I need information on a bottle of Whisky that has come to my attention. I'm looking for information on the distillery and possible value of the bottle before I open it. The information I do have about the whisky is that the bottle is around 100 yrs old. The label is worn off mostly but the lead seal on the top reads "David Hellborn and Sons Sole Proprietor Glasgow, Scotland" and around the neck part of the seal it reads "Kings Liqueur". If anyone can give me any information on this or point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.
Unfortunately I can't help you very much. Hundred year old bottles are rare - which is good - but means there is no such thing as a "guide to old whisky values". And here we don't even have complete info (label) so it may be difficult to pin down exactly what you have, much less what it is worth. The good news is that pre-WWII whiskies have sold for high prices at auction; the bad news is that these are often (but not always) from distilleries that are well thought of today. The ones that I have noticed were malts - but I understand some old bottlings of blended whiskies have sold for respectable prices as well. The lack of a label doesn't bode well though, so I wouldn't get my hopes up too high.
There is a whisky auction website on the 'net, and browsing it you can get some idea of what people are interested in and what doesn't arouse much interest, but you won't find hundred year old bottles on auction there.
The address is:
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There is a specialist auction firm in Scotland that holds regular auctions of whisky. They may be able to help you evaluate what you have. They charge for the service, but it might be worth it.
Good detective work. Is there a source for this kind of information online or did you know this from elsewhere?
They may indeed. Great thing about the 'net is there is always someone who can correct you if you're off. I was simply relaying what I've learned from previous occasions when people have asked about some old bottle they've found, been given, or inherited.
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