Dusty Safety Question

[Enoch]

Went back to the Liquor store mentioned earlier and found two 1.75 Old Grand dad bottles (86 proof) with a huge cap and sticker that said ND Don't buy if seal is broken or something like that for $20 and she gave me an old bottle of George Dickel with no label. Problem is that it looks a little cloudy. Should I try it or can/will it make me sick? Thanks,

Wish there was a book on bourbon vintages, etc that would be a guide when looking for old stuff.

[smokinjoe]

I don't know if it would be harmful to drink, but I would steer away from the cloudy whiskey. I've seen bottles like that during my hunting, but I don't buy them. I also tend to pass over a bottle if the paper seal is broken. If the seal is "lifted up", as if the glue has come loose, then I'll take a chance with that. Chances are that is just old age, and not an indication of a tampered product.

Your guide/book to dusties is right here at your fingertips. There are tons of dusties listed here on SB.Com, many with pictures. Search the site, take some notes, and take with you on your hunts. Or, if you see something that looks noteworthy while out, just come back to your 'puter and post here. Somebody will probably know something.

Happy Hunting!

[B.B. Babington]

don't buy broken seals warning comes from the bad tylenol days. but that said, it's an old addage Robert Johnson should have listened to 'cause then he'd have done more than 29 songs.

[Dramiel McHinson]

Went back to the Liquor store mentioned earlier and found two 1.75 Old Grand dad bottles (86 proof) with a huge cap and sticker that said ND Don't buy if seal is broken or something like that for $20 and she gave me an old bottle of George Dickel with no label. Problem is that it looks a little cloudy. Should I try it or can/will it make me sick? Thanks,

Wish there was a book on bourbon vintages, etc that would be a guide when looking for old stuff.

I had a bottle cloud up while it sat on a shelf. I looked at it and it had a white dusty suspension in it too. I decided to just leave it alone because the bottle looked better with whiskey in it. After a few months I looked at it again and it was crystal clear. I drank it and it was just fine. I have no idea what caused that. I do know that non-chill filtered whiskey will cloud if it gets cold or water is added. Not sure if that was what was going on though..

[theDon]

I have bought many a bottle with missing and torn paper seals with no problem. Most of the bottles have sat for so long and been cleaned of dust so many time throughout the years the seals have been damaged or fallen off. Don't be scared. If the whiskey is clear of debris is it probably still good. No reputable liquor store would sell bad or refilled liquor bottles. They are probably just happy to get the old stock off the shelves.

[IrishWiskyChaser]

In relation to cloudy whiskey ... any whiskey over 46% and not chill filtered can and will go cloudy in cold conditions. So that is worth bearing in mind. Wether or not that has any bearing on these older bottles I can not say for sure. Not sure what any of the distilleries do over in the US in relation to filtering.