EACH TASTING IS PRICED PER 1 OZ. POUR CAREFULLY CURATED by FRED MINNICK VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE VINTAGE WHISKEYS FROM 1800’s a TASTE of HISTORY TO MODERN ERA Our unique collection features whiskey, bourbon, and rye brands from across the globe, including over 400 vintage American whiskeys curated by renowned whiskey author Fred Minnick. THE 1800‘S Throughout the 1800s, whiskey dominated the news and medicine. You’d find whiskey invading the White House and causing scandals. President Grant’s reelection campaign was, in part, paid for by whiskey distillers defrauding the government and bribing politicians so they wouldn’t have to pay as much in taxes. It also was the subject of great political debate, from temperance women trying to ban it, to whiskey distillers trying to protect it, while doctors prescribed bourbon for everything from gout to cancer. The whiskeys from this era did not have the same consumer protection as they do today. In some cases, the whiskey rectifiers added acids and unpalatable materials VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE that would be banned by today’s regulations. These whiskeys were tested, but taste at your own risk. IMPORTANT LEGISLATION Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. This was the first consumer protection legislation for whiskey and is still seen on bottles today. E1. CEDAR BROOK WHISKEY VINTAGE HANDMADE SOUR MASH WHISKEY / $1,600 BOTTLED 1892 U.S. President: Benjamin Harrison Cedar Brook was a popular Anderson County brand made at the McBrayer Distillery. This brand won the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. This particular bottle is believed to have been a contract produced product for a grocer named James Levy & Bro. in Cincinnati. Contemporary Kentucky Owl founder, Dixon Dedman, is a descendant of the distiller. VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE CAREFULLY CURATED by FRED MINNICK VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE 1900-1919 FROM 1800’s a TASTE of HISTORY TO MODERN ERA 1900-1919 At the turn of the century, American whiskey lacked the trust of the nation. Many medicinal whiskey marketers oversold whiskey’s benefits. Duffy’s Pure Malt Whiskey told people its whiskey cured just about everything, even ugliness. Furthermore, many Americans compared whiskey to the devil, leading to sweeping regulations that ended alcohol altogether. IMPORTANT LEGISLATION VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE Pure Food & Drug Act changed the medicinal whiskey claims, but did not define bourbon, which President Howard Taft did in the Taft Decision in late 1909. But the worst piece of legislation in American history— Prohibition—passed in 1919. E2. FORTUNA BOURBON / $1,200 DISTILLED 1917, BOTTLED 1933, 17 YEARS, 100 PROOF Distilled by Glencoe Distillery Co, Inc., Louisville, KY With his brother Louis, in 1878, German immigrant Philip Hollenbach started the company Hollenbach Bros., a wholesale liquor company in downtown Louisville. In less than a decade, the brothers expanded into the distilling business, taking over the Glencoe Distillery, with Fortuna becoming their flagship product. They worked with the famous Stitzel family to create bourbon, but their facilities were dismantled during Prohibition and this bottle of Fortuna would be one of the last remaining bottles a Hollenbach approved. In a book, Hollenbach cited a drinking poem from his beloved Rhine area in Germany: Drink to the Rhine! And every coming morrow Be mirth and music thine! And when we meet a child of care and sorrow, WHISKEY VINTAGE We’ll send them to the Rhine. E3. OLD DARLING WHISKEY / $1,000 BOTTLED IN BOND, DISTILLED 1911, BOTTLED 1919, 8 YEARS,100 PROOF Distilled and Bottled by Darling Distillery, Prestonville, KY Bottled just before Prohibition went into effect, this Old Darling would have sold for about 90 cents and was considered a “value” brand, of sorts, for the time. In Prestonville, KY, The Darling Distillery was once a beacon for Carroll County, with the capacity of churning out 20,000 bushels per day. When this was distilled, Darling was a prominent value brand. But they were so close to the Kentucky river that they were frequently subject to flooding and the distillery never gained its footing after Prohibition. This is one of the last bottles from its Prestonville stocks. The name was later used in Shively, KY. These Overholt bottles came from the estate of Richard Mellon Scaife, which sold through the famous auction house, Christies. These are their notes at the time of the sale: Throughout his long and storied life, Richard Mellon Scaife remained both iconoclastic and enigmatic. Celebrated for his philanthropic largesse, he supported causes ranging from environmental conservation, political thought, free speech and the fine arts. Scaife’s private collection, however, paints a more intimate portrait of a fun-loving man who found inspiration in whimsy and charm; a collector with a keen eye and an adventurous spirit. This extraordinary cache of whiskey, which forms part of The Collection of Richard Mellon Scaife provides a singular