Baker's Pure Rye 1847
The Provenance
“Purchased November 1943 from the Estate of Mrs. Henry Walters,” says a small label on the back. Henry Walters was the son of
W. T. Walters. Which means this bottle came from the personal collection of the family that originally made the product.
After the passing of Henry and his wife Sadie, the Walters cellar was sold at a prestigious event in New York. Held at the Ritz-Carlton in November 1943, it was even covered in
The New Yorker. They wrote of the
“Tasting and Sale of the Wines and Spirits from the Estate of Mrs. Henry Walters,” whose husband had left behind a
“cellar of monumental proportions."
The sale’s catalog survives in rare libraries [1]:
Neat, right? And listed on page 48 we find:
"Baker's Pure Rye Whiskey 1847."
This bottle came from that sale. It was purchased in New York by the step-grandfather of the man who emailed the L.A. Whiskey Society in 2013, asking our opinion on it. The bottle had been passed down from his step-grandfather, to his stepfather and mother, to him.
To blow my own horn a little, I (Adam) have extensive experience in authenticating rare whiskeys as well as exposing counterfeits and counterfeiters. And when I first saw this bottle, my heart leapt. It had all the hallmarks of the real deal -- but I also know that exact feeling is the downfall of every "mark" duped by a clever fake. So I put those feeling aside, and did some painstakingly critical, objective analysis. Eventually, I was comfortable giving my official support for the bottle's authenticity. About a year later, the owner asked if I'd like to make an offer on it, and we worked out a deal.
So, let's talk about how we know the bottle is real. The history and provenance are strongly documented [2], which is critical to any ultra-vintage bottle, but the most important thing is the physical evidence itself.
___________________________________
[1] The full catalog pages showing additional auction lots won't be published here in an effort to keep counterfeiters from getting ideas.
[2] There are more details confirming the chain of ownership not published here, as they're in line with expectations, and not that interesting, and arent these pages already long enough?
INTRO | BRAND HISTORY
PROVENANCE | LABEL | GLASS | SEAL | CARBON DATING
