Gator Whiskey Decanters

[CEGATOR]

My neighbor just gave these to me. I figured some of you from the old school may be familiar with them. They still have the whiskey in them. Ezra Brooks? 12 year old whiskey in 1972 apparently. Two of them are still sealed.

Anyone know the story if there's any?

 

[Back Alley Gator]

@alcoholica

 

[alcoholica]

My neighbor just gave these to me. I figured some of you from the old school may be familiar with them. They still have the whiskey in them. Ezra Brooks? 12 year old whiskey in 1972 apparently. Two of them are still sealed.

Anyone know the story if there's any?

1st off, I hate you....like really hate you....j/k

Those are awesome decanters, congrats. Basically, once James Bond came to be, there was a shift to clear spirits away from whiskey. As a result bourbon suffered and numerous distilleries went out of business. These decanters were commonplace amongst many distilleries as marketing to sell their whiskey. Jim Beam is famous for these.

Specific to Ezra Brooks, I can't tell you much. Best I can tell is that it may have been produced at the Hoffman Distillery in Lawrenceville, KY. I don't know much about the distillery, but that's Wild Turkey and Four Roses Country. Also, not too far from Buffalo Trace. Really a great region for bourbon.

You should have tax stamp(s) on these. Honestly, there's no telling how much they'd go for if you wanted to sell them. You could scour the internet or contact Justin's House of Bourbon in Lexington/Louisville. I think they'd likely give you a price, and maybe even try to buy them.

From my friends up in that area, they all drool over decanters. Reason being is that they didn't have limited editions or supply constraints back then. Their best barrels just went out on the standard label. So yeah, Wild Turkey 101 was better, they all were.

All this being said, there is concern about lead leeching into the whiskey. So I would proceed with caution if you want to drink. The opened decanter may already be oxidized to hell, who knows. But if you are wanting to drink the whiskey (I would), I would transfer to an empty liquor bottle and then send a sample off to a lab for lead testing. Get the results and research how long it would take you to process that amount of lead out of your system. Then enjoy, if the levels are reasonable. Once the bottle works down to a little above halfway, transfer to a smaller bottle. Or you can use food grade gas (argon I think) to prevent oxidation. There's a product called Private Preserve that people use on wine bottles.

Congrats again. 12 year old bourbon is typically in the wheel house for bourbon. If you decide to open them up and drink them, update us on your process, lead, how delicious they are, etc. And I added a couple links for you below:

Brand History – Ezra Brooks

Copycat Whiskey – the Story of Ezra Brooks and Jack Daniel’s.

Vintage Bourbon Selection – Justins' House of Bourbon

Leaching of Lead into Whiskey from Ceramic Decanter Glazing

 

[CEGATOR]

1st off, I hate you....like really hate you....j/k

Those are awesome decanters, congrats. Basically, once James Bond came to be, there was a shift to clear spirits away from whiskey. As a result bourbon suffered and numerous distilleries went out of business. These decanters were commonplace amongst many distilleries as marketing to sell their whiskey. Jim Beam is famous for these.

Specific to Ezra Brooks, I can't tell you much. Best I can tell is that it may have been produced at the Hoffman Distillery in Lawrenceville, KY. I don't know much about the distillery, but that's Wild Turkey and Four Roses Country. Also, not too far from Buffalo Trace. Really a great region for bourbon.

You should have tax stamp(s) on these. Honestly, there's no telling how much they'd go for if you wanted to sell them. You could scour the internet or contact Justin's House of Bourbon in Lexington/Louisville. I think they'd likely give you a price, and maybe even try to buy them.

From my friends up in that area, they all drool over decanters. Reason being is that they didn't have limited editions or supply constraints back then. Their best barrels just went out on the standard label. So yeah, Wild Turkey 101 was better, they all were.

All this being said, there is concern about lead leeching into the whiskey. So I would proceed with caution if you want to drink. The opened decanter may already be oxidized to hell, who knows. But if you are wanting to drink the whiskey (I would), I would transfer to an empty liquor bottle and then send a sample off to a lab for lead testing. Get the results and research how long it would take you to process that amount of lead out of your system. Then enjoy, if the levels are reasonable. Once the bottle works down to a little above halfway, transfer to a smaller bottle. Or you can use food grade gas (argon I think) to prevent oxidation. There's a product called Private Preserve that people use on wine bottles.

Congrats again. 12 year old bourbon is typically in the wheel house for bourbon. If you decide to open them up and drink them, update us on your process, lead, how delicious they are, etc. And I added a couple links for you below:

Brand History – Ezra Brooks

Copycat Whiskey – the Story of Ezra Brooks and Jack Daniel’s.

Vintage Bourbon Selection – Justins' House of Bourbon

Leaching of Lead into Whiskey from Ceramic Decanter Glazing

That's great info! I'll sample the open one and see. Want to get these cleaned up and displayed. Needless to say the wife almost didn't let me walk into the house when she say them! Quick search on E-Bay shows they sell for almost $200 each, but I'm not interested in selling. Neighbor is an older guy who knew I would appreciate them.

 

[CDGator]

That's great info! I'll sample the open one and see. Want to get these cleaned up and displayed. Needless to say the wife almost didn't let me walk into the house when she say them! Quick search on E-Bay shows they sell for almost $200 each, but I'm not interested in selling. Neighbor is an older guy who knew I would appreciate them.

By “sample” do you mean drink it and see if the lead kills you? If not, drink the rest?

Or get it tested?

 

[CEGATOR]

By “sample” do you mean drink it and see if the lead kills you? If not, drink the rest?