glimpse into a prominent and influential American figure. E4. OVERHOLT Old Overholt is one of the oldest distilleries in America that is still running today. Abraham Overholt RYE WHISKEY / $1,250 began distilling his Rye Whiskey in 1810, and by 1812 had established a commercial distillery in DISTILLED 1908 West Overton, Pennsylvania where he produced Old Farm Pure Rye Whiskey. In 1860, Jacob Overholt, Abraham’s son and his cousin Henry Overholt built a second distillery in nearby Broad Ford, and it was here that the first Rye whiskey bearing the Overholt brand was distilled. E5. OVERHOLT Old Overholt is a Straight Rye Whiskey, aged at least four years, but in the case of these older RYE WHISKEY / $1,250 examples which were distilled before the commencement of prohibition, it is likely that the whiskey DISTILLED 1909 spent much longer in cask, leading to a richer style of whiskey. VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE Old Overholt is one of the most consistent styles of whiskey in America, and in the minds of many, was one of the most characterful and elegant Rye whiskies that were distilled at the beginning of the 20th century. The whiskey was distilled in a large, wooden three chamber still (a hybrid between a pot and column still) from a mash bill of rye and barley malt and aged in heated warehouses. TASTING NOTES We are delighted to offer this rare collection of multiple original wooden cases of ‘Overholt’ Rye Whiskey, it is without doubt the most important collection of Pre-Prohibition whiskey Christie’s David Wondrich 09/08/2015 have ever sold. The whiskey comes from the private collection of Richard Mellon Scaife, whose Nose: notes of cedar, resin and allspice. More spice character than grain; Christmassy ancestor Andrew Mellon, once owned a share in Old Overholt distillery. The whiskey was stored in preserved, sweet spices. Very bright and clean. private cellars for the entirety of its life. The bottles are all one quart sized and presented in original Palate: Initial notes of cedar and sweet spice consistent with the nose, followed by wooden cases (banded before Specialists’ inspection). This whiskey was probably bottled after 10-14 pleasant waves of sweet grain character. Warm, dry and very long finish, not too wood- years in oak barrel, possibly in 1919 as a hedge against Prohibition (it was perhaps re-bottled later). dominated, with a good deal of grain developing late. Very clean and extremely rich for It was not bottled for commercial purposes: the vintage dating on bottle along with the fact that an American rye whiskey. A very good whiskey. there is no other detail relating to ABV indicates this was bottled for the family. CAREFULLY CURATED by FRED MINNICK VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE PROHIBITION FROM 1800’s a TASTE of HISTORY TO MODERN ERA PROHIBITION Prohibition. Ugh. Thirteen miserable years of no drinking, right? Well, not exactly. During this dry season from 1920 to 1933, you could go to your doctor and get a prescription for medicinal whiskey. But not all states allowed this. If you were sick in Indiana and West Virginia—two bone dry states—you saw a doctor in a neighboring state to help with that horrible sickness to get your pint of whiskey. Or you called a bootlegger, because—cough, cough—you were really sick. VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE IMPORTANT LEGISLATION Distillers, doctors and druggists lobbied Congress for fewer medicinal whiskey restrictions. It was tough sledding, though. Dry politicians still argued whiskey was the devil, even if you were sick. P1. MONTICELLO SPECIAL RESERVE OLD STYLE PURE RYE WHISKEY / $675 BOTTLED IN BOND, DISTILLED IN 1917, BOTTLED IN 1926, 9 YEARS, 100 PROOF Distilled and Bottled by The Monticello Distillery Co., Baltimore, MD P2. OLD OSCAR PEPPER OLD FASHIONED HAND MADE SOUR MASH WHISKEY / $300 VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE BOTTLED IN BOND, DISTILLED 1916, BOTTLED 1926, 10 YEARS, 100 PROOF “For Medicinal Purposes Only” Distilled at Labrot & Graham, Kentucky, Bottled by The Frankfort Distillery P3. SEAGRAM’S PEDIGREE STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY DISTILLED IN CANADA / $500 BOTTLED IN BOND, DISTILLED 1929, 8 YEARS, 100 PROOF Distilled and Bottled by Jos. E. Seagram & Sons, Limited, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada This is one of the last remaining Canadian bottled-in-bond bourbons on earth. Before the 1964 Congressional Declaration, making bourbon a unique product of the United States, other countries made and marketed bourbon, including Canada. VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE CAREFULLY CURATED by FRED MINNICK VINTAGE WHISKEY VINTAGE 1934-1950 FROM 1800’s a TASTE of HISTORY TO MODERN ERA 1934-1950 After Prohibition, investment rushed into bourbon unlike anytime before. But then World War II haunted whiskey production: The government required distillers to cease distilling operations unless they were willing to distill for the war effort. Major distilling houses made industrial alcohol that would be used to manufacture parachutes, jeeps, rubber, etc.