Vintage Bourbon

Jim Beam White Label Sour Mash bourbon from 1976. Comes with box. 

A Liquid Time Capsule of 1970s Americana

Step back into 1976—the year of the American Bicentennial and a pivotal moment in Kentucky distilling. This vintage Jim Beam White Label isn't just a bottle of whiskey; it is a survivor of the "Bourbon Glut," an era where high-quality, well-aged stocks were plentiful, and the "Beam Funk" was at its most traditional.

Unlike today’s mass-produced expressions, this 1976 bottling was produced using mid-century methods, featuring the classic Sour Mash process that defined the Beam family legacy for seven generations. Complete with its original period-correct box, this is a centerpiece for any "dusty" bourbon collection.

Tasting Notes (The 1970s Profile)

• Nose: A nostalgic bouquet of toasted peanuts, vanilla bean, and old cellar oak. There is a distinct "dusty" sweetness, like honeycomb and dried corn husks.

• Palate: Surprisingly creamy and oily. Notes of butterscotch and baking spices (cinnamon/clove) lead into the signature roasted nut character that modern Beam fans will find much deeper and richer here.

• Finish: Clean but warming, with a lingering hint of charred oak and caramel corn.

Wild Turkey 8 Year 101 from 1984 (glass stamp)

Maker's Mark from 1978

The eighth batch of the famous Jefferson's Presidential Select bourbon.  This is 100% Stitzel-Weller distillate and one of the top rated expressions by both collectors and consumers.  Batch 8 was hand selected from the best tasting barrels and is the most rare batch from all of the Jefferson's releases.  This is a MUST have for any fan of Stitzel-Weller.

The second batch of the famous Jefferson's Presidential Select bourbon.  This is 100% Stitzel-Weller distillate and one of the top rated expressions by both collectors and consumers.  Batch 1 was the first release in the 17 and 18 year bottlings, hand selected from the best tasting barrels and is the most rare batch from all of the Jefferson's releases.  This is a MUST have for any fan of Stitzel-Weller.

Back in the 1960s through the 80s, distilleries were having trouble selling their whiskey in bottles so they started creating unique bottlings through the use of Decanters. Old Crow, which was owned and produced by National Distillers created a full chess set of decanter bottles, complete with all pieces and the ability to send them postage to receive a carpeted chessboard as well. The whiskey inside is 86pf and age stated 10 years, but is among some of the highest rated whiskey by vintage enthusiasts that has ever been produced.  

Note: Old decanters could possibly have some minor leakage during transit.  We will do everything to prevent leakage but some is frequently expected and we cannot be held liable for minor leakage.  Major issues - please contact us (such as decanter breakage, significant leakage) and please have pictures/video available.  

Back in the 1960s through the 80s, distilleries were having trouble selling their whiskey in bottles so they started creating unique bottlings through the use of Decanters. Old Crow, which was owned and produced by National Distillers created a full chess set of decanter bottles, complete with all pieces and the ability to send them postage to receive a carpeted chessboard as well. The whiskey inside is 86pf and age stated 10 years, but is among some of the highest rated whiskey by vintage enthusiasts that has ever been produced.  

Note: Old decanters could possibly have some minor leakage during transit.  We will do everything to prevent leakage but some is frequently expected and we cannot be held liable for minor leakage.  Major issues - please contact us (such as decanter breakage, significant leakage) and please have pictures/video available.  

Old Fitzgerald 7 Year Gift Set

This 1961 Crown Royal from the Seagram's Distillery offers silky Canadian whisky character with soft vanilla, gentle spice, and nostalgic charm.

Wiser's Oldest 18 Year Old Canadian Whisky (1958)

A fantastic old Prohibition era bottling of Kentucky straight bourbon whisky. Although the Volstead Act of 1919 had banned the production and sale of alcohol throughout the US, a certain number of distilling companies were permitted to continue bottling existing stock, mostly for medicinal use, but also for weekly baking rations. One such company was A. Ph. Stitzel Inc, who procured this particular barrel from the Davies County Distillery (registered distillery 2 in the 2nd district of KY). This distillery was one of the majority that were forced to close after prohibition was enacted. Records show that most of their stock was purchased by the American Medicinal Spirits Company, but some reached smaller companies like A. Ph. Stitzel as well, who bottled this using their Old Mock brand. A. Ph. Stitzel survived Prohibition, and was one of the few to emerge with a functioning distillery, refinancing themselves after the difficult 13 dry years by contract distilling for other companies as well, including the juggernaut Schenley corporation. They would of course would go on to merge with Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle's W.L. Weller company to create the legendary Stitzel-Weller. The "18 Summers Old " phrase on this label was a persistent motif on Stitzel-Weller bottlings too, and can also be seen on some modern Van Winkle bottlings. Bottled in bond - distilled in 1916 and bottled in 1933, shortly before repeal, this includes the standard "medicinal purposes" only label.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

Old Squat Bottle

140.2 Proof

Batch 6

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

Old Squat Bottle

136 Proof

Batch 12

Old Grand Dad 114pf (Lot 18)

Vintage Old Grand Dad 114pf (OGD 114)

Back in the 1960s through the 80s, distilleries were having trouble selling their whiskey in bottles so they started creating unique bottlings through the use of Decanters. Old Crow, which was owned and produced by National Distillers created a full chess set of decanter bottles, complete with all pieces and the ability to send them postage to receive a carpeted chessboard as well. The whiskey inside is 86pf and age stated 10 years, but is among some of the highest rated whiskey by vintage enthusiasts that has ever been produced.

