Should there be a grading service for whiskey and bourbon?
WillieBoyd2
Posts: 5,270 ✭✭✭✭✭
To the casual eye, there was nothing amiss about the bottle of whiskey sitting on a shelf at Acker, a wine store on New York's Upper West Side. But for anyone who knew what to look for, the warning signs were clear.
The whiskey, a bourbon called Colonel E.H. Taylor Four Grain that Acker was selling for about $1,000, normally came packaged in a special cardboard tube; this one sat there tubeless. Its strip stamp, attached over the top of the cork, was on backward.
The scammers are finding fertile ground. "Luxury bourbon" was once an oxymoron; now, it's the hottest thing in whiskey. Domestic sales of super-premium American whiskey - bottles valued at more than $50 - nearly doubled from 2016-20, to 4 million cases, compared with an average growth of 30% for all American whiskeys, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
News article from SfGate and The New York Times:
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/That-1-000-Bourbon-You-Bought-May-Be-a-Phony-16760089.php
Green River Whiskey token
Brass, 32 mm, 10.90 gm
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
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Comments
Maybe 🙀
🎶 shout shout, let it all out 🎶
I’ve heard there’s a market for legit empty bottles of high end spirits.
Unscrupulous bars fill them with generic booze then charge premium prices for the pours.
Me, I’ll just stick with shopping at Total Wine, for my moderately priced rums, etc.
Remember what P. T. Barnum said ...
HA periodically has wine auctions. I think there's a market for it.
Incidentally, I am NOT a fan of scotch. I once again found myself with more money than brains a few years ago and decided to start a collection. I can't imagine a circumstance under which I'd drink any of the scotch.
That tequila might "accidentally" get consumed one day, though.
--Severian the Lame
Those Lagavulins are quite smoky/peaty. Not my taste, but my daughter loves them.
Assuming all the scotches are unopened, you may be easily able to recoup your investment, and then some.
C'mon, man. I'm a_ collector_! Not only are they unopened, those are their receipts you see tucked into the top flap of the unopened boxes
--Severian the Lame
Totally agree...I tried I think a 22yr Lagavulin, almost spit it out.
I have been drinking Bourbon exclusively for the past 5 yrs, as I realized i like the heat of higher proof better than the smoke of scotch.
I still have some weed left over from the 70s - is it worth a premium?
If they did certify whiskey it would give a whole new meaning to “crack out”.
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
Send me your scotch and I'll grade it and send back the empty bottle with a grade and certificate.
I'm not sure how the grading would work. I think that authenticity could be certified, but without tasting, how could a grader judge whether the contents were stored properly and that the contents taste as intended? I suppose you could grade the preservation level of the bottle's label and box. I also think shipping of glass bottles carries a lot more risk than shipping coins/cards/stamps/autographs. Perhaps a walk-through service at major trade shows would work.
There is a problem with counterfeits, so the demand is there, but the practicalities seem tough.
Fred Sanford did that with scotch. Said it didn’t matter because it all tasted like iodine.
BURP
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Fraudulent bottles have been an issue in the beverage market for a LoNG LoNg time.
Huge Burgundy scandal...
Many many many...
Wine. Now there’s something talking about counterfeiting. I grew up around vineyards and wineries. Stories are out there but that’s for another thread.
Never cared for Scotch 🙀
🎶 shout shout, let it all out 🎶
I have mentioned before, though I am not a Scotch drinker, on one trip to England, I stopped in the duty free shop on the way out,...picked up a bottle of Macallan's 25 year old. Had one or two shots of it, mostly drank by my friends. The price now is INCREDIBLE!! Was not nearly that when I purchased a bottle. Cheers, RickO
Incidentally, I also have this in reserve:
Sealed case (12 x 750 ml) of Jack Daniels, purchased 02-25-09. Not as good an investment as the scotches. This is still about what a case would run you.
--Severian the Lame
Master Grading Panel...............
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
That ought to come with a bail bond certificate and a bottle of Tylenol!
Chances are you’re going to wind up needing both after drinking that.
Whisky! Now you're talking. I like all whiskies. I remember about 10-12 years ago getting Pappy Van Winkle bourbon for about $45 dollars per bottle. Now you cant touch it for less than a Grand! But even if i had bought several bottles i probably would have drank them anyway
With an ice cube and a little 7up, it all tastes the same.
Ha Ha never waste good whisky by adding anything! Ice ok but soda? Never!
I’ve had many different bourbons at different price points. My favorite is just a $40 bottle of Buffalo Trace.
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You should drink a glass of water. Otherwise you might get a hangover...
Sometime around 2000 I bought this whisky (same vintage) for around $100, of course I didn’t save the bottle. Now 18 year old Macallan is about $350. I’ll bet this bottle is going to be refilled.
I'm an avid consumer, a collector no. Same with wine. It does sound like there is a place for an authentication service, although such may already exist.
You know, there are as many die varieties to those Green River Whiskey tokens (both obverse and reverse) as there are single malt whiskies . . . . .
Z
Busy chasing Carr's . . . . . woof!
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I’ll volunteer my services to be a taster.