon Brass and Beyond. Tonight, Dan is joined again by Nick and we continue with a Heaven Hills journey. We taste the old Fitzgerald 10-year spring decanter versus the 11-year fall decanter. Wait until you hear this one. Thanks for watching. Once again, thank you to Nick for sharing his bottles. See him on Instagram. Nick from 330. Please leave a comment or review.

Dan, Nick, And Bob: Welcome back. We are still here. are continuing on with our Heaven Hills journey for the night. Yeah. We just did the Elijah Craig stuff, the 15 and 18. So now we're going to compare a spring and a fall release, the 10 and 11 year of the old Fitzgerald decanters. I have a 2023 spring release and you have a 2025 fall release. That's a fresh crack. Yeah, that's a fresh one. That was out of the spring surprise drop that nobody ever knows anything about. Right. Nobody would have any indication that it's going to happen. None whatsoever. Just happened to be sitting in the parking lot for a few hours. Yeah. If you happen to be at Chellet for a King of Kentucky. that somehow everybody knew there was exactly, what was it, five? Five bottles? actually couldn't be there that day. Well, couldn't either. I was ⁓ rotting in Rochester, New York, but... These pour so much better. There's no drips on these bottles with these decanters. ⁓ really? They pour so much better. Well, that's what said. I have not had a decanter from the old series, so it's good to know. I mean, I... I have a nasty habit of always getting drips. was, well, I poured you some samples, know, some little favors to bring over and whenever I'm doing that, yeah, it's a mess. So. Yeah, so this is the 10 year old Fitz. How did you come across this one? This is the 2023? Yeah, so actually. I bought that one in London. Oh, OK. Steph and I went to Wimbledon last year. Oh, that's right. I think you did tell. Yeah. It turned into the best bourbon shopping trip of my life. I think there was another. Yeah, there was. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. I remember that story now. Yes. I had a Blanton's Gold. had. Oh, I came home with a number of things. Yeah, I do remember on the 23. Well, Yeah, I didn't know that was part of that trip. Oh boy, that's good. That's got a great nose. Nice, sweet, floral, fruity. A little bit of just a hair citrus, but I want to say like a raspberry. don't know. That's just so nice. Cherry. I was going to say, yeah, for me, I think, yeah, maybe a little bit of that. Maybe cherry. Definitely the floral. The floral is right there up front. a little bit of that cherry. Yeah. All right, cheers. Cheers. you You don't get as much fruit, think, on the palette. I agree. But you get that nice... see the finish is really nice, ⁓ You get that caramel finish that just keeps going. I was just going to say that that finish is reminds me of like that the caramely finish on the 18 where it almost the Elijah Craig 18. Yeah. A bit of that sweetness. You know, almost turns to that caramel and then little. God, it's actually that reminds me a lot of the 18 on the finish. That little bit of nuttiness comes out on the finish for me. But. But yeah, I agree. don't think it's as viscous though. No, definitely not. Definitely a little bit of a lighter, lighter mouth feel. And that could be the softer, the softness from the wheat. I'm thinking. Yeah, that's true. That is a good point because yeah, we're switching. Switching to a wheater. You don't have that baking spice finish. You don't have that peppery finish at all. No. No, that is interesting though because You're right, know, Wheaters versus what we were just looking at before with the Elijah Craig 15 and 18. And I get that very similar finish as the 18, but it is softer, a little bit. Second sip, I'm getting more of that like cherry cola flavor. Yeah, I can see that. Kind of in the middle. Is that where you? Yeah, I can see that. It almost reminds me, which we were talking about earlier this morning, the River, the full-proof wheated. I thought there was a big kind of cherry cola note that came out in that one as well. I get it quite as pronounced here, but yeah, it does kind of remind me. On the wheated, the Green River, that's, for me, that was the dominating flavor. So yeah, it does remind me that a little bit. but it finishes very similar for me personally to that Elijah, Elijah Craig 18. Yeah. That's a great bottle. Yeah. It does have that soft, that, you know, you on a wheater. And I, I prefer wheaters I love, I love a good wheater. Yeah. Yeah. Some people were more rye prone. I get a lot of the, baking spice in the ryes that Maybe I just have a softer palette, but. Well, I was looking at trying to see your little sample selection because I do think I maybe gave you. I'm trying to remember it was that ever north spirits. The yes, that one. Yeah, so that's a it's a 12 year MGP 95 five. And then I did. I do have another one from Dark Arts. I didn't bring you that one today, so I'll have to bring you that next time. saw you. Yeah. Have that one. Well, so, this is a barrel pick. Okay. from Cleveland barrel hunter. Yes. Okay. That's, ⁓ I seeing it on, ⁓ on channel. Yeah. ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ But yeah, your point, I think maybe if you haven't had a lot of those, ⁓ maybe a little higher age stated ryes because I, the same thing for rye with me for a long time, I thought, this is not really for me. I've to really love a 95, five MGP that's got some age on it. But. Well, I think one of my favorites I've, I found it, this is Steph's favorite is the, the Jefferson presidential year rye. Yeah. That was phenomenal. Well, and that's obviously. Not MGP, but sticks with... For me personally, I tend to like that rye once it gets to at least 10 and above and... The scuttlebutt on that is it's pre-fire heaven hill. Okay. Interesting. Yeah. Well, I'm sure at some point... I'll bring it out. I'll let you do the honors. Yeah. Thank you. That's a new one. Oh no. Did I get you No, that was my... No, here. I'll grab one over here. just had to wash all the glasses last night. I know, you know, and the last time I came over and did a podcast together, I liked caddy you there. And I'm like, I've been meaning to get one of those for a while. And so I did, so I did get one for the to have down in the basement as well. But yeah, so this was the... Fall, I don't know if we said fall, spring, was yours a spring? Mine's a spring, yours is Okay, spring 23, so yeah, fall 25, and this is the 11. And that's the colors too, right? The black label is the fall, the green label is the spring, the red label is the VVS. Okay, yeah, you know what? I did remember that on the VVS, but yeah, that totally skipped my brain. Yeah, you're right. Wow. I mean, it shouldn't be that different age-wise or... No, only one year. Very different notes though, so far. That's why I'm like, ⁓ wow. I feel like the nose on it is thick. Yeah, you know, it's funny because like you said, only one year difference, 10 versus 11. The 11, the nose almost reminds me similar to that Elijah Craig 15. There's, you know, there's a ⁓ it's sweet candy, caramely candy. It does have a sweet, yeah, the 10 was a little bit more floral on the nose. Yeah, a little bit sweeter nose here. And you got to wonder, because yeah, it had one more summer. So it had the one more of the out into the wood. Yeah. I'm pulling those flavors out. wouldn't think, you know, a year in Kentucky is very different than a year in Texas, right? So you might not think one year is that big a difference, but that's ⁓ interesting to see how it takes because two very different noses. So here we go. Okay. There's grape. That is a lot more viscous than 10 was. Still not, you know, not, it's not it's thick, but. like that grape soda, like that grape pop, you know, or Fanta. Like a Fanta. That's what I say. Yeah, like a Fanta. Mmm. right. Yeah, I like that. Yeah, I think I get a little bit more of the. Similar finish but maybe a little bit more kind of baking spice on the back end for me personally, but but yeah, definitely a little bit of that maybe grape is maybe right way to Describe it I don't think I've ever had grape on the finish. ⁓ No, no. that's where I'm getting it. Yeah strange. Normally you can get it on the finish. ⁓ Yeah See, I get the grape a little bit earlier on, but... I'm getting, I think I'm getting the grape on the tip of the tongue, but then after you drink it, then it reappears. It's just sticking around. Yeah. Oh, okay. All right. that's good. ⁓ like the nose a little bit more on the 11. What do you think about the mouth feel viscosity? It seems very different than a 10, right? It's yeah. And even, you you can really see some legs on that glass. these are both the exact same proof. Yeah, yeah, they're 100 proof. That is so weird. Hell, I'm wondering if that's the difference between the fall and the spring. Which is the interesting. Yeah, because so I guess if you're if this was a spring 23, I know like on the top. Well, yeah, so I guess they would have bottled it springtime. And then yeah, if it's a fall, gets that, you know, one extra summer to through. It is wild how ⁓ year can really change that. ⁓ Hmm. Wow, that's great. That is a classic wheater almost reminiscent a Stitzel Weller. Yeah, I would say that that doesn't taste a whole lot like a lot of current wheaters that are. I would say it's similar to a William LaRue Weller. Well, sadly, it's been a little bit since I've tasted any of the new releases there, but. I think that, yeah, the last WLW I've tried, I don't have any bottles, but it might have been a 20. See, Bob has one and it's fantastic. Which one, you know which one it is? I