# What is the Oldest Alcoholic Beverage You Own? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 30, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681 "2013-05-30T03:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/1 "2013-05-30T03:03:01Z")
Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/2 "2013-05-30T03:08:07Z")
Define please. By one definition, the beer in the fridge is the oldest type of alcoholic beverage known. By another, the bottle of B&B in the back of the cupboard I bought in 2002 is the oldest bottle in the cabinet. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/3 "2013-05-30T03:09:09Z")
My mother-in-law always buys a pint of rum when she visits and leaves what’s left in our freezer for the next time she visits. I think the current pint was purchased circa November 2012. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/4 "2013-05-30T03:58:57Z")
Gin purchased in 1988. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/5 "2013-05-30T04:59:57Z")
I’ve got a 6-pack of Billy Beer. July 1977. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/6 "2013-05-30T05:19:08Z")
Nothing alcoholic lasts more than a week in my household. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/7 "2013-05-30T05:27:50Z")
There’s some tequila that I’m not sure where it came from in the liquor cabinet. I think it was from when we used to be friends with this couple and they brought a bottle over. We stopped being friends with them in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/8 "2013-05-30T06:43:46Z")
I have an inherited bottle of Jack Daniels and a bottle of Rum. I can date the whiskey to 1986, and I assume the rum is the same age. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/9 "2013-05-30T07:35:50Z")
I have a miniature bottle of 16yo malt whisky stashed somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/10 "2013-05-30T07:36:55Z")
I’ve got a 20 year old bottle of single malt scotch I got a couple of months ago. Picked it up as birthday gift from me to me. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/11 "2013-05-30T08:36:59Z")
I have an 18-year-old bottle of Chivas I was given 5 years ago. There’s about a third of it left. I save it for special occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/12 "2013-05-30T09:04:39Z")
A bottle of Thai wine we bought in 1996. It was produced to celebrate the king’s 50th anniversary on the throne that year, and the label is decorated with all sorts of royal symbols. We figure it may be valuable some day. > [@panache45](#): > > I’ve got a 6-pack of Billy Beer. July 1977. I recall seeing someone offering $200 for an unopened six-pack of those, and that was a long time ago. What do you reckon that’s worth now? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/13 "2013-05-30T12:54:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I recall seeing someone offering $200 for an unopened six-pack of those, and that was a long time ago. What do you reckon that’s worth now? I think it matters whether the tops of the cans are silver or gold. IIRC the gold tops are rarer and hence worth more. Damn, I used to be so into wine so I am hoping someone pops in here with an answer like “I have half a case of 1963 Chateau Margaux that I’m bringing to the next Dopefest.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/14 "2013-05-30T13:14:26Z")
A 1989 bottle of wine from Biltmore that was a gift ca. 1991. I’m not saving it for a special occasion- I just don’t drink wine and never opened it or threw it out. I also have a couple of bottles of wine given to me in the 1990s by a friend who just liked the label art. Side question: is there any way to tell if a wine is still any good or if it’s turned to vinegar without opening it? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/15 "2013-05-30T13:19:03Z")
A 21 year old bottle of Balvenie portwood that I bought last year. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/16 "2013-05-30T13:25:06Z")
27 year in cask Tamnavulin bottled in 1974. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/17 "2013-05-30T13:30:41Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > A 1989 bottle of wine from Biltmore that was a gift ca. 1991. I’m not saving it for a special occasion- I just don’t drink wine and never opened it or threw it out. I also have a couple of bottles of wine given to me in the 1990s by a friend who just liked the label art. > > Side question: is there any way to tell if a wine is still any good or if it’s turned to vinegar without opening it? No. What type of wine and what its vintage is can be a good indication. I have drunk ports and clarets that were over eighty years old that were delicious. I have also drunk clarets that were never any good. Generic, non vintages wines might not last a couple of years, if that. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/18 "2013-05-30T13:33:56Z")
I think I phrased that wrong, a '74 Tamnavulin single malt bottled by Signatory after 27 years in the cask. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/19 "2013-05-30T14:00:29Z")
I have 1 bottle of 1971 KWV Cape Vintage port left - it’s my birth year, 3 bottles were bought for me when it was 21-yo vintage so…21 years ago. Had one bottle right away at my 21st, another at my wedding. I have no idea what I’m saving this last one for. Maybe my 45th… I also have a quarter-share in 1 bottle of 1966 KWV White Port which my friends and I got for a bargain price, and intend to open at the wake when the first of us goes. But that’s not kept at my place (I envy people I know with their own wine cellars!) and isn’t all mine, so I don’t count it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681/20 "2013-05-30T14:52:16Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > A bottle of Thai wine we bought in 1996. It was produced to celebrate the king’s 50th anniversary on the throne that year, and the label is decorated with all sorts of royal symbols. We figure it may be valuable some day. Just looked at the label, and it says 1995. But it was definitely produced for the king’s 50th anniversary in 1996, as the label is bedecked with the special 50th-anniversary logo that was created. We bought it in either 1995 or 1996. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-alcoholic-beverage-you-own/659681.md?page=2)