Old whiskey

BaijPole

Six Pointer
My aunt found this unopened bottle In her closet. Old W. L. Weller Special Reserve original sour mash 7 year. Anyone have any info on it? If she wanted to sell it what would she even ask for, 50? 500? No idea here. Any info appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • 7A9BEC50-C063-419D-B9C9-85D18340445A.jpeg
    7A9BEC50-C063-419D-B9C9-85D18340445A.jpeg
    237.1 KB · Views: 130

Firedog

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
This is a Goshen question. It appears that Buffalo Trace is the distillery of that brand today. No idea how old that bottle is based on what I can see of it.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Call them they may still have records for the batch.
That was a batch like they do today and put your name on it.
Several let you buy into the cask and they add your name to the label.

Very cool find.
 

witler

Eight Pointer
Saw a tv show on whiskey once, I remember them saying that once it leaves the barrel the aging stops, whiskey is not like wine. In this case it is still only 7 yr. old whiskey in an old bottle, the bottle may be worth more than the contents.
 

Firedog

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Saw a tv show on whiskey once, I remember them saying that once it leaves the barrel the aging stops, whiskey is not like wine. In this case it is still only 7 yr. old whiskey in an old bottle, the bottle may be worth more than the contents.

That is correct, however, as with most things, methods and materials change over time so it may very well be that how and where it was made makes it a better 7 year than one that was bottled yesterday.
 

thandy

Ten Pointer
Found several quarts of moonshine a few weeks ago going through, well going through some stuff, found some from as far back as 1970. I brought home a half gallon from 1999 and boy is that some strong stuff!
 

Tipmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
Saw a tv show on whiskey once, I remember them saying that once it leaves the barrel the aging stops, whiskey is not like wine. In this case it is still only 7 yr. old whiskey in an old bottle, the bottle may be worth more than the contents.

Usually its because you can't easily get that particular bottle of 7 yr old spirit is why its more expensive.
 

Smitty

Six Pointer
Found several quarts of moonshine a few weeks ago going through, well going through some stuff, found some from as far back as 1970. I brought home a half gallon from 1999 and boy is that some strong stuff!
Sharing is caring...

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Hydrometer don’t lie.
Sure they do, results from an alcoholmeter are just estimates. And to do 140 on the first run it would have to be a small closed system (like on a stovetop) that produces only one or two gallons at a time, not the typical illicit distillery in the woods or a barn. There would be no money to be made for a commercial bootlegger to go the extra time and trouble to produce 70 percent alcohol.

Edited to add: When I get a chance will post some distillery pictures to this thread so you can see what I'm talking about.
 
Last edited:

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
It can be done in large scale.....but the economics of it would not make it worthwhile. You would only get the 140+ on the first bit of it. You wouldn’t get that as an average over a whole run. With a thump keg and a very slow run with low heat, you could definitely make something that would average at 100-110 proof before proofing.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
140 can be done with a basic pot still and a thump keg.

Go into a stairstep still and you can see very high amounts. That’s mostly for folks making fuel for remote control cars though.
 

stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
It can be done in large scale.....but the economics of it would not make it worthwhile. You would only get the 140+ on the first bit of it...140 can be done with a basic pot still and a thump keg.
You would definitely not get 140 on the "first bit" of it. Bootleggers refer to the first and last parts of the run as "low wine", it proofs much lower than the main part of the run. The low wine is set aside and later mixed with the higher proof liquor for consistency.

A "thump keg" aka "thumper" or "doubler" is nothing unusual and found on most illicit distilleries, and does not increase the proof unless a second source of heat is applied directly to it, which would be an unusual set up. The "thump keg" you refer to is simply intended to collect the "slops" or any liquid that spills over with the vapor, and is so named because of the thumping noise it makes when running hot. I have heard it many times.
 
Last edited:
Top