Cloudy dusty bourbon?

[Bourbon_Watcher_84]

[Bourbon_Watcher_84]

So my wife found these at a garage sale (it's safe to say she's a better bourbon hunter than I am...).  They are all sealed.  Yes, I'm a pretty lucky guy. She had no idea what they were, nor did the gentleman selling them.  They had apparently been sitting on his grandparent's mantle since the 1950s...

 

My question: The IW Harper (from 1955) is a bit cloudy.  There's obviously been some evaporation out of the bottle (same as the OGD), but I am wondering if it's OK to drink as is, or if I should filter it somehow prior to drinking.  I remember reading on a forum somewhere that you can filter bourbon through a coffee filter to remove such fogginess, but that may also have been me assimilating something from a different topic and wanting it to be a fix.  

 

I'm fairly new to dusty bourbon, so any help here would be appreciated.  

[PaulO]

Those are really cool.

I've heard of pouring through a coffee filter after a cork breaks apart - to strain out little pieces of cork.

If it were me, I wouldn't do anything other than pour a small amount into a glass.  Swirl it around and smell it.  If it smells OK, a tiny taste.

If you do, let us know how it is.

[RBQChicken]

All I can say is..wow! what a nice find.  Personally, I wouldn't filter it. Just enjoy it as is.

[0895]

It is probably very oxidized,

but likely won’t hurt to take a sip as is.

 

Hard to say how good they will be.

I’m going to go against the grain here and say just leave them sealed and display.

I’ve only had a few “dustys” that actually tasted good to me.  Bottles with that much evaporation are likely very oxidized.

[B.B. Babington]

53 minutes ago, 0895 said:

...I’m going to go against the grain here and say just leave them sealed and display....

well, if ya drink, I suggest drink as is.  but I think 0895 has the better idea.

[Old Hippie]

The cloudiness likely means they were not filtered before bottling. No harm - enjoy.

I found a bottle of Old Fitzgerald bottled in 1969 i believe. It had a couple of inches gone due to evaporation. Drank it and enjoyed it thoroughly

[Davis Huston]

That's an incredible find.
I do recommend filtering out any cork that breaks apart while opening. Old cork will quickly ruin the taste if left in the bottle... I've made that mistake before.

[Bourbon_Watcher_84]

20 hours ago, Davis Huston said:

That's an incredible find.
I do recommend filtering out any cork that breaks apart while opening. Old cork will quickly ruin the taste if left in the bottle... I've made that mistake before.

Yeah, that's a common thing with old Wild Turkey, I've found.  I always filter out any cork with a mesh strainer. 

 

To clarify, the OGD seems fine, even though there is quite a bit of evaporation, and the Old Fitzgerald doesn't have much loss at all, so I expect that one to be quite good.  It's ONLY the IW Harper that seems cloudy.  I've got a 1980s bottling of IW Harper 12 (86 proof) that I really enjoy, so I'm excited to try this 1950s bottling, I just hope it hasn't turned too much.

 

The OGD and OF will likely get opened.  I don't keep shelf stock on hand just to show off, and I don't trade or re-sell on secondary.  These are once-in-a-lifetime bottles for me, so I'm going to enjoy the hell out of them.

[fishnbowljoe]

Bourbons were filtered back then, just not chill filtered. Chill filtering removes more congeners, which in turn reduces the cloudiness in bourbons. Back in the day, there was concern from consumers that there was something wrong with their bourbon if it was cloudy. Adding water or ice to a pour made the cloudiness become even more apparent. Distilleries started chill filtering to alleviate this issue. IIRC, it wasn’t until the 1970’s that chill filtering started becoming the standard practice at distilleries.

 

As things have changed in the bourbon world, many people now believe that chill filtering also removes some flavors. More and more distilleries are now releasing non chill filtered products. I guess what goes around comes around.

 

Biba! Joe

[Bourbon_Watcher_84]

56 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

Bourbons were filtered back then, just not chill filtered. Chill filtering removes more congeners, which in turn reduces the cloudiness in bourbons. Back in the day, there was concern from consumers that there was something wrong with their bourbon if it was cloudy. Adding water or ice to a pour made the cloudiness become even more apparent. Distilleries started chill filtering to alleviate this issue. IIRC, it wasn’t until the 1970’s that chill filtering started becoming the standard practice at distilleries.

 

As things have changed in the bourbon world, many people now believe that chill filtering also removes some flavors. More and more distilleries are now releasing non chill filtered products. I guess what goes around comes around.

 

Biba! Joe

Yeah, I'm familiar with the chill filtering, didn't realize it wasn't a thing back then.  This IW Harper I'm concerned with isn't chilled, it's room temp and still a bit cloudy, which is why I was asking.  I don't really have an opinion on chill filtering, either way; if I like the flavor, I like the bourbon.  

