Sips & Sites & Bites

There’s something especially fitting about a legendary bourbon release arriving just in time for summer celebrations, backyard cookouts, National Bourbon Day, and America’s birthday. This year, Old Fitzgerald is doing it in unforgettable fashion.

The storied wheated bourbon brand has announced a remarkable charity auction featuring three ultra-rare bottles pulled from the personal archives of Heaven Hill Executive Chairman Max Shapira. Known as the Old Fitzgerald Archival Collection, the trio spans decades of whiskey history … from pre-Prohibition craftsmanship to modern collector’s treasures.

The headline bottle is a jaw-dropping 1934 Old Fitzgerald 18-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon that was originally distilled in 1917, right before Prohibition reshaped American whiskey forever. It’s the kind of bottle whiskey fans dream about … a true time capsule from another era.

Joining it are a 1965 Very Xtra Old Fitzgerald 10-Year-Old from the famed Stitzel-Weller years and a 2015 John E. Fitzgerald Very Special Reserve 20-Year-Old, one of only 3,000 bottles ever released. Together, the collection tells the story of how Old Fitzgerald has evolved while remaining one of bourbon’s most respected names.

Even better, the auction benefits a good cause. Proceeds will support Bernheim Forest and Arboretum, the beautiful 16,000-acre Kentucky forest founded by whiskey pioneer Isaac Wolfe Bernheim.

The bottles will head to auction through Sotheby’s during its online Whisky & Whiskey sale running June 11-26, giving collectors and bourbon lovers a rare shot at owning a piece of American whiskey history.

And for those of us who won’t be bidding six figures on vintage bourbon this summer? Old Fitzgerald’s Bottled-in-Bond 7-Year-Old is a much easier way to toast both National Bourbon Day and the Fourth of July … preferably with good friends, smoked barbecue, and a little extra appreciation for the spirit that helped shape America.