Dunbar's Special Rare Old Highland Whisky

[gilles246]

That unopened 40 oz. bottle with a seal cork has been blended and bottled by John Dunbar Distillers Co. Ltd. in Montreal, Canada. The bottle was bought at a "Quebec Liquor Board" at a price of 8.00 $. There's nothing on the label about the age and the alc./vol. Could you help me with a date and value of that bottle.

[Jojo]

Please do post photos and we will see if we can help.

[Jojo]

We will see if we can have this bottle dated.

[blenderm]

This label is similar to the Dunbar's that was part of Seagram's many years ago

[gilles246]

Thanks for reply Michael,
If you think it is similar, do you know, approx.,what year the label Seagram replace the Dunbar label ?

[Jojo]

I thought this might be a part of the Diageo family, but they tell us it’s not a former Seagram brand (which they acquired).

[blenderm]

Hi Jojo, if Diageo didn't get this brand then it's possibly still with Chivas as I know that Chivas bottled the brand in Scotland back in the 70's and 80's. It's very possible that they leased the brand to the Quebec Liquor Board to allow them to bottle it in Canada from whisky shipped by Chivas.
This happened with a number of companies and Liquor Boards in the 70's and 80's but seemed to stop in the late 80's. I know that the likes of the LCBO were buying new blend [i.e. new malt and grain, blended and then matured in Scotland] then shipped and bottled under their own brands.

[Jojo]

Thanks blenderm - great info. I'll start with Chivas to see if they can help. Hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

[Jojo]

We found out from an Chivas archivist that while they do not have much info on this one - they think the company went out of business in 1989. They also believe it was an Allied Brand - even though it says Montreal on the label because John Dunbar Distillers were part of United Distilleries at the time. blenderm - does that make sense to you?

[blenderm]

I would agree with the 1989 date but it was never owned by Hiram Walker or Allied. In the early 80's I traced the company to Seagrams [who owned Chivas at that time] and when I asked this was confirmed by some one working there.
It's very possible that with all the take overs and changes these decondary companies and brands were lost. Bacvk in those days very few, if any, whisky company was interested in archiving their brands and data.