50 year old whiskey

At least I guess it is about 50 years old. My late grandfather got a bottle, giftwrapped, sometime during the 1950's (or maybe the 1940's), and I just re-discovered it the other day. Still in its giftwrap. Still sealed (if there is a date on the seal, it is long ago faded to illegible) and full.

Toss it?

Seagrams 7. One quart. Does that help?

Heck, I'd open it and at least try it before tossing it! :-)

Preparing to gag??!!!?? LOL I have had some bad experience with old wine, and do not want to repeat it with whiskey! Does whiskey go bad like wine can? Or just get more mellow

i would think that it would be better with age. may be worth some money if you didn;'t want to drink it yourself.

Ask Wintermoor!

Lupine,
I agree with farmgirl, the whiskey should be fine to drink, but a collector might be interested in it also. I wouldn't throw it away Yet!!!
Becky

when we moved into this family owned farm house it came with two wine barrels and lots of jugs of wine-some with corncobs for coarks-in high school maddog 20/20 cured me of ever drinking wine again!!! So my gf luved wine she tried it-smelled like whiskey to me-yuck-she drank every bottle we had in that ol cellar!!! lol lol

Id think the whiskey would stay good! lol@good
I cant drink beer-so in high school i was a JD girl!
**sometimes life can be so grand!!!

lupine, I bet it would be nice and mellow!

Please don't throw that away! That's now an Heirloom!
You should at least display it on your bookcase or sumpin'!

Whisky, or Whiskey does not change flavour or texture in the bottle as Cognac (or Brandy) does.

The Whiskey will taste as it should have 50 years ago.

Don't throw it away, there may be a number, or some other tell-tale sign, on the bottle, lable, or top, which is important for collectors.

I would either keep the bottle to eventually enjoy the Whiskey, or find out how much I can get for it if I should flog it off. Never throw Whiskey away.

All the best

Wintermoor

I just KNEW the thread topic would reel Wintermoor in!

(It got me!)

Right on 'Shoe ;-)

Just my subject .... *hic*

ô¿ô....
I 'member the first time I sampled whiskey...
'Twas up in the mountains at my GrandParents house. Big Rex and Granny (my GrandParents) had gone into town and left me and my two brothers to "see to ourselves". My brothers are both older than me. I believe I was about 6 or 7 at the time; they were probably 9 and 10 or so.
While poking around they "discovered" a few bottles in the kitchen, and then read the labels. I could read a little bit, but didn't know the definition of a lot of words.
Eventually, they enticed me into taking a sip of my GrandFathers "special"...why even Granny wasn't allowed to drink it (they said) cuz it was so special. Of course, me being the po-lite sort, I figgered if Granny can't have any then I probably can't either. However, after being jeered and called scaredy-cat, I decided to show my brothers how brave I was. Now, lemme tell ya sumpin. I had noticed that they didn't do any sampling, said they weren't brave enuff...so I thought I was extra brave to be willing to go first!
No cup for me. No sir. I took the bottle, my skinny arms held it up to my mouth, and took a nice slug. Before the bottle left my lips I realized "sumpin' ain't right here!"
There was a burning in my mouth! And a terrible flavor! Then a burning in my throat~! (Yep, I swallowed it!) My head started sweating. My lips had a life of their own and were curling up in an assortment of ways they had never done before. My eyes glassed over. My hearing must've been impaired also cuz I coulda swained I heard my brothers laughing at me. My stomach started feeling the warmth of that "juice" and I think that was about the time I heard myself hollering out loud. To this day I have no idea what I said. I remember leaving all the laughter in the room and going outside. Wheww....
That evening, after bringing in some coal for the little stove in the living room, just before Ed Sullivan came on, Granny asked me if I had a hard time sleeping the night before. It turned out she had been wondering why I had laid in the hammock for over two hours, sound asleep, that afternoon!

LOL..............oh Shoeman, what I would have given to see that!! But your words as always, painted a vivid picture!!

"eyes"

Well told story 'Shoe. And yes, of course I knew I would get an answer from Wintermoor! I was thinkin' of you old boy. Will that 50 year old bottle entice you to come to US for a visit? LOL

I tried again this afternoon to read the words on the excise label; too faded and blurred. The cardboard box was filled with dry mold spores, so I had to wipe the bottle down after I removed it. That probably did in the label.

