Expert: Paul Wagner - 2/6/2011

Question
I'm sure you've heard a story like this before. Grand father passes away and has bottle of whisky....We'll the interesting twist to my story is there are 4 bottles that were gift wrapped in there boxes and placed in the very back of a deep cabinet (3 feet deep). Left forever... Now before you say it, yes I plan to drink one, absolutely in honor of the whole family. Now I know these bottles are at lease 1950's or possibly older, but I can't date them as there isn't a date anywhere on the box, labels, or seal. I'm looking for a little help. They are in excellent condition and bottles are still wrapped in brown tissue paper twisted at the top. I have a link to pictures from just one bottle we took out of its box and can send more if needed. Don't be fooled by the condition as no light has hit these bottles for 50 years and they have been stored at consistent temperatures from 50-65 There is no date anywhere on these bottles so just not sure if they are in fact from 1930, but look just like the one on whisky exchange and others sites.

Hope someone can help unwrap the mystery year and estimate price.
Here is the link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39827739@N06/5418024435/

Cheers,
Jay

Answer
HI Jay

That's a good story!

But here's the bottom line:  Distilled spirits like this are so high in alcohol that they don't change much in the bottle, for better or worse.  The good news is that this should be perfectly good to drink.  The bad news is that it won't have appreciated in value the way some fine wines do.  This is worth just about as much as a current bottling of the same stuff.

You might try contacting the guys at antiquebottles.com  They are very nice people, and it's possible the that bottle itself will have more value than the liquid inside.  They're the ones who could tell you that.   

Sorry that I can't give you more exciting news.

Paul Wagner