whiskey id - identify vintage and collectible bourbon and rye bottles (2024)

FAQs

Are old bottles of bourbon worth anything? ›

Their value depends on condition, who distilled and bottled the whiskey inside, the brand name itself, and other factors. Most medicinal whiskey pints sell within the hundreds depending on condition, over $1000 for rarer bottles, and even more for very sought after editions.

On the bottom of many glass bottles, you will find a two-digit embossed number which corresponds to the ending two digits in the four digit year 99 would be 1999, 01 would be 2001. This number is often located in the lower right region of the base of the bottle.

In this format, the first number is the glassmaker's permit to make liquor bottles, and the second number is the year the bottle was made.

Most bottle manufacturers molded the year into the glass at the bottom of the bottle in 2-digit format. You'll often find it in the lower right portion when looking at the bottom (some dates are much easier to distinguish than others). This will usually tell you–within a year or two–when the whiskey was bottled.

Some of the items that can make a bottle more valuable include original labels, wrappings, boxes or even the original contents of the bottle. Once you have assessed your bottle based on its color, age and accessories, you must consider its condition.

To find the markings, examine the bottle carefully. The side of the bottle may be printed with the product or manufacturer's name, and this can be helpful in identifying your find. Also turn the bottle over. Many bottles have marks on the bottom, and these are important signatures of bottle manufacturers.

You'll find a series of symbols, letters and numbers. Those numbers, letters and symbols – also called a bottle code — are the clues about where that glass container was made.

AB (connected) mark on antique glass bottles. Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Company (1886-c.1921) and/or the American Bottle Company (1905-1929) Most of the bottles with the “AB-connected” or “conjoined AB” mark embossed on the bottom are handmade (mouth-blown) and were made to contain beer.

The strength of a bourbon is indicated by its percentage of alcohol by volume, or ABV, which is always half of its indicated “proof.” Thus, a 98.6 proof bourbon like Blood Oath Pact No. 4 is 49.3 percent ABV. Bourbon can range from 40 to 80 percent ABV, or 80 to 160 proof.

How much is a 100 year old bottle of whiskey worth? ›

This 100-Year-Old Bottle of Whiskey Can Be Yours for Just $17,000.

The age of a whisky is the time from when it is first put in a cask to when it is poured into a bottle; the number on the label refers to the youngest whisky in the final bottle.

200 Years of Bourbon Making History

Buffalo Trace is the oldest continuously operating distillery in America.

Most bottle brand companies give a flow rate name on the nipple, such as, 'preemie,' 'slow,' 'medium' or 'fast. ' Other brands give a flow rate number, such as 0, 1, 2 or 3. The names and numbers tell how fast the flow rate is. Almost every bottle brand attaches an age range to their flow rate.

Visit an online database.

Look for online databases that offer pricing information for your item. Use your preferred search engine, type in your item, and then include the word database. For instance, if you search “antiques database” there are many results that list prices of collectibles.

Most collectible bottles are over 10 years old and value usually increases with the age of the whisky. Whisky over 30 years old is the most sought after as it is the rarest. Any whisky bottled at over 50 years old is highly desirable and a very limited number of distilleries have released whisky over 50 years old.

The Punt Makes It Easier To Hold A Wine Bottle.

If you grab your wine bottle from the bottom, it's no surprise that the punt is present, acting as a spot to place your thumb while the rest of your fingers grab the base of the bottle.

Why is there a number on the bottom of my glass? ›

Those numbers would serve to identify a particular bottle style in communications/orders between the glass manufacturer and their customers ……. that is, the companies who ordered the bottles to package their products. Some numbers were factory location codes.

The iridescence is produced when alkalis, or soluble salts, are leached from the buried glass by slightly acidic water present in the soil. This in turn causes the formation of very fine layers which can delaminate or even flake off creating a prism effect.

First off, you might be asking yourself, "What is a bottle code?", and "What do the numbers in the code stand for?" What we refer to as a 'bottle code' is really a 'lot code'. It is a set of alphanumeric characters attached to each bottle, identifying the time and date each respective bottle is filled.

