Medicinal Spirits

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

A friend of mine came across two individually boxed bottles of Medicinal Spirits. These were made by the American Distillery

Products company in Kentucky, and apparently bottled during the Prohibition, despite that they are dated 1917, and according

to the label contain 100 proof 15 year old bourbon. If you can offer any information about these items, such as the current state

of "American Distillery Products," or the value of such odd items, I would be most appreciative.

Also, although the tax stamp (?) is intact, there appears to have been some evaporation. How bad a sign is this?

Jim

[cowdery]

There was an American Distilling Company in Illinois that may have been licensed to product "medicinal sprits" during Prohibition. Most companies that did have those licenses were also consolidation warehouses, which explains why they had some whiskey distilled before Prohibition. Do you think it was 15 years old and distilled in 1917? In which case, it would have been bottled right at the end of Prohibition, which is possible. Or do you think it was bottled in 1917, meaning it was distilled in 1902? That would, certainly, be a little more rare, but either would be considered pre-prohibition.

As for an American Distillery Products based in Kentucky, I don't know of such a company, although the Illinois concern, which was owned by the Wilson family and had brands like Guckenheimer and Bourbon Supreme, may have owned some Kentucky-made whiskey. Another Illinois company, American Spirits Manufacturing Company, was one of the cornerstones of National Distillers. Another cornerstone of National was American Medicinal Spirits, which was a Kentucky company, owned principally by the Wathen family.

There really isn't much of a market for collectible American whiskey, so it's very hard to estimate a value. As for the evaporation, it isn't too much of a problem. It's almost impossible to hurt whiskey.

- chuck