Monthly Archives: August 2014

Middleton Golden Rye, Bonded, pint, 1917-1927

Distilled at the Van Hook Distillery, Harrison County, KY

Posted in Miscellaneous
Tags: 1927, bottled in bond, middleton, rye

Bourbon De Luxe Medicinal Bonded, pint, 1916-1932

This is a pint sold at a drug store during prohibition. These bottles came in cardboard boxes to make them more presentable at the pharmacy. Notice the very cool and unique “cap remover.”

Posted in Miscellaneous
Tags: 1932, bottled in bond, bourbon de luxe, prohibition

Old Taylor Medicinal Bonded, pint, 1917-1933

This is a pint sold at a drug store during prohibition. These bottles came in cardboard boxes to make them more presentable at the pharmacy.

Posted in Old Taylor
Tags: 1933, bottled in bond, bourbon, old taylor, prohibition

Old Overholt PA Rye, quart, 1934-1940

Posted in Old Overholt
Tags: 1940, bottled in bond, old overholt, pennsylvania, rye

B.P.R. Maryland Rye, Bottled in Bond, quart, 1937-1941

Posted in Miscellaneous
Tags: 1941, bottled in bond, bpr, maryland, rye

Bonded Beam, quart, 1938-1943

Posted in Jim Beam
Tags: 1943, bottled in bond, bourbon, jim beam

Yellowstone Bottled in Bond, Pint, 1963

Posted in Miscellaneous
Tags: 1963, bottled in bond, bourbon, yellowstone

Weller Special Reserve 6yr, 4/5qt, 1970

Posted in Weller
Tags: 1970, bourbon, stitzel weller, weller

Old Weller Original 7yr 107pf, pint, ~1970

Posted in Weller
Tags: 1970, bourbon, stitzel weller, weller

Old Fitzgerald Prime 86pf, 200ml – 6.8oz, late 1970s

Old Fitzgerald Prime 86 proof 200 ml – 6.8 fl.oz., circa late 1970’s. This bottle is sealed by a numbered red tax strip and stamp from the State of Wisconsin which establish the bottle as pre-July 1, 1985 or earlier. Dual-measure (standard/metric) date the bottle to the transition era, and absence of a UPC code more precisely date the bottle to 1980 or earlier. No apparent date reference can be found among the embossed text on the bottom of this bottle.

Posted in Old Fitzgerald
Tags: bourbon, old fitzgerald, prime

Old Rip Van Winkle 10yr 107pf Lawrenceburg, 1985

Posted in Old Rip Van Winkle
Tags: 1985, bourbon, old rip van winkle, stitzel weller

Old Fitzgerald Prime 80pf, 200ml, 1986

Old Fitzgerald Prime 80 proof 200 ml, circa 1986. What appears to be an ’86’ embossed on the bottom of the glass dates the bottle to 1986 or shortly thereafter. This bottle is sealed by what appears to be a numbered red tax strip, which is curious given that the red stamp requirement on all non-bonded liquor was repealed by the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984. ‘Faux’ unnumbered tax strip paper was used to tamper-seal some bottles into the 1990’s – in the case of Old Fitzgerald, at least until 1993.

Posted in Old Fitzgerald
Tags: 1986, bourbon, old fitzgerald, prime

Old Fitzgerald Prime 86pf, 200ml, 1987

Old Fitzgerald Prime 86 proof 200 ml, circa 1987. Note the prominence of the proof identification in large red numerals to the bottom right of the front label. Prime was released in many different expressions of varying proofs and occasional age statements, which at times was featured in this area of the label, which otherwise would depict the image of a still. This bottle is tamper-sealed by a faux, un-numbered red tax strip. An ’87’ embossed on the bottom the glass date the bottle to 1987 or shortly thereafter.

Posted in Old Fitzgerald

Old Rip Van Winkle 4yr 86pf 750ml Lawrenceburg, ~1988

This export bottle is marked 88 on the glass, but could have been bottled a year or two later.

