Help with 1949 Knappogue Castle Whiskey

[cara.maureen]

Hi all,

I unfortunately know nothing about whiskey, but am helping to deal with my grandfather's estate, including his collection of wines and liquors. Does anyone have any advice on how to go about selling (in the States)? I only know that they are worth quite a bit - for example he had a bottle of Knappogue Castle Whiskey that was put down in 1949 and bottled in 1985:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Cara.Maureen/Whiskey#

I would be incredibly grateful for ANY tips on where to start.

Thank you,
Cara

[Aidan]

I sent you a pm there.

This bottle is very rare. I've only seen a few of them.

They were bottled by Mark Andrews and only given to his friends, I believe, so they were not available in retail.

There are a few places to sell such thigns in Europe, but I'm not sure about the U.S.

I'd love to buy it from you, but I don't think I could afford it.

John

[Brgreat5]

Yes this bottle is one privately bottled by Mark E Andrews from a collection of casks he purchased while he was in Ireland. The 1949 Knappogue is a 36 year old from the Tullamore distillery. These were normally imported by Austin ,Nichols & Co. NYC for Mr Andrews. Subsequently he set up a company to sell and bottle this whiskey, the first commercial bottling was the Knappogue Castle 1951 also a 36 year old. Could you let us know what strength (ABV) the bottle is.

[desouza]

Yes this bottle is one privately bottled by Mark E Andrews from a collection of casks he purchased while he was in Ireland. The 1949 Knappogue is a 36 year old from the Tullamore distillery. These were normally imported by Austin ,Nichols & Co. NYC for Mr Andrews. Subsequently he set up a company to sell and bottle this whiskey, the first commercial bottling was the Knappogue Castle 1951 also a 36 year old. Could you let us know what strength (ABV) the bottle is.

I own and enjoy one of the commercial bottlings of the 1951.Taste wise, this bottling is phenomenal always getting top marks from every whisky writer. I would imagine the 1949 private bottling, given it was hand picked, would be very similar. It cost me $ 600 about 5 years ago, so as a low benchmark I would say "not less than $600". Hope this helps.

[cara.maureen]

Thank you all so much for your help. I need to take a clearer picture of the 1949 label for the person who asked me to via pm, but for others who might be curious:

The place where the abv is listed originally said 92 Proof, and then it looks like someone used a typewriter to write \\\\\\\ across that and type 42% below. Another difference between it and the 1951 bottles I have is that the 1949 says 4/5 Quart (as opposed to 750 ml. on the 1951 bottles.)

The 1949 label reads
"A very special reserve of unblended, pot still, pure malt
36 years of age
put down in 1949
bottled in bond in 1985
bottle no 116 Cask No. 8
Produced exclusively for the Hon.
Mark Edwin Andrews
Knappogue Castle Co. Clare Ireland." (whereas the 1951 label reads "a very special reserve of pure pot still whiskey 36 years of age, etc.).

The number "36" the year "1959" and Cask No. "8" are all entered in by typewriter, and Bottle No. 116 is written in red pen.

The final differences I se are the shapes of the bottle (the 1949 is shorter and wider) and the label itself (the 1949 label is all black, where as "Knappogue Castle" and the Omnia Bona Bonis crest are gold on the 1951 label).

Thank you again for your help, and any other insights would be greatly appreciated.

Cara

[cathach]

Hi Cara,

Please post up any other photos you can, there's a few enthusiasts here who'd like to see what the bottle looks like at any rate.