Expert: Paul Wagner - 9/6/2007

Question
i have found a unopened full pint of I.W. Harper Whiskey. it still has the metal protector over the top of the glass bottle with most of the label over that attached. minor twisting damage to the label. it was orginally made in 1917 and bottled in 1933. the front label clearly says "16 years old" it was bottled at Distillery bonded warehouse No. 368, 5th Dist. of Ky. Manufactured before Sept. 8, 1917. Once again this bottle is unopened but appears that the alcohol in the bottle comes up to the words "full pint" on the back of the bottle.
how much is this worth?  

Answer
Hi Jason

The Whisky itself won't be worth much--it doesn't change over time the way wine does, because the alcohol levels are too high.  So it probably is perfectly fine to drink---but not of value to a connoisseur.

On the other hand, the bottle itself might be interesting to bottle collectors.  The fact that it was made BEFORE Prohobition, and the sold AFTER Prohibition was repealed, is quite unusual.  

I would reach out for a bottle collector or two.  There is a great website here:

http://www.antiquebottles.com/

I am not an expert on bottles, just drinks, but I hope that helps.

Paul Wagner