Balvenie pre 1971 Advice Required - House Clearance Find

[luckyjim]

Hello,

I am hoping somebody will be able to give some assistance in relation to an old bottle of whisky. My grandmother recently passed away and we are in the process of clearing out her belongings from the house where she lived.

In a drinks cabinet was an old bottle of whisky which is now on the table in front of me. It is sealed. The details from the label:

26 2/3 fluid ozs. 2.0o over proof

Balvenie aged single malt

A fine example of the superb whiskies produced within the valley of the River Spey, the original home of Scotch Whisky.

This bottle has been filled direct from the cask after maturation in wood since November, '65.

Sip it neat but if you feel it requires dilution, then only a wee drop of fresh cold water, please.

Bottled by:- Robert Watson (Aberdeen) Ltd. Aberdeen Scotland

Produce of Scotland

It has a gold sealed screw cap with 'Scotch Whisky' printed in joined up writing.

The bottom of the glass bottle has the following text:

SC 295 Liquor A bottle 18 Scotland (then the letters 'UC' in a hexagonal symbol)

I am guessing it is pre 1971 as the measure is given in fluid ounces?

Any information greatly appreciated. Thank you. Jim

[Keith]

Hi Jim, sorry to hear about your loss.

In the UK up until 1980 standard size bottles were 26 2/3 flozs, they then changed to 750ml in january 1980.

I would say this is an extremely rare independent bottling of Balvenie. The bottle you have was distilled in 1965 and was bottled by independent bottler Robert Watson Aberdeen Scotland.

Here is a bottle of Balvenie 1975 10 Year Old bottled by Robert Watson which The Whisky Exchange have priced at £407
www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-8732.aspx

Does it give a date or year the bottle was filled? Anyway i think your bottle could possibly be worth quite a bit more than the example i have given at The Whisky Exchange especially if it is in good condition and it hasnt had much evapouration.

[Mark]

Here are a couple of similar Balvenies which recently sold at Mctears auction

www.mctears.co.uk/auctions/lot.aspx?id=0ebcfd78-bc16-4a20-af13-e9bc072e3d41&page=5&referrer=browse

www.mctears.co.uk/auctions/lot.aspx?id=078d7f99-3683-4cc8-9517-13b365d929e8&referrer=browse&page=5

[luckyjim]

Hi gents,

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

So the whisky could have been bottled at any stage up to 1980. Unfortunately there is no indication anywhere on the label or the bottle as to which year the bottle was actually filled.

The bottle looks almost identical to the ones shown in the images attached to the McTear's lot descriptions. The only difference I can see is the shape of the label which is different at the top. The bottle I have has a more rounded label at the top and the fill level of whisky in the bottle is at exactly the halfway point of the hourglass shaped neck.

I'm presuming it was probably a gift to my grandparents, possibly a retirement gift to my grandfather when he retired in 1981. He liked a pint of mild ale but I don't ever recall him drinking whisky. My grandma rarely drank other than the odd glass of wine or a drop of sherry.

I think the next step may be to contact the Balvenie company and send them a photo of the actual bottle to see if they can shed any further light on it.

Keith & Mark, thanks again for your assistance.

[Andy M]

HI Jim

I think all Balvenie could do is confirm that it must be an independent bottling and not a distillery bottling. Balvenie didnt bottle it they produced the whisky at the Balvenie distillery then sold it to independent spirits bottler Robert Watson in Aberdeen who bottle it so Balvenie wont have any info on it.

If you want to get an idea of market value with a view to perhaps selling it i would suggest contacting Mctears or Bonhams auctioneers who both specialise in whisky. Another option would be to contact The Whisky Exchange via their website as they also buy rare and collectable whisky such as this.

If you you do get a valuation or sell it i would be interested to hear how much if you dont mind disclosing it.