Expert: Paul Wagner - 7/29/2006

Question
Hi, Paul.  I recently found an unopened, 1 quart bottle of Seagrams in my parent's closet.  It has a sticker on top with a serial number H3936990 and is dated 1967.  Do you think this has any value beyond it's original cost?

Answer
HI Dan:

The good news is that distilled spirits are so high in alcohol that they don't really change over time--this bottle should be pretty much as good as it was the day it was bottled.  The bad news is that distilled spirits don't really improve with age in the bottle, either.  So it should be pretty much as good as the day it was bottled!

A quick check of e-bay shows a few of these, the least expensive is currently selling for less than $10, and a bottle of Crown Royal from 1964 is at about $50.  

But the whiskey should be fine.  Why not just open it on a special occasion, and toast the many years between when that bottle was made and your life today?  

Paul Wagner