want to say 23. I think the 23 would have been the last one maybe that I've tried, maybe. We did it in one of our podcasts. And that was honestly one of the that's what I got that that. Yeah. Grape soda that. I'll I got a ton of grape on that one right there. Yeah. I love that. That's great. Yeah, both. very solid. Yeah, very. ⁓ Different, very different mouth fields for that one year, lot more viscosity on the 11. I don't even get that on the 11. Hmm So this is the 17. This would have been... glasses for this one. Spring of 22. So again, a spring bottle. See, I feel like this has a lighter nose than like the 10 year. think this has. More similar to the 10 than the 11. Yeah, I would agree with you. just a hair more oak, not much. Yeah. It's similar nose to the 10. Yeah, I would agree. Maybe a little bit more oaky. It's, I mean. Mouth feel much closer to the 10. That 11 is very viscous compared to the 17 and the 10. And I'm getting, not grape, I'm getting more like raisin flavors on the aftertaste, on the back end. Yeah, yeah, does. Wow, that's so interesting. think I need to find a couple more bottle hangers. Yeah, I know we're gonna have to get all, we're gonna need all the springs, all the falls. it has a very similar ⁓ feel and viscosity to the 10. I say, yeah, that nose, you do get a little bit more of that oakiness on the nose. Yeah, it's a lot less of that grape. I don't know that I would have personally picked raisin, but I don't know exactly what I'm trying to pick right there on the back end. I would say it's a mix between the grape and a dark cherry, like a Luxardo cherry or something like that. That's more where I would sit, a little bit darker than a raisin. maybe almost ⁓ ⁓ type, of molasses-y, ⁓ a bit more than... Hmm. It's so interesting though. The 17 nose reminded me a lot of the 10 nose. Yep. I think if I were to pick one that the 11, the fall 11, would, 11 here, I would pick. And that's hard because that's Yeah, mean, we're splitting hairs, right? You're splitting hairs. Which one is less fantastic than the other? Sure. The 10 almost for something that if you wanted that good classic wheater I Love the 11 the mouth the mouth feel on it though, right? It's almost like we talked about earlier today, right? We're talking about beam and I asked you, know you want me to bring you over a little pour of the the little book that I have the infinite to You hit or miss on beam and I said I like beam but I have to be in the mood for beam right where the 10 almost Like I could see myself drinking the 10 any day of the week. The 11, knowing it's got a little bit more of that viscosity to it, it's not something I'm just gonna sit down on the couch and throw on a football game and watch that. And the 17, oddly enough, almost lands in the middle of those for me of... It has a little bit more of that... that high end, little bit of extra viscosity over the 10, little bit extra flavor over the 10. The 11 oddly enough had kind of the most punch to me. Yeah, I would agree. And I have to think that it is that fall bottling versus the spring bottle. Yeah, that's true. I like you said, we went spring, fall, spring. So I think you're right. We need more bottles to compare it to this. Requires further tests to conclude whether the spring or the fall. Yeah. Yeah, I'm in for that. Yeah. yeah. Yeah, I think what we need to do is the the bone snapper. Okay, I guess if we have to. Yeah, since got on a rye discussion here. ⁓ Two clean glasses here. So this was picked by Jason from Cleveland Barrel Hunter. Thanks, Jason. it's a rye. Yeah, so remind me, I guess, the audience, give me a little recap on this one. This is a single barrel, but it is a double barrel. So they re-barrowed it. OK. Aged in months 99. So it was barreled November of 2017, bottled on February, 2026. So it's a nine. Okay. Yeah. It's distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, bottled in Indianapolis. So it's an MGP. I need a double-barreled rye. this was ⁓ barreled, but was barreled in, the secondary barrel was used, a Barton full proof barrels. Okay. Wheated full proof barrels. Interesting. Like I feel like the nose doesn't do the pallet justice. to be perfectly honest, the nose, was like, can't. The I was a bit confused. excited for MGP. That's where, yeah, sometimes you have to wipe your mind clear of what you think you have an idea. Something is going to be. I'm gonna have a drink of water just because that was really good, but I'm going to have to clean the power. Maybe not a bad idea. No, the nose, I... To be honest with you, the nose, I'm like, that really sticks out on the nose, but. having a sweet, sweet rye like that. that is a very. And I like, so I'm a wheater guy, so not a rye guy. So to have something like that, that's like, okay. No, there's, there's none of that, you know, right? We