Sorry; I can't give any great stories like 'Shoe about my first drinking experience: nothing colorful, sorry. But I bet I will get an answer from Badseed. Oh 'Chele, where are you?

The bottom of the bottle has a lot of embossed letters and numbers, but the only one I can make any sense of is '46'. That could be the style of the bottle, or the year it was manufactured. Nothing on the label says anything about when it was made, and it looks the same as a label from a bottle purchased in the mid '90s (that bottle is still almost intact).

I also found a lot of other stuff: how about Planters' Punch mix (non-alcoholic) from the 1930's; Creme de Cacao from the same era; a pint of rum from the Bahamas bought in 1977. Can you tell we don't drink a whole lot? Mostly I use alcohol to cook with, not to drink. 50-year old fruitcake! Yum! *grin*

Lol shoe your as bad as I was sneaking into moms pantry to steal a sip of mom's wine. I had just got a mouth full and ran out of the pantry as not to be caught when my dad walked in from work. I was laying down with my pillow so I had to do something with it so I spit it into the pillow and once daddy went outside I sucked it out of the pillow, boy I have hated wine ever since. I got so sick that I swore that I would never take a drink of it again. Well that was at age seven and you would have thought I had learned my lesson....NOPE!!! Years later when I was about fifteen I was at my sister house and watched her sell homemade wine to her fellow cronies. She ask me to go up to the attic and fetch some more. Well I filled up the picture and brought it down and the rest of the evening I was drinking it without eating. It tasted sort of sweet like a sweet-sour like lemonade, so I kept on drinking. Well before long I had up chucked all over the front room and passed out. My sister figured out what I had done and had someone put me in bed. Boy when I woke up, I was the talk of the party for weeks. Apparently I had made a complete fool of myself, she told me that everyone had seen my underware and the room just bursted out laughing again. I don't care to much for wine even to this day.
I do like a little Bristol Cream Sherry every five years or so.

This message was edited Monday, Nov 11th 12:23 AM

Lupinelover:

Forget the Planters Punch, don't even open it cos it might bite you ... lol

The Creme de Cacao should be sour now.

The pint of rum should still be quite potent... Bahamian Rum is excellent !!!

I got a bottle of 'Glen Grant' single malt whisky for my 50th birthday which had been bottled in 1949, and was already 42 years old. It went down like oil .... just beautiful it was!!! I must add that it cost about DM 800, which is about $400.

Great stories Shoe and Windsurffer.

I've got so many wee whisky stories that it would take a week to tell them all, so I'll put a couple together for a later thread.

I have no problems with alcohol .... I've got problems without it .... lol

It's like when you go to the doctor, and he asks, "Are you being troubled by indecent thoughts?",
"Well actually not doctor, I'm quite enjoying them!!"

All the best

Wintermoor

I used to have a friend in high school who's Dad collected things like this. Old bottles with liquor in them as well as new ones. He had LOTS in all sorts of shapes and ages! I'm thinking that they were very valuable, because when we snitched one and drank it, even though we left the empty bottle, he still went ballistic! He wasn't even that upset about us drinking when we weren't supposed to. He was upset about WHAT we drank. LOL!

I don't think I'd open any of them Kathy. I'd try to find someone who can tell you a little about them.

The ingredients in both the Planter's Punch mixture, and the Creme de Cacao will have gone sour, and this makes them literally quite poisonous mixtures. The Rum will still be good as will the Whiskey.

I'd have no qualms about the Rum & Whisky, since they can't go bad.

You've all made me thirsty now ... lol

Now where was that bottle of....

If you're thinking of selling the whiskey to a collector, don't remove the seal.

Wintermoor ~~~

I have but two words for you..., Springbank 21.

By the way, my wife and I (she is from Hamburg and used to have a small flat in Alter Postweg), will soon be there once again visiting family. I like the town, and have always enjoyed my time there. How long have you lived there?

Adam.

Horseshoe ~~~

That's a great little story..., thanks for taking the tome to add it to the thread.

Adam.

Oh, I can't believe you all had a party before I arrived. And, Wintermoor, say you at least saved me a toddy of that fine birthday bottle. Yes, all this talk has made me thirsty, and I think I need to take a little of Papa's Recipe in preparation for reading further tonight/this morning.

I shall not share my best drinking story here, because Dave would probably revoke my subscription.

Amiee I can only imagine lol.

