Expert: Paul Wagner - 1/17/2010

Question
how can you determine age of a bottle of Chivas?

Answer
Hi Jack

Distilled spirits like this are so high in alcohol that they don't change much over time in the bottle.  That's why they are not vintage dated or marked in any way on the bottle.  Unless you can de-code the bottling numbers (which are intentionally confusing) you won't be able to date this bottle very accurately.  

The good news is that yours should be fine to drink.  The bad news is that it won't have appreciated in value the way some fine wines do.  I'd estimate yours at about what a current bottling of similar product might sell for:  about $50 a bottle. If you really don't want to drink it, I would recommend trading it in to a retailer for something you might prefer to drink.

Sorry that I don't have more exciting news for you.

Paul Wagner