Help with identifying a stitzel-weller product

[johnnybravoo77]

Not Mine, but im intrigued on one of my facebook groups. A gentleman found this bottle, but i cant find anything on it. Its obviously a private label bottling, but curious if anyone had more info.

[fishnbowljoe]

Is there anything left of the tax stamp? Also, you might try contacting the liquor store named on the front of the bottle. Maybe someone that works there might be able to help you. 
 

Joe

[PaulO]

"ONE QUART" bottles for liquor got discontinued and changed to 4/5 Quart during WW II.

That bottle is old.

 

[BottledInBond]

On 2/16/2022 at 8:50 AM, PaulO said:

"ONE QUART" bottles for liquor got discontinued and changed to 4/5 Quart during WW II.

That bottle is old.

 

If that bottle was from WWII or earlier the message on the back label would not make any sense at all:

 

”a firm and family that has been continuously engaged in producing sour mash Kentucky bourbon for three generations”

 

Since WWII ended in 1945 and Stitzell-Weller was built in 1935, that would be an impossible statement without some serious bending of truths. Plus what’s the three generations? Julian III didn’t coming the picture until 1977, and he is the third generation. So this label would have had to be written/produced after Julian III so decades after WWII
 

I’d be inclined to think this is an old bottle somebody put a fake label on trying to make a huge profit selling it but that’s just me. Would be happy to hear I’m wrong and that whoever has it is also actually drinking it

Edited February 17, 2022 by BottledInBond

[fishnbowljoe]

What’s the label on the side of the bottle?

[PaulO]

The label doesn't specifically state the name of the family doing the producing or where they were doing it.

Liquor labels have all sorts of yarns.

On the other hand, we can definitely place bottle age in some time frame based on units of measurement and other factors.

[BottledInBond]

9 hours ago, PaulO said:

The label doesn't specifically state the name of the family doing the producing or where they were doing it.

Liquor labels have all sorts of yarns.

On the other hand, we can definitely place bottle age in some time frame based on units of measurement and other factors.

The label says “Distilled, aged, and bottled by Stitzel-Weller”. That doesn’t seem very ambiguous about where they claim it to have been produced. Again, since Stitzel-Weller didn’t exist until 1935, if this really is a WWII era bottle, that is not long enough time for S-W to have some sort of rich storied tradition that this label seems to be referring to. Whiskey aged 5 years or more like this was only out for a couple of years when WWII ended. Like I said, this probably is an old bottle, but the reputation and history of Stitzel-Weller didn’t develop until much later than WWII. If they’re referring to the most famous 3 generations of whiskey producers in bourbon, who did run S-W at one point, again the third generation didn’t start working in the business until 1977.
 

Lots of holes in this scenario. Just saying, this perfect condition looking label on what is supposed to be a 75+ year old bottle, that refers to a long history of a specific place they say it was made at which would’ve only actually been selling aged product for a couple years by then, and trying to refer to a famous whiskey producing family with three generations whose 3rd generation didn’t get into the business until decades later? Forgive me but there seem to be a lot of reasons to suspect that this is a fake label slapped on an old bottle for someone to try to sell it for a small fortune 

[fishnbowljoe]

We’re trying to help you @johnnybravoo77. So far we have a suspect label, no pic of the top/ tax stamp, a fair amount of evaporation, and no response from you for five days.  “BUELLER!”

 

Joe

[PaulO]

Here's a question I'll put out there.  After 1943, when the 4/5 Quart size was introduced, were full sized Quart liquor bottles continued, maybe after the war?

Another clue for determining age, from 1935 - 1964 liquor bottles were required to have "Federal Law Forbids Sale or Reuse Of This Bottle" embossed on the bottle.

In 1980 bottles went from Imperial to Metric.

 

To be clear, I said the bottle is old.  (Older than my age counts as old.)

There's no way I can guarantee anything about the label or contents. 

[smokinjoe]

I have no idea if this bottle and label are genuine (and don’t care, for that matter), but thought I’d throw some info into the mix regarding the idea that because S-W distillery was only established in 1935, then the 3 generations statement must not be true, and likely a clue to the bottle not being authentic. Veach writes that the Stitzel part of Stitzel Weller is for Arthur Phillip Stitzel who was from a distilling family that owned and operated a distillery dating back to 1872, and eventually resulted in A Ph Stitzel himself opening his own distillery in 1903.  

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bourbonveach.com/2016/11/07/the-stitzel-factor-in-bourbon/amp/

 

As for the Weller part, their family’s involvement in bourbon production goes back even further; the early 1800’s.  Family farming distilling even earlier.  This is mentioned in several sources, including this from Buffalo Trace:

https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/legendary-people/weller.html
 

Again, I’m not saying this “proves” anything regarding the authenticity of this bottle, but I think it could reasonably support the label’s claim of a bourbon production heritage with earlier roots than 1935.  I’m just putting this out there because I woke up this morning earlier than I should have and it’s too damn cold to get out of bed…

 

 

 

[doubleblank]

SW did a ton of private label bottlings. At one time I had bottles from 5 different bars and country clubs in the San Francisco Bay area alone. Most were low proof and 4 years old and meant to be their well pour and nothing specially selected. The back labels on my bottles looked exactly like this one.