Dating A Case Of OLD Glenlivet, Drinkable? Collectable?
 

Hopefully someone can recognize the era these bottles were produced in? It seems that it was before Glenlivet started marking the age, and it came in a wooden crate with a series 112 tax stamp.

photos posted below, click any one for a higher res photo. External gallery here: http://imgur.com/a/GHSij#Gp9Hy

I found this case while cleaning out the storage room in my mother's house. She has no idea of its history and surmises it belonged to my late father. Looks like at some point in its history there was some water exposure at about the mid level point in the case, but it must have happened a long time ago because her storage room is/was/always has been quite dry. Unfortunately it's also not very insulated, so my guess is they have been exposed to higher temps than is commonly considered healthy for long term storage.

I want to figure out two things. How drinkable it is likely to be, and how collectible it is. If it's not collectible, I'll simply open and enjoy it for what it is. However if it has more value as a collectible than in drinking, I would gladly sell it and use the money to obtain something more special in the drinkable category. (a few good bottles of 20+ year? yes please!) I am absolutely a scotch drinker, but not a collector.

Thanks in advance for your help!!


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In the phrase of some other forum members "you might have something here!!" According to information on a well-respected and very comprehensive whisky site, your bottle(s) look identical to a bottling of the 12-year-old Glenlivet from the 1930's (comparing labels, lettering, etc.) which they currently value at around $3,400/bottle. (Full disclosure, they are a retailer; I'm not sure whether it's within forum rules to name them directly.) Also, you've got the original packaging (cartons) and although there seems to be some water(?) damage the bottle labels have probably been protected by the tissue paper wrapping shown in your pictures. The presence of original cartons would tend to add value. So if your bottles are genuine you should definitely keep them.

Now you might want to do some more research to determine provenance, and if possible have an expert examine them to be 100% sure. The importers' name and address in Mount Vernon, NY would be a lead to follow up if your detective skills are good (they're most likely long-defunct but may be traceable through a Google search). Do you have any educated guess as to how long they might have been in storage?

That's my two cent's worth. Any experts want to weigh in?

Sorry, I forgot to mention the importer on the label! You can try a Google search for Leeds Importers Corporation in Philadelphia as well as the one on the packing crate.

Thanks Son-o'-the-Sod(?) for your input. Trying to see here on our end about having it dated. You can mention the retailer, sure, no problem -and- I appreciate you being honest about that.

spectrrr - let's see if we can date first and then if you consider selling or want it valued, try contacting Rik Pike at Bonham's in NYC. You can reach him at 917 206 1644 or richard.pike (at) bonhams.com Let him know we sent ya!

Nice find! Good luck at auction. You might have just found yourself a lifetime of good whisky courtesy of your father!
Cheers.

Son-o'-the-Sod(?) - Thanks a bunch for the input! armed with your info, I did find the page you were referring to :)
Even the importer label on the bottom matches! Although the top of the 1930's bottle seems to be minus the foil that mine have.

JoJo - thanks for the referral the help. I'll be very curious what we come up with for a date if we are able to track anything down.

I've got an email in to Glenlivet themselves to see if they have any input. We'll see what comes back.

The tax stamp may be a viable next step in establishing a maximum age. Try as i might, i could not find a guide online to alcohol tax stamps, but surely it must exist somewhere the simple answer of "when did the series 112 stamp come out?" -- that would establish a 'maximum' year in age... and given its similarity to the 1930's bottling, it probably would be very close to the release date of the series 112 stamp.

Our contact for Glenlivet told us these particular bottles in question are at the earliest from 1963 and not the 1930s. It's a tricky time to age The Glenlivet from - as the bottle design didn’t change for a number of years - but the information on the shipping box was a huge help. First, Leeds became the importer in 1948 and second, the company in Mount Vernon (marked on the shipping crates) became the official importer in 1963. Therefore, this puts the crate at 1963 at the earliest. Keep us posted on what you decide to do : )