tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post2077174131881840460..comments2024-03-17T14:10:05.912-05:00Comments on The Chuck Cowdery Blog: The Old Fitz Diamond Bottle MysteryChuck Cowderyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-47954844520225162702022-03-20T20:48:01.271-05:002022-03-20T20:48:01.271-05:00Thinking about this all these years later, it occu...Thinking about this all these years later, it occurs me to wonder where UD bottled Old Fitz et.al., after it sold DSP-24. They may have just paid Barton to keep doing it under contract. UD sold Fitz and a bunch of other brands in 1999. Bottling for what they kept probably moved to their main U.S. bottling plant in Plainfield, Illinois, outside of Chicago.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-62903973480853770712013-10-12T15:12:16.684-05:002013-10-12T15:12:16.684-05:00Odd that there's no DSP number but, still, tha...Odd that there's no DSP number but, still, that's a reasonable assumption.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-87396225556731918392013-10-12T15:09:28.548-05:002013-10-12T15:09:28.548-05:00I actually came across a bottle of Old Fitz Prime ...I actually came across a bottle of Old Fitz Prime (40%/80prf) with the diamond shoulder today. The number on the bottom of the bottle was '94'. If I remember correctly it had the 88076 UPC. no DSP numbers but is it safe to assume similar arrangement with this bottle of Prime?Matthewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-41989168553068168762013-07-09T18:24:50.380-05:002013-07-09T18:24:50.380-05:00Chuck, you are one heck of a whiskey detective. I...Chuck, you are one heck of a whiskey detective. I have two in the bunker and both have a 94 on the bottom of the bottle. So, your timeframe seems to be spot on!Joe W.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-4372562561992465052013-07-07T16:14:16.740-05:002013-07-07T16:14:16.740-05:00I lied.
Well, not exactly, but I was wrong. A furt...I lied.<br />Well, not exactly, but I was wrong. A further search through my collection turns up a bottle exactly like that one, complete with diamond markings on the shoulder. The "50% Alc./Vol." tells me it was bottled in or after 1991, and the molded numbers on the bottom indicate 1996. Right at where you put it.<br /><br />EllenJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-53033650455091603492013-07-06T17:53:20.128-05:002013-07-06T17:53:20.128-05:00I also recall that when United (the Guinness spiri...I also recall that when United (the Guinness spirits division) sold the Schenley bottling plant in Indiana it was acquired by the last plant manager at Stitzel-Weller, and operated for a while as a contract bottler. That was probably in 1997, when Diageo was formed. Until then, United's U.S. operation was based at SW. I think that's when they moved all of the offices to Connecticut.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-33746406277504082142013-07-06T17:39:59.444-05:002013-07-06T17:39:59.444-05:00I assume there was bottling at Bernheim at one tim...I assume there was bottling at Bernheim at one time, question is when was it pulled out. There has been no bottling there since the new distillery was built (1991-92). Stitzel-Weller also had bottling. I'm not sure when it was pulled out, but it was before they bought Glenmore. I think bottling was pulled out of Bernheim a long time ago. Until 1982, Bernheim and what is now Buffalo Trace were both Schenley, so all of the bottling for both may have been done at BT. Schenley had a big bottling plant in Lawrenceburg, IN, so it probably went there Schenley sold BT in 1982. Bottling may have been pulled out of SW in 1987, when Guinness bought Schenley. What Guinness would do when it bought these companies was keep one distillery and one bottling house. Guinness eventually became Diageo, which does its bottling now in Plainfield, Illinois.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-19171197577237779022013-07-06T17:00:27.442-05:002013-07-06T17:00:27.442-05:00Oh, and NONE of the Old Fitzgerald bottles in my c...Oh, and NONE of the Old Fitzgerald bottles in my collection have diamond-shaped markings around the shoulder.EllenJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-84008956355243341952013-07-06T16:57:47.139-05:002013-07-06T16:57:47.139-05:00Ditto!
For a TRUE collector (not just someone loo...Ditto!<br /><br />For a TRUE collector (not just someone looking for popular names, but someone seeking really rare examples) that bottle is worth its weight in, well... Pappy.<br /><br />It also casts some light upon the recent examples of grey-area Stitzel-Weller that MIGHT have originated in Shively, but ALSO might have been Bernheim whiskey.<br /><br />Did U.D.'s Bernheim plant have a bottling line, or was their output sent to somewhere else, such as Glenmore? That would certainly be more believable if S/W Old Fitz was already being bottled there. And how does that relate to Barton's purchase of Glenmore?<br /><br />Thank you for opening this up. I knew I could count on you. EllenJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-66618631031338918442013-07-06T10:56:10.647-05:002013-07-06T10:56:10.647-05:00Chuck-
Excellent use of "Little Gray Cells&q...<br />Chuck-<br /><br />Excellent use of "Little Gray Cells".<br /><br />Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot would be proud of your deductive reasoning !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-57692858353075404272013-07-06T07:38:52.620-05:002013-07-06T07:38:52.620-05:00Richnimrod said;
This stuff is always so damned in...Richnimrod said;<br />This stuff is always so damned interesting! ...And, as so often happens the one to answer the questions is Chuck, who also willingly posts the story for all of us to share.... THANX for doing what you do, Col. Cowdery!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com