Old Weller - The Original 107 Proof - 1989 Bottled Flask?

[TL2000]

Has anyone else seen these recently? I was just able to purchase one from my local shop and they said it was just the like green cap flasks from 1992 that were for sale earlier this year. The bottles were extremely dusty, which makes me believe that they might actually be that old.

Thoughts?

[squire]

Label looks correct and they're not valuable enough to fake, I think.

[fishnbowljoe]

Definitely not a fake. They may be dusties, but there's also a chance they might not be quite as old as you think.

I believe that after the change to the new label, and loss of the age statement on the 750 ml bottling back in late 2009/early 2010, BT may have had some leftover paper labels for their 375 ml bottles of OWA. I purchased a couple of these very same bottles in September of 2012, and I know of at least a couple of other members who found some this past year. I also saw more on the shelf at a store in Bardstown this past spring. It could also be that some distributors still have a few of these sitting around in their warehouses, and they're now trying to purge their older stock. I've seen this before. It's still good bourbon. As long as the price hasn't been jacked up, buy 'em, open 'em and enjoy.

Also FWIW, there are rumors that the 375 ml size of OWA, and a few others, may be discontinued in the near future. But for now, the BT website still shows the 375 ml size of OWA available. With the old style paper label no less. :skep:

Joe

[JVande]

My guess is that it is from the mid to late 90's. My oldest bottling of this OWA 375 ml is from '03 and it has Frankfort on the label and nothing handwritten in the No___ field. Great find! I just really like the label and sleek bottle design. I know of 2 more from '06 sitting on a shelf, I should probably pick them up before trey disappear!

[Ejmharris]

I recently bought 12 OWA age stated bottles but the No_____ section was empty and had a web site. The bottling code had a '08 stamp on it. These are at least prior to the web site. Anyone know when they started the bottling codes on the bottles at BT.

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[TL2000]

If the bottling code is actually raised in the glass on the bottom of the bottle, then this one is from 96.

[JVande]

If the bottling code is actually raised in the glass on the bottom of the bottle, then this one is from 96.

[Ejmharris]

If the bottling code is actually raised in the glass on the bottom of the bottle, then this one is from 96.

[gblick]

That is the real deal from Louisville, with a 96 on the bottom and with the hand-written number in the "No._____" field on the upper left area of the label. All the 375ml bottles to this day have the "No._____" field on the upper left of the label (unlike the bigger bottles that dropped that off around 2003), but only the Louisville ones (and every Louisville I've ever seen) had numbers written in by hand there. If you compare that bottle closely with a later Frankfort bottle, you will also notice that it's shaped differently, it's a little fatter and the shoulders are a little rounder. You have some good whiskey there, some of my very favorite of all time.

[gblick]

Definitely not a fake. They may be dusties, but there's also a chance they might not be quite as old as you think.

I believe that after the change to the new label, and loss of the age statement on the 750 ml bottling back in late 2009/early 2010, BT may have had some leftover paper labels for their 375 ml bottles of OWA. I purchased a couple of these very same bottles in September of 2012, and I know of at least a couple of other members who found some this past year. I also saw more on the shelf at a store in Bardstown this past spring. It could also be that some distributors still have a few of these sitting around in their warehouses, and they're now trying to purge their older stock. I've seen this before. It's still good bourbon. As long as the price hasn't been jacked up, buy 'em, open 'em and enjoy.

Also FWIW, there are rumors that the 375 ml size of OWA, and a few others, may be discontinued in the near future. But for now, the BT website still shows the 375 ml size of OWA available. With the old style paper label no less. :skep:

Joe

Joe,

Did the ones you found have Louisville on the label, or Frankfort? I've never seen a Louisville bottle of OWA without hand-written numbers in that upper left field on the label. If BT did in fact re-use some old Louisville labels on some 375ml bottles, one way I think to be sure if they are the real deal is by bottle shape, the genuine Louisville 375ml bottles were slightly fatter with slightly rounder shoulders, maybe hard to notice though unless directly comparing with a later bottle. IMO it's very doubtful that an old 375ml Louisville label would be re-used and also be paired with the old-style 'fatter' 375ml bottle and also have the No.______ field filled in with a hand-written number.

Edited December 23, 2013 by gblick

[smknjoe]

If the bottling code is actually raised in the glass on the bottom of the bottle, then this one is from 96.

Winner Winner Chicken dinner! You will enjoy that bottle...

The 375's are not as easy to date by the glass as are the 750's. You should know that...don't you have a 375 with a glass date of 2003 and a printed date code of 2006? Also, like others have mentioned, the labels with the hand writing are probably pre-2003. Then, they don't have any writing up until 2004-2006 when the label on the front changes to add the bar code (while losing the back label I think.)

Here is a bottle from 2003. The bottom of the glass is marked 03 and there is a printed date code of 03 on the back:

Here is a bottle (courtesy of jvande) from 2006. The bottom of the glass is marked 03, the printed code says 06, and the label is different from the 03 bottle above:

[gblick]

Also, like others have mentioned, the labels with the hand writing are probably pre-2003. Then, they don't have any writing up until 2004-2006..

As far as I have seen (and I've seen lots), only Louisville bottles had hand written numbers on them (no Frankforts) and that was only up until 1999, at which time the labels switched to Frankfort and they stopped hand writing any numbers on them. It was in 2003 that they ommited the "No._____" field altogether on the labels of the bigger bottles (750's, liters, & handles). The 375ml bottles never ommited the "No._____" field from the paper labels. Sorry if I was a little unclear earlier.

I haven't seen a 375ml OWA since the new bottle change/clear labels, I think the stores here must've quit selling OWA in 375ml. Are the labels still paper on the 375ml OWA's, or did they change to clear like the WSR's?

