Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon Quart Stitzel-Weller Made in Spring 1973 Bottled in Fall 1979

Distilled Spring 1973. Bottled Fall 1979. Quart format. Bottled-in-Bond. Stitzel-Weller. Old Fitzgerald — a 6-year wheated bourbon in the quart bottle format, produced at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, Kentucky and bottled one year after the distillery passed from Van Winkle family ownership into the Norton Simon era.

The Spring 1973 distillation date places this bottle in the first full year of post-Van Winkle production at Stitzel-Weller — the Van Winkle family sold the distillery in 1972. The 1979 bottling follows the Bottled-in-Bond protocol precisely: distilled in one season (Spring 1973), bottled exactly 6 years later (Fall 1979), at 100 proof, from a single distillery and single season's production.

The quart format (approx. 946ml) was standard for Bottled-in-Bond bourbon in the mid-20th century and is now itself a collectible format marker, producing larger bottles that are increasingly rare to find intact over 45 years from original bottling.

Specs

• Distillery: Stitzel-Weller Distillery, Shively, Kentucky
• Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond, Wheated
• Distilled: Spring 1973
• Bottled: Fall 1979
• Age: 6 years
• Proof: 100 (50% ABV)
• Format: Quart

Browse all rare spirits at Wooden Cork or explore the full Old Fitzgerald collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What era of Stitzel-Weller production does the Spring 1973 date represent? The first full production year after the Van Winkle family sold Stitzel-Weller in 1972 — early Norton Simon era production, one year into the post-founding-family ownership period.