# How can I tell how old a bottle of whiskey is?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-how-old-a-bottle-of-whiskey-is/538977>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** liquor-alcohol\
**Created:** [May 10, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-how-old-a-bottle-of-whiskey-is/538977 "2010-05-10T23:13:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-how-old-a-bottle-of-whiskey-is/538977/21 "2010-05-13T18:43:59Z")

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Short of expensive testing, you can’t. Some police group in Europe (the British Serious Crimes Office?) used DNA or some darn thing to discover the vast majority of very old wine on the market is faked.

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**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-how-old-a-bottle-of-whiskey-is/538977/22 "2010-05-13T18:48:36Z")

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I saw something like that - radiation samples from atmospheric nuclear testing has a signature that can be backdated and shows that something was bottled sooner than a certain date.

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**Author:** ![tb38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@tb38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tb38)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-how-old-a-bottle-of-whiskey-is/538977/23 "2010-05-26T12:58:34Z")

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I’m sure it’s plenty good and can be dated very easily.  
Metric or non metric?  
UPC code or no?  
Fake tax strip or real sealing the top?

The mention of no gov’t warning means that it is pre 1990.

Enjoy! That’s one of my favorites.

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**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-how-old-a-bottle-of-whiskey-is/538977/24 "2010-05-31T23:28:30Z")

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So how was it?

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