Sunny brook kentucky straight bourbon

[IanShafer]

I just found a few bottles today of Sunny Brook kentucky straight bourbon. It is not the blended whiskey. It carries a 4 year age statement. On the outer rim at the bottom of the bottle it has a raised glass number reading "95" All the info I can find says beam bought it from ND in '87 and after they ran out of the old ND stock, they started making it a blended whiskey. Does anyone have anymore info on this brand? I can't seem to find any. Thanks!

[jsrudd]

My understanding is that Sunny Brook was a low end "cats & dogs" brand of ND, but that's about all I know. 

As for determining if its actually ND juice, you should check the UPC and see if starts with 86259. This is the ND UPC.

You should also check the label for any references to "Clermont, KY" since this means its made by Jim Beam. 

I have a similar bottle of Hill & Hill, another lower end ND brand, that has a ND UPC and a "94" about where your bottle has a "95." Mine also has a little cursive B next to the 94. I have no idea whether this is actually ND product and I haven't gotten around to opening the bottle to see if it tastes like it was made with Jim Beam yeast.   

Sorry I can't be of more help. 

[rooskie]

I think the UPC is the key. I also have a 90's bottle of Hill and Hill with the 86259 UPC, and it's definitely ND juice, presumably at least 5 years old given that Beam acquired ND's brands in '87 (rather than "THIS WHISKEY IS FOUR YEARS OLD" as the glaring capitals on the back declare.) The whiskey is the best 80 proof bourbon I've ever had. It's a bit simplistic, but basically gives you caramel and butterscotch for days. A friend described it as "like drinking bourbon candy." No JB whang detected. I can only assume Sunny Brook would be similar, IF it has the 86259 UPC code and/or no mention of Clermont. My bottle of H&H is a bit cryptic stating only "Distilled in Kentucky" 

[jsrudd]

I think I have the same bottle of Hill and Hill, though mine is only 750ml. 

It also turns out that I was wrong about the "94" on the side of the bottle. It's a "95" just like Ian's bottle of Sunnybrook. 

[rooskie]

Interesting. I have a bottle of Old Charter 8 year with the old label that has a 95 on the side of the bottle near bottom as well. I'll have to see if I can grab a picture later. It has the 88004 UPC used by Ancient Age/BT and says Frankfort, but I'm not sure if that indicates that it was distilled there, bottled there, or both. 

[IanShafer]

Thanks for all the info guys. Looks like my bottle is JB distillate. I kinda figured it was. Still cool to find an old bottle that had been sitting there for 21 years. I didn't expect it be mind blowing juice inside honestly. I also found an Old Charter 8 year with the old label. It has a raisd 95 on the glass too so I'm thinking it was distilled in 87. I'm curious what these two will taste like when I finally get around to opening them. 

[jsrudd]

I've done a little more research on the bottle. If you look at my picture, you can see a cursive "B" to the right of the "95." According to this bottle collector website, the cursive "B" is the mark of Ball Glass Container Corp., a company that only existed from 1994-1995 before it merged with Foster-Forbes to create Ball-Foster.  Ball is better known for their mason jars. 

This means that the "95" is likely the year the bottle was made, even though all of us have the same number printed on the side of the bottle. 

1 hour ago, IanShafer said:

Thanks for all the info guys. Looks like my bottle is JB distillate. I kinda figured it was. Still cool to find an old bottle that had been sitting there for 21 years. I didn't expect it be mind blowing juice inside honestly. I also found an Old Charter 8 year with the old label. It has a raisd 95 on the glass too so I'm thinking it was distilled in 87. I'm curious what these two will taste like when I finally get around to opening them. 

Did you check the UPC on the Sunny Brook?  

Glut-era whiskey is often much older than the age statement on the bottle and so, even if it was bottled in 1995, it could still be ND distillate, especially considering that Jim Beam turned the brand into a blended whiskey after it ran out of ND product. 

 

[rooskie]

I've looked a bit more into my Old Charter bottle, and it would appear that it was bottled in 2006 according to the Julian code. It has an "SG" and "21" in addition to the 95 near the bottom. There isn't anything written on the bottom of the bottle. It's quite strange.