Oh Taste & See: Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Bourbon

I have accumulated a few bottles recently that warrant review, so without further ado I'll jump right into the first one: Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Bourbon. The Old Fitzgerald lineup of bourbons is made by Heaven Hill Distilleries, the maker of Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Henry McKenna, etc. Old Fitz is an old name that's a fairly common bargain brand in some areas (I picked up this bottle in Chicago for about $15) and almost unheard of in others - I don't think I've ever seen it in PA, NJ, or DE for example.

The entire Old Fitz lineup, which includes at least four variants, is made with a 'whisper of wheat' instead of using rye as the secondary grain. As with most wheated bourbons you should expect a somewhat lighter, smoother-drinking bourbon as compared to bourbons made with rye. Other wheated bourbons include Maker's Mark, the Weller lineup from Buffalo Trace Distillery, and the much-hyped Pappy Van Winkle bourbons.

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Oh Taste & See: Henry McKenna Sour Mash Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Fact: Henry McKenna is not a top shelf bourbon. It sells for about $18 for a one liter bottle (750mL bottles are hard to find and come in around $15), and it doesn't even get its own website (or Wikipedia entry!), settling for a short blurb on Heaven Hill's corporate site. Judging just by the bottle though, Henry McKenna is intriguing, and given its price it seemed worth trying when I picked up a bottle a while back. My bottle has been almost emptied after much use as a mixer for whiskey sours, Manhattans and bourbon & cokes, so it seems like a straight tasting is in order before it's all gone.

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