A camera window will open and scan the QR code of the sticker attached on the cap. -If the barcode scanner fails to read, you will have to type the serial number. It should be less than 28 digits.

They often were stamps that looked like the state issuing them and were applied to the bottle, usually on the shoulder of the bottle near the neck. Tax stamps went out of use after the government deregulated the industry in 1984.

Bottles with these diagnostic mold seams in evidence were made by either semi-automatic or fully automatic bottle machines and virtually always date after ~1900 (for wide mouth bottles and jars) and after ~1910 for narrow bore bottles (Miller & McNichol 2002).

Solarization of Glass

It is a photochemical phenomenon that is not yet perfectly understood. It is generally accepted that the ultra-violet light initiates an electron exchange between the manganese and iron ions. This changes the manganese compound into a form that causes the glass to turn purple.

The shelf life of bourbon isn't much different from the shelf life of whiskey, as a whole. Unopened, a bottle of bourbon won't go bad. You can store it for decades. But once a bottle of bourbon is opened, it's got roughly 1 to 2 years before it goes bad.

50-year-old whisky is almost the holy grail in spirits terms. Very few casks of whisky will reach 50 years old and still be drinkable, representing a tiny, tiny fraction of a percent.

Yes, bourbon can be too old to drink. If it has been exposed to oxygen, light, or heat, it may have gone bad. The flavor of the whiskey may also be affected. However, if it has remained unopened and stored in a cool, dry place it will last for decades.

How much is a 20 year old bourbon? ›

The 2022 release of Michter's 20 Year is bottled at a fierce but not frightening 114.2 proof, and the SRP is listed at $1,200.

Some alcohol, like wine, gets better in the bottle over time, but this isn't true for all types of booze, including whiskey. Unopened whiskey can last indefinitely, but a bottle that has been opened will eventually expire due to oxidation.

Whisky lasts indefinitely. So even if you have an unopened bottle from the '70s, it can still be opened and consumed a decade from now. It may slightly change its taste over time, but it won't spoil. Some whisky houses put a “best by” on the bottle, but that's usually just for formality.

This 100-Year-Old Bottle of Whiskey Can Be Yours for Just $17,000.

There's one more thing worth knowing – it's extremely unlikely that it will actually go bad. If you will store it properly, it will be fine for many many years. Even after opening the bottle it still can be stored for a long time and will remain safe to drink.

Only an infinitesimal number of special barrels have gone the distance of 50 years, and their rarity and longevity always command top dollar. Current offerings of 50 year old scotch, like Dalmore, can cost as much as $60,000 a bottle, making others, like Benromach, look like a veritable bargain at $14,500.

Carbon 14 dating, carried out in conjunction with the University of Georgia, indicated the bourbon was likely produced between 1762 and 1802, around the time of the Revolutionary War and the Whiskey Rebellion, officials said. It's not clear where it was produced.

Canapés darted around the room on silver platters; black ties and the occasional ascot dotted the crowd. The guests were gathered for one purpose: to sample the imminent release of James Thompson & Brother Final Reserve. At 45 years old, it was billed as the oldest bourbon ever brought to bottle.

Mortlach 1939

When it was released in 2010, the Mortlach 1938 was the longest aged whisky the world ever sipped. Distillers Gordon & MacPhail then broke their own record with Mortlach 75 Year Old, a Scotch Whisky aged for three quarters of a century. It was well received by most, though maybe somewhat hyperbolically.

What is the number 1 bourbon in the world? ›

So, even though Jack Daniel's is technically bourbon, since it considers itself a Tennessee Whiskey, that leaves Jim Beam the worldwide leader in the bourbon category.

Here are 10 great whiskey bottles you can invest in right now: Bowmore 'Black Bowmore' The Last Cask 50-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky ($133,118) Old Rip Van Winkle 25-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey ($55,165) Karuizawa Ruby Geisha 38-Year-Old Single Malt Japanese Whisky ($47,904)