Or get it tested?

I've lived long enough! Maybe I'll become a new Avenger, Lead Whiskey Man.

 

[NVGator]

Congratulations on the present and I’m extremely jealous as well. What I’m not jealous of is the avatar @oxrageous is going to give you if you don’t hurry up and add your own.

 

[CEGATOR]

Congratulations on the present and I’m extremely jealous as well. What I’m not jealous of is the avatar @oxrageous is going to give you if you don’t hurry up and add your own.

But avatars are such a commitment.

 

[Detroitgator]

1st off, I hate you....like really hate you....j/k

Those are awesome decanters, congrats. Basically, once James Bond came to be, there was a shift to clear spirits away from whiskey. As a result bourbon suffered and numerous distilleries went out of business. These decanters were commonplace amongst many distilleries as marketing to sell their whiskey. Jim Beam is famous for these.

Specific to Ezra Brooks, I can't tell you much. Best I can tell is that it may have been produced at the Hoffman Distillery in Lawrenceville, KY. I don't know much about the distillery, but that's Wild Turkey and Four Roses Country. Also, not too far from Buffalo Trace. Really a great region for bourbon.

You should have tax stamp(s) on these. Honestly, there's no telling how much they'd go for if you wanted to sell them. You could scour the internet or contact Justin's House of Bourbon in Lexington/Louisville. I think they'd likely give you a price, and maybe even try to buy them.

From my friends up in that area, they all drool over decanters. Reason being is that they didn't have limited editions or supply constraints back then. Their best barrels just went out on the standard label. So yeah, Wild Turkey 101 was better, they all were.

All this being said, there is concern about lead leeching into the whiskey. So I would proceed with caution if you want to drink. The opened decanter may already be oxidized to hell, who knows. But if you are wanting to drink the whiskey (I would), I would transfer to an empty liquor bottle and then send a sample off to a lab for lead testing. Get the results and research how long it would take you to process that amount of lead out of your system. Then enjoy, if the levels are reasonable. Once the bottle works down to a little above halfway, transfer to a smaller bottle. Or you can use food grade gas (argon I think) to prevent oxidation. There's a product called Private Preserve that people use on wine bottles.

Congrats again. 12 year old bourbon is typically in the wheel house for bourbon. If you decide to open them up and drink them, update us on your process, lead, how delicious they are, etc. And I added a couple links for you below:

Brand History – Ezra Brooks

Copycat Whiskey – the Story of Ezra Brooks and Jack Daniel’s.

Vintage Bourbon Selection – Justins' House of Bourbon

Leaching of Lead into Whiskey from Ceramic Decanter Glazing

I find myself conflicted... on the one hand, I'm impressed, proud even, that you are worried about the lead, while on the other hand, deeply disappointed that I had assessed you as the, "Hell yeah! Crack that sh!t open!" guy. :(

 

[NVGator]

But avatars are such a commitment.

Good. We expect more contribution from you from now on. Everyone is tired of Ba-Donk-Ka-Donk.

 

[alcoholica]

I find myself conflicted... on the one hand, I'm impressed, proud even, that you are worried about the lead, while on the other hand, deeply disappointed that I had assessed you as the, "Hell yeah! Crack that sh!t open!" guy. :(

One takes care when handling rare and expensive whiskey. You can’t treat it like Donk’s wife

 

[alcoholica]

That's great info! I'll sample the open one and see. Want to get these cleaned up and displayed. Needless to say the wife almost didn't let me walk into the house when she say them! Quick search on E-Bay shows they sell for almost $200 each, but I'm not interested in selling. Neighbor is an older guy who knew I would appreciate them.

You can’t sell liquor on eBay. That’s $200 empty. I’d wouldn’t be surprised to see $1,000 or more. Likely not, but who knows anymore.

Congrats again!

 

[CDGator]

But avatars are such a commitment.

Please pace yourself. You joined in 2014 so I can only assume you couldn’t commit to the right AV.

 

[CEGATOR]

Please pace yourself. You joined in 2014 so I can only assume you couldn’t commit to the right AV.

7 years delaying a decision that I made in 3 minutes. Pretty much sums it up.

 

[BNAG8R]

7 years delaying a decision that I made in 3 minutes. Pretty much sums it up.

What is that a picture of?

 

[cover2]

Ezra Brooks was my granddaddy’s brand. He went through quite a bit of it in his time. Almost caused him and my grandmama to divorce...sent her into Fred’s during a trip to Tallahassee to get two fifths. Coming out she bumped into the door and dropped both bottles on the cement. It was a very quiet ride home. He’d usually mix it with a little ginger ale or coke...or nothing at all. It must’ve been good. Sunday evening (unless it was a holiday) was the only day he didn’t partake.

 

[G8trwood]

Somebody has old whiskey decanters that still contain said whiskey. For the love of ...... please talk to that person.

 

[CEGATOR]

What is that a picture of?

It's the Choluteca Bridge in Honduras. They built a nice bridge over a river and a huge hurricane hits severing the road leading to the bridge and somewhat rerouting the river. Bridge stood though. Thought it was a good metaphor for something.

 

[CEGATOR]

Somebody has old whiskey decanters that still contain said whiskey. For the love of ...... please talk to that person.

My neighbor is pretty much a hoarder. Also doesn't drink. He's starting to give away stuff that he's had for a long time. Getting concerned.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

I posted this somewhere here awhile back, but this is from a German restaurant in s. Indiana. We took the picture not just because it was a Gator, but because we have the same one in our basement. Empty tho :(