all at some point in our journey straight away from the rye because we think we don't like the spice that comes with it. None whatsoever there. Yeah. ⁓ A very different It is MGP, huh? might need a sample of this, OK. you to. does not drink like 124. Not at all. Not even close. See, we didn't even, you didn't even say that. And I just flipped the bottle over. No, does not drink like 124. It is very, very sweet upfront, which is so odd for a rye. And if you like a sweet wheater, that would definitely be a, you know, right? They talk about, Oh, this is a bourbon drinker's rye or, you know, that would definitely be a bourbon drinkers rye or even though we maybe have a preference but don't discriminate, you know, if you like waders, that's absolutely one that yeah, would like lot of sweetness upfront. No, that's, that's very good. I think that it's, I think I've evolved to the point where it's not that I don't like ryes now. It's that if I were to just want to sit and have a drink, I reach for a rye. Sure. Cause I don't want, I'm not reaching for the spice. like that nice, sweet, caramely, malty sometimes, you like I like chocolate milk milkshakes or I like, you know, that type of thing. But this really surprised me. No, that's very good. Yeah. And Jason did another pick. That was a River Roots. I think I that one. ⁓ Yeah. Now that takes this one up a notch. to the wheated side. Interesting. He released a new one and I think I got one because I think they sold out, but he just released a double-oaked River Roots wheated. Okay. Yeah. ⁓ fought rye thought, you know, I didn't. like it. think maybe the, some of those higher age, like we were talking about earlier, the 12 year, I'll get you a sample of that other Dark Arts, which was, I think at the time I bottled it, they had it at 13 and a half years, but the barrel had been sitting there for about a year. Right. maybe to- You're not going to change the label for that. No, exactly. They're not going to change the label, but Those might change your mind on something you may reach for when you just want to sit down and have a drink. But yeah, no, that's very good. Enjoyed that a lot. Yeah. Well, hey, thank you. Thank you for bringing that. I mean, that's, that's a find and the EC15 from earlier. mean, what a great night. Yeah, that's it. That was a great. Yeah. And that's what we love so much, right? Is that. Yeah, I wasn't even there for this and we talked about this earlier, right? But we have friends and we. sharing part is the fun, right? And so I was very excited to be able to get that, to be able to share it with, you know, a few of our our close friends and glad able to get on the channel, especially since the new release. And yeah. That's half the fun. Like we said this morning, just hanging out, talking and everybody gets to try a little bit of everything. Breakfast with your best friends. That's right. At the liquor store. Yeah. Six o'clock in the morning. Well, you were, I said eight. That's it. Eight o'clock. That's, that's my cutoff this morning. So. Well, I didn't think I'd be first. You know, I went, so I got up this morning and I was already up and I was posting the podcast from last night. first one from last night. saw it, know, because I was on the couch watching Jeopardy. Yeah. ⁓ I'm sitting there and I'm like, well, you know, Dunkin Donuts opens at 430. You do like your Dunkin? So if I can hit ⁓ at on the way, I'll just go over and, you know, ⁓ do social media stuff while I'm sitting there waiting. And I get there and nobody's there. There's one guy sleeping in a car. ⁓ I look, he's over, he's over. usually Blaine. Yeah. Yeah. Normally. Usually Blaine. But no, it was a guy that was, he ended up 10 minutes later getting out of his car to go to work at Giant Eagle. Oh, okay. All right. Yeah. All right. All right. Well, that works. Yeah. Well, usually, I mean, all on a red day and like, you know what? 830. I'll show up. I'll probably get one. I'll be good. I told you guys today, I'll show up at eight. If you guys are all going, I'll hang out for an hour. And it was a good thing I did because it was a light day. So, yeah, but that was the fun, right? We traded some samples and we get to catch up and then walk out of there happy. Pleasure. for coming. Looking forward to the next one. Like, share, please leave ⁓ reviews, comments. Go to our website www.BourbonBrassAndBeyond.com and leave a review. I didn't mention in the last one, is that a plug? Because I got a new hat today. Is that a plug for our merch? Yeah, right. Yeah. So we do have a hat. Buy the merch. Buy the merch. We've got shirts and stickers and all sorts of stuff. So please share as much as you can. We appreciate it. That helps. pay for bottles like this. I'll keep sharing no matter what. why. We'll do it. Once again, ⁓ Have a good night. Bye everybody.