KSNapa Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 I recently received two pre-prohibition bottles of C.A. Van Rensselaer. One is Yellow Label Rye and another is Old Rye Whiskey Golden Wedding 1898. I'm looking for the history of these bottles. Does anyone know of this producer/bottler and can shed some light? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Welcome to SB! I’ve not tried this site, but am familiar with it. I believe many have found info on their pre-pro bottles within its database. www.pre-pro.com Good Luck! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Found a picture of Mr. C. A. Van Rensselaer. Not sure that helps, but it seems his company was a wine merchant back in the day. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter C Hurst Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 (edited) KSNapa, As a whiskey collector & researcher, I can give you some background on both C. A. Van Rensselaer & Co, and the bottles themselves... Over the past 8-10 years I have come across a number of them bearing maybe 1/2 dozen well-known brand names. (I have also seen 2-3 other examples of the 1911 Pendennis Club "Beam" bottle I spy in your background). One line of the Van Rensselaer family were indeed Wine & Spirits merchants going as far back as 1880, though they are only noted in NYC from 1900 to about 1916. As was common for that period, Van Rensselaer & Co. acquired many spirits by the barrel to be bottled/labeled from their own store font. (The business itself appears to have folded shortly after WWI broke out, and this may have been largely due to a shortage of spirits as supplies were limited by Government wartime regulation, which was quickly followed by the onset of US Prohibition). The majority of C.A. Van Rensselaer & Co whiskies that I have researched appear to have been distilled between 1895-1908, with many of them bottled in 1914 specifically. As for the "Yellow Label" branded whiskey, this appears to be a product of Charles M Pfeifer & Co., a distiller with a long history out of Cincinnati, OH, and the owner of the only registered "Yellow Label" brand that can be found: Like many distillers of the day, Pfeifer & Co. sold its products both directly to consumers (in square bottles) and to retailers in bulk barrels which were often stored for aging in bonded warehouses. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me for more answers at any time. Cheers, Walter C Hurst Santa Rosa, CA Edited May 28 by Walter C Hurst Attachment 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbroo5880i Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 Wow, this thread almost made my head explode. It is crazy informative and cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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