Full Bottle of ... ?

[g2]

We hunt for old bottles and occasionally find one with the stopper still in it. Most of them have been from the 1890's through 1920's. Almost always, the liquid inside is some vile mix of sea water and rot.

This time... something different!

Recently I found a full bottle of ...uh... whiskey? This one is clear, hardly any floaties and very little sediment, the cork still intact. The only writing is "Imperial Quart". The bottle glass shows bubbles, so it's likely from the early 1900's or late 1800's. It could easily be prohibition-era moonshine rebottled.

The bottle is currently living in a bucket of fresh water to prevent the cork from drying out.

It's very tempting to open it, but hey... Is there any market for this sort of thing? If so, how would I sell it?

 

[OTF]

That's totally awesome! What a great find. hope someone can identify it. Hope someone tastes it. It would be super cool if it was drinkable or worth some money. But I wouldn't rule out the distinct possibility of it being a 100 year old piss bottle.

I remember an old news article about a cache of valuable old wine being recovered from the hold of a shipwreck. The tasting notes talked about "hints of sulfur" "salt" "earth" while trying to sound upbeat in their denial of seafloor muck intrusion.

 

[g2]

... trying to sound upbeat in their denial of seafloor muck intrusion.

Ha! That's funny.

We found a full beer bottle (1890's?) last year and tapped into it. For the record, beer doesn't keep. You couldn't be in the same room with it! Very sulfur stinky.

 

[CT-Rich]

Get a syringe with a long needle (like a #12) you can draw off some of the liquid and check it out. I would clean off the barnacles because the the fresh water killed them and they will rot. If you can find a local expert, it might be worth something.

 

[Tracy]

If you can verify what it is, there is a very strong market. I also bottle dive a fair amount in the Detroit river. I pulled out a full bottle of prohibition whisky a few years back. It more than filled the fuel tank a few times over. It is pretty rare to find an intact one here. I have found full crates of broken.

 

[CT-Rich]

These guys found some bootleg whiskey while renovating their house. They say $1,000 per bottle...
New York couple finds more than 66 bottles of Prohibition-era whiskey hidden in the walls of their home - CNN

 

[Jared0425]

If you can verify what it is, there is a very strong market. I also bottle dive a fair amount in the Detroit river. I pulled out a full bottle of prohibition whisky a few years back. It more than filled the fuel tank a few times over. It is pretty rare to find an intact one here. I have found full crates of broken.

Where at? I've been thinking about doing a trip to Wyandotte where there were several mob run warehouses along the riverfront.

 

[Tracy]

Where at? I've been thinking about doing a trip to Wyandotte where there were several mob run warehouses along the riverfront.

Wyandotte. Between Mama Juda and the US.
My big boat is in Wyandotte in the Hospital marina if you want to tag along some evenings.

 

[Jared0425]

Wyandotte. Between Mama Juda and the US.
My big boat is in Wyandotte in the Hospital marina if you want to tag along some evenings.

I may take you up on that. Lots of good stuff to be found off Bishop park. I've done the Rouge River but wasn't comfortable in digging (was warned about suit puncture and trip to the ER). Same with Boblo dock and Rencen when doing joint practice with Wayne County.

 

[Tracy]

I may take you up on that. Lots of good stuff to be found off Bishop park. I've done the Rouge River but wasn't comfortable in digging (was warned about suit puncture and trip to the ER). Same with Boblo dock and Rencen when doing joint practice with Wayne County.

Reach out, I'm not hard to find. It is the big blue Marinette from the Sheriff dock in Port Austin. I moved it to Wyandotte this year. Only one around with a dive ladder standing up 9' in the air.