Expert: Paul Wagner - 6/18/2007

Question
My brother is trying to find the value of a 1/2 gallon bottle of Courvoisier VS Cognac he purchased in 1969.  The bottle apparently sits in a Civil War caisson type holder and is in mint condition/unopened.  Are you familiar with this and/or the value.  Would it be drinkable at this time?  I could try to get more information if you need it.

Answer
HI Cheryl

Distilled spirits have such a high level of alcohol that they don't change much with age.  This won't have improved any in the bottle, but it also won't have suffered any damage, either.  It should be pretty much as good today as it was 30 years ago.  So the Cognac is good--and the value of the Cognac is about what it was back them...maybe a bit more.  I would estimate that at about $100.

But the packaging is something else entirely.  I am not an expert of bottle collecting or memorabilia, but some of these old packages are worth far more than the liquid inside.  You might try a website like this one to get a value for the bottle:

http://www.antiquebottles.com/

I hope that helps.  Good luck!

Paul Wagner