The President’s Choice – Is it any good?

No, not THAT president. The President’s Choice bourbon. I just picked up a small sealed bottle at an estate sale for a buck. I’ve learned that it was discontinued about 10 years ago due to copyright problems. It’s a 1/2 Pint, 90.3 Proof, Brown-Forman Distillers.

My questions: On a 1-10 scale, how good is it? Or, what other bourbon is it comparable to? How old is it? Is it collectible in any way, or should I just open ’er up tonight and start sippin’? (Yes, I do like bourbon!)

(My photo here is a scan, so the bottle appears totally full. It is not. In fact, it looks like a tablespoon or more has evaporated over the years.)

Thanks a lot.


http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b9...am/bourbon.jpg

Ebay's about the only place to determine a monetary value, and I've seen it a few times there. It won't make you rich, but it would bring back more than your dollar.
Unsurprisingly, I think most of us here would pop the top and drink it -- I know I would! -- just because it's bourbon. After all, that's what it was made for.

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I’ve learned that it was discontinued about 10 years ago due to copyright problems. It’s a 1/2 Pint, 90.3 Proof, Brown-Forman Distillers.

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Do tell. I can't imagine what kind of "copyright problems" they could have had. Also, I have a vague recollection of seeing something like this before, but not as recently as 10 years ago. Where did you get Brown-Forman in connection with this? It doesn't seem like their style. Maybe you could show us the back label?

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Originally Posted by cowdery

Do tell. I can't imagine what kind of "copyright problems" they could have had. Also, I have a vague recollection of seeing something like this before, but not as recently as 10 years ago. Where did you get Brown-Forman in connection with this? It doesn't seem like their style. Maybe you could show us the back label?

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Hey Urban,
I notice you're new, so you may not know that Chuck consulted in bourbon marketing in this general time frame. If you jog his memory with a photo or more info, it's possible he may know a lot about this issue.

Just from the photo, that bottle looks more like it's from the '70s than the '90s to me. It appears to have a true tax stamp.

Roger

I agree, it's at least pre 1980 due to the standard non-metric sizing. I have seen one of these before, in a larger size, at Woodford Reserve, one of the on-site tour guides pulled it out of a cabinet to show it to me...don't know why, guess I was just asking the right questions.

You'll find a reference to President's Choice in relation to erstwhile company president William F. Lucas about halfway through this B-F history outline:
http://www.answers.com/topic/brown-forman-corporation

So, apparently the Brown-Forman connection is correct.
Read a little further, and there's an interesting tale about the introduction of 'light whiskey'.

Hi cowdery,
Here’s some more info:

Looks like in its day it was a “premium-priced product.”

from: http://www.answers.com/topic/brown-forman-corporation
“Although Street effectively diversified Brown-Forman, William F. Lucas replaced him as president in 1969. Lucas was also not part of the Brown family. He had joined Brown-Forman as an engineer in 1935 and advanced through the ranks. Lucas concentrated on marketing Brown-Forman's premium-priced products--President's Choice, Jack Daniel's, Old Forester, and Early Times.”

And, I was wrong on the copyright thing. Read it too fast the first time. It was a Domain Name Dispute Resolution, decided in June, 2000. And it appears that Brown-Forman won against the Complainant in the case, Loblaws, which “owns many PRESIDENT'S CHOICE marks in Canada and the United States.”
http://www.disputes.org/decisions/0170.htm

Also, it looks like Brown-Forman voluntarily withdrew (in 2002) its attempt (in 1997) to register (re-register?) the President’s Choice name for bourbon.
http://ipophil.gov.ph/ipcasesearch/I...=14-2002-00042

But I haven’t been able to find out when it went out of production, or why. Or how long it was in production. Or what kind of a reputation it had.

( My google search words were: "President's Choice" "Brown-Forman" bourbon )

Here are enlarged scans of both labels.

PS - The bottle tax stamp is Series 112, No. 332778209, if that means anything.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b9...bourbon001.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b9...bourbon002.jpg

On the bottom of the bottle it says:

LIQUOR BOTTLE
65 (1) 69
2 L-10606

Maybe that means it was made between 1965 and 1969 ?

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Originally Posted by Urban Bourbon

On the bottom of the bottle it says:

LIQUOR BOTTLE
65 (1) 69
2 L-10606

Maybe that means it was made between 1965 and 1969 ?

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It probably means that the bottle was patented in 1965 and this particular one was manufactured in 1969. Gives you a good approximation of bottling date.

I'm not sure it was ever a general release product. More like something to be used for gifts and such. 1969 sounds about right. I was very involved with Brown-Forman between 1980 and 1986, and it wasn't around during that period.

Thanks for sharing it with us.