[smokinjoe]

While I’ve had low-fill dusties, even some severely so, that tasted just fine, I’ve never had a cloudy dusty that was anything short of horrible.  If you get 2 of the 3 to be reasonable representations of the whiskey that originally went into the bottle, I would say you had a pretty good day.  IMO, if these were mine, and I would have to accept that one of those were fouled, I’d want it to be the Harper and not the OGD or Fitz.  So, from my view in the cheap seats, I think things look good for you!

[Bourbon_Watcher_84]

7 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

While I’ve had low-fill dusties, even some severely so, that tasted just fine, I’ve never had a cloudy dusty that was anything short of horrible.  If you get 2 of the 3 to be reasonable representations of the whiskey that originally went into the bottle, I would say you had a pretty good day.  IMO, if these were mine, and I would have to accept that one of those were fouled, I’d want it to be the Harper and not the OGD or Fitz.  So, from my view in the cheap seats, I think things look good for you!

Thanks for that insight, I think you're right!  Not pictured in that particular shot are two 1950s Jim Beam Bottled in Bond Greek decanters, both full and sealed as well.  Those, according to most things I've read, will almost certainly have significant lead contamination, so I won't be cracking them any time soon... But based on those two, like you said, I think my wife did pretty good for me!

[PaulO]

1 hour ago, Bourbon_Watcher_84 said:

Thanks for that insight, I think you're right!  Not pictured in that particular shot are two 1950s Jim Beam Bottled in Bond Greek decanters, both full and sealed as well.  Those, according to most things I've read, will almost certainly have significant lead contamination, so I won't be cracking them any time soon... But based on those two, like you said, I think my wife did pretty good for me!

I would indeed hesitate to drink anything out of an old ceramic container.  Those Beam decanters are not all the same material.  Some look like ceramic, but are actually painted glass.  In that case, maybe OK.  Old corks can fail, or break on opening. 

[Kepler]

I obviously don't know my Old Fitz history.  I didn't realize that the current Old Fitz BiB "decanter" series LE's had a historical tie to that old bottle style.  Cool, I learned something tonight.  Anybody know what year those old decanter style bottles came from?

[B.B. Babington]

On 9/20/2021 at 3:36 PM, Bourbon_Watcher_84 said:

...most things I've read, will almost certainly have significant lead contamination, ...

and that's a bad thing?  You've never experienced the oily thick mouthfeel from lead.  ah, very comforting after hard day

[fishnbowljoe]

Not 100% sure, but here goes anyway. The amount of lead ingested in two or three decanters over a period of time is more than likely fairly negligible. If all you drank from on a daily basis over a prolonged period of time was from decanters containing lead, then you might have a problem.

 

Also, corks can be a bit of a problem on older decanters. I never really had much of a problem with old Beam decanters. Just remove the corks slow and easy. On the other hand, corks on WT, Ezra Brooks, McCormick and other decanters can be a real pain. Regardless of distillery, lead problems, or cork issues, I’ve always filtered all my decanters twice, through a coffee filter under a small strainer. The second time was into one of many empty 750’s I always keep on hand. Regardless of all this, I thoroughly enjoyed every old decanter I ever had. Good luck with your decanters. 

 

Biba! Joe

[Bourbon_Watcher_84]

12 hours ago, Kepler said:

I obviously don't know my Old Fitz history.  I didn't realize that the current Old Fitz BiB "decanter" series LE's had a historical tie to that old bottle style.  Cool, I learned something tonight.  Anybody know what year those old decanter style bottles came from?

This one's tax strip says 1953, and it's a 6 year old whiskey which makes the distillate from 1947.  These are called the "Christmas Decanters" and I think were special releases in the winter.  I just picked up an old magazine advertisement from 1955 with this decanter on it, which means they were likely available early-to-mid 1950s, possibly later into that decade.  There are definitely more knowledgeable people on the subject than I, as I'm just piecing many little tidbits together. 

 

I also have the 11 Year Old Fitz Heaven Hill decanter, it looks slightly different than this one.  I'll venture to say the booze isn't as good, either (still haven't popped the S-W...).  I actually am not a fan of the HH wheated mashbill.  Larceny isn't that great, and the 11 year Old Fitz is fairly bland for such an age stated bourbon.  I'm likely in the minority on that one...

[RankAmatuer]

So, did you try the Harper?

[FacePlant]

On 9/14/2021 at 9:04 PM, 0895 said:

It is probably very oxidized,

but likely won’t hurt to take a sip as is.

 

Hard to say how good they will be.

I’m going to go against the grain here and say just leave them sealed and display.

I’ve only had a few “dustys” that actually tasted good to me.  Bottles with that much evaporation are likely very oxidized.

I think 95 advice here is perfect....except for the old Fitz.  

[Dannabis]

Very attractive bottle designs. Classy!