Need help with a purchase of Hermitage Rye 1888/1903

Have an old/rare bottle you'd like some more info on?

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Need help with a purchase of Hermitage Rye 1888/1903

Unread postby Providence_Bourbon » Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:15 pm

So I met someone who's coworkers mom, has two pre-pro bottles. One is an Old Hermitage 15 year rye 1888/1903. The other is a bottle of Swastika whiskey, from the back label (only pic I have), says it was barreled in 1910 by/for (cant make out the label) George M Reynolds. The pictures I'm working with are really bad. Can't even tell if either are drinkable. I told the guy that I'd "sell" the bottles for her and he sent me the only pictures he had.

By "sell" I mean buy for my own collection. The last bottle of pre-pro I had was a bottle of Overholt bottled in 1916. It was bad. Smelled like paint thinner. I shed a tear while I poured it down the drain. That was over a year ago and now I have a chance for redemption!

I've done a bunch of research so far. Found a lot of cool stuff on W. A. Gaines and Co but I havent found anything like WHO actually made this juice.

The Swastika whiskey is very intriguing. I've tried to look up a George M Reynolds and aside from a book a George M Reynolds wrote (Machine Politics in New Orleans, 1897-1926), I cant find anything else on this person around that timeline. Was he the master distiller at the Frankfort Distilling Co in 1910? Is he someone of bourbon lore?

I'm specifically asking for a price point. What should I pay for these bottles? I'm used to estate sale prices and I've purchased some bottles off of an individual before but I was totally ripped off. Paid way more than they were worth. I had the bourbon lust, hard. Any info will be appreciated.

This whole situation is wild to me because Ive never had bottles fall into my lap before. Usually works out to 40 hours of hunting per bottle I find. So this is pretty nice, no effort whatsoever!

http://imgur.com/a/orKaj

I couldnt upload the photos here because of the pixels or something

Cheers!
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Re: Need help with a purchase of Hermitage Rye 1888/1903

Unread postby WhiskeyCollector » Wed Oct 12, 2016 4:44 pm

I'm no expert just a collector but I do have some pre-prohibition bottles I've had appraised.
With pre-prohibition bottles value mostly depends on the fill level, the clarity and quality of the whiskey, and the condition of the original seals and labels.
Corks don't make a perfect seal so almost all old unopened bottles of whiskey will have some loss from evaporation through the cork.
When too much alcohol evaporates through the cork over time the whiskey becomes cloudy and undrinkable.
As long as the fill level is high and the whiskey is still clear, it's a good sign that it MIGHT still be drinkable.
It's easy to put new whiskey in an old bottle and stuff a cork in it so most buyers think twice about buying bottles that don't have the original seals.
Specific brands and distilleries can also make a big difference as some are more popular than others.
The most popular/valuable seem to be Bottled In Bond and/or high proof bottles, and extra old aged whiskey with age statements.
The least valuable seem to be blended whiskeys.
From what I've seen, pre-pro quart bottles of bourbon or rye whiskey in almost perfect condition with high fill levels, good original seals, and clear contents are worth over $1,000.
If there's problems like low fill levels or bad/missing seals or labels it can sell for half that or less as there's no way to prove the contents are original if the seals are missing and if the contents are very low and cloudy and everything else is perfect then it's still collectable but much of the value is lost as it's no longer drinkable.
Hope this helps!
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