I better not even mention the 1896 bottle of beer! (really!) And no, I wasn't planning to open the creme de cacao or Planter' Punch mix. Probably the smell would knock me out. They are out in the trash at the moment. Just cleaning out the basement...

I found some other real treasures, too. But those went to the family historian. WWII ration books and stamps. Certificate of apprenticeship (stamped) dated 1875. How about a Commission into the Confederate Army 1861? Lots of really interesting papers. A receipt for a 1907 car.

Waaaah, I just love stuff like this. Wish I was there.

Hey lupy don't throw it away, I'll take it if you don't want it. I would love to see some of your treasures when you have the time to show them.

That's a good story Shoe. Now in my family we did not have to sneak. We were all allowed to have a drink on Christmas Eve each year. That is until my mom got religion and put a quick stop to that. I can remember sitin on my Dads lap and sipping on a beer very early in life. That is probably why it took me so long to learn to walk. Now of course I did have some sneaking experience. After all Christmas was only once a year and Mom did put a stop to the drinking. My Grandma used to have big family gatherings at her house. They would have big coolers on the porch just flowing with beer. Now me and my cousins knew if we stayed up late enough we could go out on the porch and get us a nice icy cold one or two or three after the adults passed out - I mean went to sleep. It's amazing I am not an alcoholic. Of course I guess that comes from the religion it kind of rubbed off on me too.

This message was edited Tuesday, Nov 12th 12:18 AM

Gosh! And I thought I was lucky goin' to Grandma's house and getting boiled peanuts!
Quite a pleasant memory you got there, Howie!
I believe it too...I've seen how late you can stay up for a cold one!

Folks...I can't hold my whiskey...if I have more than 2 drinks the old adage applies: "If you can't be with the one you love, then LOVE the one you're with!!!LOL Jo

♫Oh Gunny!....♫ Have we got news for you!!! ;>)

LOL Shoe!

Wind, I look forward to your visit, but I am sure you wouldn't have wanted the Planter Punch, or the Creme de Cacao. That stuff is made with cream, and 60 year old cream just isn't a pleasant thought!

Aimee, I will wait to break open the bottle until you get here. 7-7 I have heard of, but not 7-buttermilk. Bleah. How about a herbal-tea hot toddy?

Wait for me Lup!!!

and let's bring Roadrunner along too ;-)

Oh Dear Me !!! What a party that could be Yippeeayyyaaayyy!!!

*hics* *-)

Just as a collectors item not to drink. I have been working on my gourds and I still have a lot to do yet. I still have a few gourds left from last year and the year before so it will have to be after the holidays unless you want to help me decorate them. Now that could be one of the projects that we talked about doing. You wouldn't happen to have any old gourds down there would you? If not then just bring whatever you want and we can work on our projects together.
Let me know if you still want to do the crafting thing.

I would love to work on crafts with you Wind. And, as a matter of fact... my neighbor and I went shopping a couple of weeks ago and BOUGHT (oh, shameful) gourds. Not any as gorgeous as yours, tho. The little ones. One store had apple gourds for $8.00 each. A little out of my budget.

Give me a call in a few days and we will make plans. I have dried more of my grasses, too :)

I sure will and there are a lot of links on the internet that sells apple gourds for less than that.

No, I won't mix the buttermilk and booze. Different times, maybe build a cushion for my nip with the buttermilk. But if Wintermoor and Abe get there before I do, there will probably be nothing left but fruit cake.

Shoe, I found boiled peanuts in a can recently. One of my earliest memories of them is my best. They were sold on the sidewalk in Vicksburg, hot and delicious. They never taste quite the same any other way. But I made do with the canned ones, and I ate the whole thing, didn't offer anyone a morsel.

All the aging done to whiskey is done in the barrels which have been scorched on the inside. That's what gives whiskey it's amber color and oak taste. Moonshine, a/k/a white lightning is also corn liquor, but it hasn't been aged in a barrel so it's still white (no color). I did take some to a group of internet friends when we met in Memphis a few years back and the moonshiner had actually aged it. But it was still 190 proof which is 95% alcohol and boy, could it burn. We could only take tiny sips.

OH JO, you really made my day with that one. I needed a laugh more then you know. Lucky Gunny ---- you're too much girl!

Last night in Chat, I passed the bottle around ;) Did y'all save any for Badseed? Oh, that's right, Wintermoor was still there *grin*