Posted in Old Rip Van Winkle
Tags: 1988, bourbon, old rip van winkle, stitzel weller

Old Grand Dad 86pf, 375ml, 1989

Old Grand Dad 86 proof 375 ml, circa 1989. Note the UPC code, government warning, alcohol by volume reference and dot matrix code which establishes the bottle to at least November 1989. ‘F89′ text in the bottom left corner of the front label and a ’89’ embossed on the bottom of the glass likely dates the bottle to 1989 or shortly thereafter. This coupled with the red shield and 86259 in the UPC indicate the bottle likely holds the coveted whiskey from National Distillers.

Posted in Old Grand Dad
Tags: 1989, bourbon, national distillers, old grand dad

Rebel Yell 80pf Export, 700ml, 1990

You’ll notice this bottle has a confederate flag, which was not allowed on US-sold bottles by regulation.

Posted in Rebel Yell

Old Rip Van Winkle 15yr 750ml Lawrenceburg, ~1990

This is a very early Old Rip 15, from one of the first years it existed. Notice the faux tax strip and lack of government warning.

Posted in Old Rip Van Winkle
Tags: 1990, bourbon, old rip van winkle, stitzel weller

A.H. Hirsch 16yr Export, Dripping Gold Wax

Posted in A.H. Hirsch
Tags: ah hirsch, bourbon

Blanton’s Single Barrel, 750ml, 1992

Posted in Ancient Age - Buffalo Trace
Tags: 1992, blantons, bourbon, buffalo trace

Old Fitzgerald Bonded, 200ml, 1993

Old Fitzgerald bottled-in-bond 200 ml, circa 1993. Note the UPC, government warning, ABV reference and faux green tax strip. A ’93’ embossed on the bottom the glass date the bottle to 1993 or shortly thereafter. To the best of my knowledge, Old Fitzgerald discontinued use of the faux tax strip seals within a year or two of this bottling.

Posted in Old Fitzgerald
Tags: 1993, bottled in bond, bourbon, old fitzgerald

Wild Turkey 8yr, 1.75L, 1994

Posted in Wild Turkey
Tags: 1994, bourbon, wild turkey

Old Fitzgerald Prime 80pf, 750ml, 1994

Old Fitzgerald Prime 80 proof 750 ml, circa 1994. Note the UPC code, government warning and alcohol by volume reference which establishes the bottle to at least November 1989. A ’94’ embossed on the bottom of the glass likely dates the bottle to 1994 or shortly thereafter. An interesting detail to note is ‘inc.’ (incorporated) having been dropped from the Old Fitzgerald Distillery name around the 1994 timeframe, which further establishes the provenance of this bottle. The unique embossed diamonds on the shoulder of this bottle are typical of the ‘diamond neck’ bottle design distributed during the early 1990’s.

Posted in Old Fitzgerald
Tags: 1994, bourbon, old fitzgerald, prime

Old Rip Van Winkle 10yr 90pf Lawrenceburg, ~2000

Posted in Old Rip Van Winkle

Eagle Rare 10/101 “New Orleans” 1.75L

This bottle is odd in that the glass shows 2002, but labels had switch to Frankfort around 1999. The explanation is probably that they were using up old label stock, a provision allowed by the TTB.

Posted in Eagle Rare
Tags: 2002, bourbon, eagle rare, nola

George T. Stagg, 144.8pf – 2007

Posted in Buffalo Trace Antique Collection
Tags: 2007, bourbon, btac, buffalo trace, george t stagg

Willett 17yr Barrel 1598, 2008

Posted in Willett Family Estate
Tags: 2008, bourbon, willett

Four Roses OBSV Gift Shop OBSV 17yr, Barrel 73-3W, 2012

Starting in late 2011 and continuing into late 2012, Jim Rutledge selected some special barrels of 16 and 17 year old OBSV recipe bourbon for sale solely at the gift shop. While he generally prefers his bourbon to be aged 8-10 years, Jim believes this extraordinary batch may have been the result of a mutated batch of yeast. Some of this same whiskey also made its way into the Small Batch LE bottlings in 2012 and 2013.

Posted in Four Roses
Tags: 2012, bourbon, four roses

Willett 20yr Barrel C43A, 2014

Posted in Willett Family Estate
Tags: 2014, bourbon, willett

Monthly Archives: August 2014

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