Note: Old decanters could possibly have some minor leakage during transit.  We will do everything to prevent leakage but some is frequently expected and we cannot be held liable for minor leakage.  Major issues - please contact us (such as decanter breakage, significant leakage) and please have pictures/video available.  

An incredibly rare offering from the Van Winkle family reserve. This was bottled in 1990 by Julian Van Winkle III. His father, Julian II, had retained an office at the old Stitzel-Weller distillery following his forced sale of it in the 1970s, but this hospitality was not extended to his son, who had to buy Hoffman distillery in 1983, re-naming it Old Commonwealth. There he bottled much of the best-regarded whiskey in America, including Nathan Stone's, Very Olde St. Nick, the A.H. Hirsch Reserve, and this, the Van Winkle Family Reserve. It is believed this Van Winkle family reserve bourbon was sourced from Boone distillery, where it was barreled in 1974. It was bottled twice: this one in 1990, and the next one at 17 years old in 1991. Both were intended for the Japanese market, who were at the time more willing to pay premium prices for well-aged bourbon. Van Winkle III continued to bottle at Old Commonwealth until 2002, when thinning stocks necessitated an agreement with the Sazerac company, who warehoused his remaining barrels, and produced limited quantities of Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve on an annual basis until it finally ran out. It is now distilled at Buffalo Trace using Pappy's old recipe. These original bottles of Boone distilled Van Winkle reserves are incredibly rare and sought after in equal measure. Fun fact: Van Winkle has stated that he "got away" with using red wax here as Maker's Mark only held the trademark in the US.

In 1893, when he was 18 years old, Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr. began working as a salesman for the liquor wholesaler, W.L. Weller & Sons. Fifteen years later, he and another Weller salesman bought the firm. In 1910 they acquired the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, which had started as a sour mash whiskey distillery in 1872.

The Stitzel Distillery supplied much of the whiskey sold by the Weller wholesale firm. The consolidation coincided with prohibition, during which time the Stitzel-Weller firm was licensed by the government to produce whiskey for medicinal purposes. One of their labels that was introduced on the market just before prohibition was Old Rip Van Winkle. After prohibition, the brand was not reintroduced until after 1972 when the Stitzel-Weller distillery and its current brand names (including W. L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, and Cabin Still) were sold to other companies.The only brand name the Van Winkle family had kept the rights to was the pre-prohibition brand Old Rip Van Winkle.

The Stitzel-Weller Distillery was opened on the day of the Kentucky Derby in 1935, just outside Louisville in Shively, Kentucky. At the time of his death in 1965 at the age of 89, Pappy Van Winkle was the oldest active distiller in the nation. A photo of him lighting a cigar graces the bottle's label.

Sometime after the Stitzel-Weller distillery was sold in 1972, Julian Van Winkle, Jr. resurrected the pre-prohibition Old Rip Van Winkle brand and initially used old whiskey stocks from the distillery for its bottlings. Julian Jr. died in 1981 and Julian Van Winkle, III (Pappy's grandson) took over the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery company.

After the initial sale in 1972, the Stitzel-Weller distillery was eventually closed completely in 1991.

Since 2002, the Van Winkle brands have been distilled and bottled by the Sazerac Company at the Buffalo Trace Distillery as a joint venture with the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery company.

In 2013, Julian Preston Van Winkle III, said the 2013 bottlings of the 23-year brand expression "may be the last of its kind", since at that point there was very little left of the aging stock from the Stitzel-Weller distillery (although he said the brand would not be discontinued). The makers say that they do not want to boost production, as there is considerable long-term risk, and they do not want to be left holding copious quantities of unsaleable bourbon should tastes, fashions or circumstances change.

Last Drop Distillers seeks to find and bring to life the rarest of the rare whiskeys, offering them in extremely limited quantities. Leather, aged oak, earthy, raisin, dark fruit, dark cherry and tobacco on the nose. The taste is the definition of flamboyant with an orchestra of flavors with each flavor harmoniously mingled. Delightful notes of figs, dates, maraschino cherries, wood, saddle leather, pipe tobacco, toffee, plums, raisins, walnuts, and butterscotch. It’s a virtual symphony on your palate.

Back in the 1960s through the 80s, distilleries were having trouble selling their whiskey in bottles so they started creating unique bottlings through the use of Decanters. Old Crow, which was owned and produced by National Distillers created a full chess set of decanter bottles, complete with all pieces and the ability to send them postage to receive a carpeted chessboard as well. The whiskey inside is 86pf and age stated 10 years, but is among some of the highest rated whiskey by vintage enthusiasts that has ever been produced.

Note: Old decanters could possibly have some minor leakage during transit.  We will do everything to prevent leakage but some is frequently expected and we cannot be held liable for minor leakage.  Major issues - please contact us (such as decanter breakage, significant leakage) and please have pictures/video available.