Have you ever seen this?

[ENYAW]

A friend of mine was going through a recently deceased family members stuff and found these bourbon bottles from the 1970's.  She asked me if I thought any of them were worth anything.  I told her I do not have an idea, but I know some people that might.  I do not believe I have seen these before.  If any of you have experience with these bottles I would be happy to pass any information along.  Thanks 

[PaulO]

Those are really cool.  You might want to ask around to find an auctioneer that can sell full bottles of liquor.  I'm assuming they are full.  The whiskey in ceramic decanters sometimes went bad, so questionable to drink.  Glass bottles usually fine if the top seal intact and stored upright.  I've heard a ballpark figure for a full Beam decanter around $30.

I'm assuming the Four Roses is blended whiskey.  It was inexpensive in that era.  The company has morphed into a premium brand, so someone would buy that.   

[Obree]

Really nice! The Beam's go for between 60-100 Euro over here in Europe, so around 66-110 USD

[berto]

Beam made many many many decanters commemorating everything under the sun in an effort to sell bourbon that nobody was buying.   In my experience the contents, if the seal remained intact and the bottles were stored correctly, range from meh to good with very little chance of being great.  They’re a nice piece of history to drink and compare against current Beam product.  Selling alcohol requires a license.  An auction house could give a very rough estimate of what they might sell for but they might not sell at all.  There isn’t a huge market.  It’s more pick a price and hope you find a buyer.  Empty decanters can be found on ebay.  

[mbroo5880i]

While I wouldn't mind having some of the old school decanters, I wouldn't trust the whiskey.  They would just be conversation pieces.  I wouldn't pay more than $20 each, if the fill levels and boxes were intact.  Not much more than the empty bottle. 

 

[ENYAW]

Thanks for all the info.  I will pass it on.

[fishnbowljoe]

18 minutes ago, ENYAW said:

Thanks for all the info.  I will pass it on.

Hey Wayne. I just found a book my sister and brother in law gave me a while back. It’s a 2005 edition, and is an Unauthorized Collectors Guide for empty Beam decanters. If your friend isn’t in a rush, maybe I can help at least a little. Just send me a list of the decanters and years and I’ll see what I can do, Also and FWIW, I’ve had numerous Beam decanters over the years. Drank and shared them all.  Never had a bad one. Also, one of the guys in our local bourbon/cigar ran into basically the same thing you did. Someone passed away and had a bunch of Beam Decanters. I’ll check with him and see what he paid for them. He’s brought samples to share from a couple. They tasted just fine. Joe

 

 

 

 

[ENYAW]

That's awesome!  Thanks Joe

 

[fishnbowljoe]

1 hour ago, ENYAW said:

That's awesome!  Thanks Joe

 

No prob Wayne. Sadly, my so called “friend” from our bourbon/cigar group wasn’t very helpful. He bought all the decanters a lady had, but can’t remember how many bottles he bought, or how much he paid for the whole kit and kaboodle Sorry.

[flahute]

I have three Beam's Choice decanters from the early 70's that have that wild life painting motif on them and was initially concerned about lead until I realized they were glass that had been painted. Check yours out closely if you decide to open one.

As other's have said the bourbon is good but not special. 80 proof on mine. It does taste like it's from a different era which is pretty cool.

[ENYAW]

21 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

No prob Wayne. Sadly, my so called “friend” from our bourbon/cigar group wasn’t very helpful. He bought all the decanters a lady had, but can’t remember how many bottles he bought, or how much he paid for the whole kit and kaboodle Sorry.

No worries, thanks for checking.  

[PaulO]

5 hours ago, flahute said:

I have three Beam's Choice decanters from the early 70's that have that wild life painting motif on them and was initially concerned about lead until I realized they were glass that had been painted. Check yours out closely if you decide to open one.

As other's have said the bourbon is good but not special. 80 proof on mine. It does taste like it's from a different era which is pretty cool.

Yes this, a lot of the more close to normal bottle shape are glass that was painted, so no worries about lead glaze leaching.  Some of the more outrageous shapes are ceramic.  You can probably look at the bottom and determine if it's glazed ceramic or glass (without opening).  If it's open, should be fairly obvious by examining rim of the mouth.

Edited June 15, 2023 by PaulO

[Richnimrod]

Nothing to add here... yet I'll post this anyway...

I came to own several of the Beam decanters (8-10?).   Dad had more than a few of the wildlife bottles: the whitetail buck (shown), grouse, rabbit (shown) and a few others, if memory serves (sadly, it doesn't always any more).   He also had some 'patriotic' themed ones (maybe including the one shown?).    I got all of 'em and had 'em displayed (empty) for a good while; but, eventually needed space and after some good-natured "nagging" by my bride, sorted and sifted all the stuph displayed and eliminated almost all of 'em.   I think I just tossed 'em; but, can't recall for sure.   Anyway, all but a couple are long gone and I wish I had em' back.    I'd find space!