Expert: Paul Wagner - 4/5/2009

Question
Hi Paul,
I have an unusual bottle of Irish Mist Liqueur. The bottle has never been open and is a product of Ireland.  It has some kind of red seal, with a bird standing on one leg, and has MacLiamArd underneath that, made of plastic and glued on the front of bottle.  The bottle itself says product of Ireland.  On the back it says, "manufactured and bottled by The Irish Mist Liqueur Company, Tullach MHOR, Offaly, Ireland. There is also a stamped number (502691910)on the seal at the top of the bottle from Heublein Inc. Hartgord,CT. Is this bottle worth anything?  I've never seen any Irish Mist like this.
Sincerely,
Vintage Diane

Answer
HI Diane

Liqueur's like this are so high in alcohol that they don't change much over time.  The good news is that this bottle is probably perfectly good to drink--but it won't have appreciated much in value, either.  Based on the liquid inside, it's worth about what a currently bottling would bring.

But that's based on the beverage, not on the bottle.  I don't know as much about bottles, but the guys at antiquebottles.com are great about helping people out with this kind of information--and you may even see a similar bottle there.

Hope that helps.

PauL Wagner