Pappy's Lost Stash - '68 SW Old Fitz rebottling project as a Xmas present

[humchan2k]

Hi SB,

I thought I'd share this little follow up story after getting my hands on two amazing gallon bottles of SW Old Fitz from '67 and '68. As expected, getting a gallon bottle to pour was a SERIOUSLY hard proposition, and after seeing the guys down at the homebrew store, I decided to "decant" the gallon into 5 separate 750mls for easier transport and to help divvy up the stash between me and Pops. As my Dad is a software developer and hobbyist Photoshop Guru, we took it one step further and created our own custom label and bought fancy store-quality bottle sealer/twist caps as well as professional label paper....here are the results.

The Latin translates as "the tail drags lightly on the ground," and it's an homage to my Grandpappy, as he crafted our family's crest with a Roadrunner during his time in the military....long story of why the Roadrunner, but suffice it to say, it's for a good reason. He ran around Japan as a military photographer and was also a Corporal in field administration, but there's more to it than that. I'm just impressed my Pops was able to get the shield/crest design to look so great.

And yes...we did immediately crack the lowest filled one and had 2 very healthy pours each....oh MAN, is that whiskey good. It's hot initially, but the flavor of SW juice lingers for days. It is some of the finest whiskey I've ever had...and I brought 2 bottles home for my bunker. The cork on the gallon bottle smelled like it had been coated in maple syrup!

We are saving the bottle from '67 for now, as we may do a second round of bottling....but we'll see.

Cheers!

[oke&coke]

Now that is wicked cool man. BRAVO.

[AaronWF]

That's pretty sweet! Great job!

[portugieser]

Congratulations -- that is one of the coolest things I've seen on this forum (which is saying something).

[ChainWhip]

That's rad! What a great story & experience!

[MyOldKyDram]

Nicely done, sir!

[smokinjoe]

Really, really, nice work.

:toast:

[squire]

First rate Brendan, beautifully executed and a great story.

[humchan2k]

Thanks, everybody, so kind of you! It was really fun to walk out of the back room, holding a gallonn bottle, to see my dad's face when I handed him a gallon bottle with a big red bow on the top. We were such nerds about not wanting to compromise the flavor of the whiskey when rebottling it, so we rinsed the bottles twice in the dishwasher and then dropped a little stoli vodka in there afterwards to give them thorough sanitization....It was a blessing to get to spend quality time on a project like this with my Dad.

[Tucker]

...It was a blessing to get to spend quality time on a project like this with my Dad.

All the better. Great work!

[Clavius]

That is awesome.

[matthewdc]

Those custom labels are really neat and kick started my creative juices for a few of my own bottling/decanting projects--nothing as cool as yours though.

[RVTsteve]

That's really cool! Well done and congrats!

[Smokewagon]

Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing. Love the labels.

~SW

[UncleJohnsBarrel]

What a cool thing to do, and really makes for the ultimate limited edition bottling! Hope you and your dad enjoy it!

[Phil T]

The rebottling/new labels are just sick!! So very cool. I'm thinking one bottle of each year should be saved for enjoying with future generations.

[Tony]

Ok, I have to add to everyone else that is very cool and a great time I am sure to spend with your Dad.

Best regards, Tony

[GaryT]

Very well done! Sounds like way too much fun, and great hooch to boot!

[passthebourbon]

That is one of the coolest things I've seen in awhile. Find something amazing and make it amazinger!

[yerrbo]

[Shuboy]

Hope you kept the gallon bottle. Despite being empty, I would put it up for display if you have the room.

[Special Reserve]

Great find, nice label

[jeanraulmitchell]

Can't wait to taste that liquid in those beautiful new bottles!

[WAINWRIGHT]

First rate presentation and quite a novel idea,sheer genius!

[Wryguy]

Wow, that is just downright incredible! The thoughtfulness, passion, and creativity you exhibited with this project is in a word, inspiring. A potable, instantaneous family heirloom, and the immediate gratification of the juice! You just got it on every level! Kudos sir.