$250K for 1913 STITZEL WELLER'S ORIGINAL BOURBON, kidding me

[unclebunk]

At the end of the day, anyone--and I mean anyone, no matter how rich--who drops a quarter million bucks on a bottle of booze is out of his mind.

[Bmac]

Final thoughts. Why tax stamp it? If it was bottled in bond it would be 100 proof.


Also, on one of the corners of the label is peeling up and you can see glue residue that extends past the border of the label.

Ralfy made a blog about what to look for on old supposed "antique" bottles of booze. This one just screams fake. Even the ridiculous price tag screams fake.

[Tucker]

Final thoughts. Why tax stamp it? If it was bottled in bond it would be 100 proof.

It looks to have the appropriate red and white federal tax strip for non-bonded whiskey, which was used until 1985. The Tennessee stamp looks real enough, too.

[Bmac]

It looks to have the appropriate red and white federal tax strip for non-bonded whiskey, which was used until 1985. The Tennessee stamp looks real enough, too.

I am not doubting that the tax stamp and the Tennessee stamp aren't real. However, acquiring those from other bottles isn't that difficult. Apply some heat to soften the adhesive and wa-la you can remove just about any label.

I would like to point out the following:

1) Why is the Tennessee sticker / Tax stamp in such horrible condition while the main sticker is in near-mint condition?

2) In the picture that shows the most detail of the Tennessee stamp, you can see a ghosted shape of the glue just below it. That is a sign of re-attachment with fresh glue and then it moved.

3) The foil wrapping is NOT on the top. Also, in one of the shots you can see GLUE coming from underneath it. To my knowledge, foils aren't glued on.

4) Seriously take a look at those shot glasses. Flur De Lis and keys? Really? For Bourbon? You don't think Weller would have possibly put their own logo or no logo at all?

5) That box is covered in paper with a fancy crest. This has got to be from England, Scotland, or from France. This isn't from the US made.

6) Also, there is no age statement. I didn't think NAS was very popular back then.

I am telling you, this item is 100% fabrication. Discussing it's province is a pure waste of time. It's just a standard bottle of WLW cask strength (probably 2010 release). He attracted people with the high price tag and waited for people to offer. I bet he takes the highest offer.

[IowaJeff]

I've seen old fitzgeralds from the 50's with similar boxes and glasses online before. That doesn't mean those aren't fake too, of course, but I've seen them with a similar design.

[bourbonNOOG]

I am not doubting that the tax stamp and the Tennessee stamp aren't real. However, acquiring those from other bottles isn't that difficult. Apply some heat to soften the adhesive and wa-la you can remove just about any label.

I would like to point out the following:

1) Why is the Tennessee sticker / Tax stamp in such horrible condition while the main sticker is in near-mint condition?

2) In the picture that shows the most detail of the Tennessee stamp, you can see a ghosted shape of the glue just below it. That is a sign of re-attachment with fresh glue and then it moved.

3) The foil wrapping is NOT on the top. Also, in one of the shots you can see GLUE coming from underneath it. To my knowledge, foils aren't glued on.

4) Seriously take a look at those shot glasses. Flur De Lis and keys? Really? For Bourbon? You don't think Weller would have possibly put their own logo or no logo at all?

5) That box is covered in paper with a fancy crest. This has got to be from England, Scotland, or from France. This isn't from the US made.

6) Also, there is no age statement. I didn't think NAS was very popular back then.

I am telling you, this item is 100% fabrication. Discussing it's province is a pure waste of time. It's just a standard bottle of WLW cask strength (probably 2010 release). He attracted people with the high price tag and waited for people to offer. I bet he takes the highest offer.

I'm not saying the sellers item is real or fake, but there is a similar item on eBay currently with identical shot glasses in a similar box. The box in the outrageously overpriced auction looks nicer, but still... the guy probably has something special. Is it worth what he's asking... no. No bottle of alcohol is worth a quarter of a million dollars (in my opinion). I imagine like others have stated, he is putting the high price to drive traffic and get exposure with the hopes of getting a fairly substantial offer.

Again, I'm not affiliated with either auction, just posting the above as a reference of comparison to the other.

[cowdery]

Everything about this item is authentic except the words "Barreled in 1913," which were added. That's my conclusion. The back label was removed because it would have put the lie to the "Barreled in 1913" claim. So, it's clever, I guess. If the person had asked, say, $1,500 they might have gotten it, no questions asked. The suggestion that it should be worth $250,000 suggests a not-very-clever scammer, because nobody is going to pay that. Even if it was 100% authentic, that's a ridiculous price.

Aside from that, this is a typical Stitzel-Weller package from the late 1950s or 1960s.

If the "Barreled in 1913" was true, there would have been more story on the bottle and in the package. As it is, absolutely nothing supports the claim.

Anyone have any ideas about what PEOL (left side of the label) means?

So what this really is, probably, is an NAS bottling of SW whiskey, at 100 proof, in a fancy gift box. Because it's SW from the heyday, it might legitimately be worth a couple hundred, but that's it.

[Bmac]

Ok fair enough, the box and it's glasses could be legit. But that bottle screams fake to me. I still see bad glue marks, and the top to the foil is missing. If it is legit...I would say the bottle has been opened at the very least.

[cowdery]

The front label was probably removed to make the 'Barreled in 1913' imprint.

[Bmac]

The front label was probably removed to make the 'Barreled in 1913' imprint.

What about the missing top part of the foil and the glue coming out from under it? If they removed the label, do you think they might have removed the original contents and re-filled with something else?