And regarding the codes that are laser-etched (or some are printed in ink) on the back/side of the bottles, I'm not sure how to decipher those (I'd like to learn), I've always just gone by the 2-digit date embossed on the bottom of the bottles.

Edited December 23, 2013 by gblick
clarification

[TL2000]

If I'm looking at the top of the bottle from the back, it says the following right above the raised 375ml

A1397

0124

There is also a number below the label printed in somewhat dotted text that says:

42601044

I'm assuming the top number means it was bottled in 97?

Thanks

[smknjoe]

If I'm looking at the top of the bottle from the back, it says the following right above the raised 375ml

A1397

0124

There is also a number below the label printed in somewhat dotted text that says:

42601044

I'm assuming the top number means it was bottled in 97?

Thanks

If it's 426 01 044 I'm going to guess that it's from 2001. The bottom printed number is the only one I've see with a date.

Edit: but Gus makes a good point about the bottle shape and label of your's being older. I really do think that they went through the 375 bottle stock much slower than the 750's and larger.

Edited December 23, 2013 by smknjoe

[smknjoe]

I haven't seen a 375ml OWA since the new bottle change/clear labels, I think the stores here must've quit selling OWA in 375ml. Are the labels still paper on the 375ml OWA's, or did they change to clear like the WSR's?

I saw some 375's the last time I was in Dallas and they had a clear label similar to the current 750's. I didn't purchase one. So, I can't provide any info on the date of the bottle.

Thanks for the clarification above, Gus. You certainly have a lot more experience with Weller than many.

[gblick]

If it's 426 01 044 I'm going to guess that it's from 2001. The bottom printed number is the only one I've see with a date.

Edit: but Gus makes a good point about the bottle shape and label of your's being older. I really do think that they went through the 375 bottle stock much slower than the 750's and larger.

But the labels switched to Frankfort in 1999 and they quit writing in the numbers by hand in the upper left. Every single Louisville bottle I've ever seen (without exception) had numbers written by hand, and not a single Frankfort I've ever seen has any numbers written by hand there. So I find it hard to believe the OP's bottle is from 2001. Also the printed codes on the back (not the embossed ones on the bottom) seem as if they follow some decipherable convention on the Frankfort bottles, but the printed codes on the Louisville bottles are all over the place, so I'm not sure if I'd trust any guesses on those. My guess would be that the OP's bottle is from 1996-1997 at the latest, but I'm certainly no expert.

Edited December 23, 2013 by gblick

[smknjoe]

My guess would be that the OP's bottle is from 1996-1997 at the latest, but I'm certainly no expert.

I'd trust your opinion more than my own Gus. Thanks for the info.

[gblick]

If I'm looking at the top of the bottle from the back, it says the following right above the raised 375ml

A1397

0124

There is also a number below the label printed in somewhat dotted text that says:

42601044

I'm assuming the top number means it was bottled in 97?

Thanks

I'd really like to figure out how to accurately date these old bottles.

Right now I have a 375ml OWA in my hand that is very similar to yours with these details:

-Louisville, KY

-Hand written number on the upper left is: wl 92,692

-99 embossed on the bottom

-Near the top of the bottle on the back where it has the raised 375ml is a printed code of:

C2699

0529

-The number below the label printed in somewhat dotted text that says:

2537101116

I'm thinking that maybe since yours has 96 on the bottom and the top number of the rear code is A1397, that may place yours at 1997 with the bottle being molded a year before they used it. Mine here has a hand-written number of wl 92,692 (much higher than yours of wl 70,436), with the 99 on the bottom and the top number of the rear code being C2699, that may place this one at 1999 with the bottle being molded the same year they used it. It seems to make some logical sense looking at all the numbers between these two bottles, but I'm not sure what to make of the other long number below the label (yours being 42601044, and mine being 2537101116), quite a difference there.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this and care to offer any other info that may not have been touched on?

I have other bottles from various years including gold veins and tax strips etc, and I'd like to document all the details (labels, numbers, codes, etc) and see if we can find some corrolations in the numbering conventions, and thus try to come up with an accurate way to date these old bottles. Maybe I'll create a new thread for that.

Edited December 23, 2013 by gblick
clarification/accuracy

[WsmataU]

I'll check a couple of mine when I get home. But just for clarification, are the "codes" listed above, from the label or laser codes printed on the bottle. I've been admonished not to give non- 750 bottles the same level of accuracy for dating the embossed date that the bottle was made. Evidently the handles/pints/375s take much longer to get filled due to lower production numbers that can be off by a few years.

[WsmataU]

I'd love to have a sticky that outlined all the identification features for Weller products. I know "roughly when paper labels were switched to the modern bottle, but it would be nice to have one spot to get info for both WSR and OWA bottlings, label changes, etc.

[gblick]

I'll check a couple of mine when I get home. But just for clarification, are the "codes" listed above, from the label or laser codes printed on the bottle. I've been admonished not to give non- 750 bottles the same level of accuracy for dating the embossed date that the bottle was made. Evidently the handles/pints/375s take much longer to get filled due to lower production numbers that can be off by a few years.

Thanks for helping out by getting in on this. I find the whole thing to be pretty fascinating and fun, mostly because I love this whiskey so much. I'll create a new thread for this, so please document your details in the new thread.

The codes listed above are printed on the glass itself, and these are strictly 375ml bottles we are talking about. The two-line code (beginning with a letter) is up near the top of the back (between the shoulders) right where 375ml is molded into the glass, and the long printed number is on the glass on the back below the paper label. And of course the hand-written numbers are on the upper left of the front label in the "No._____" field.

And I agree with you about the non-750ml bottles being harder to accurately date by that number on the bottom.

Edited December 23, 2013 by gblick