What is Allman distillery whisky worth?

Glad2be

Before someone jumps on me, it says on the label "whisky" not "whiskey".

Its says on the label that its a guaranteed 10 yr old bottle of pot stilled, unblended whisky, from Allman distillery Bandon ..

Its from a distillery in Co. Cork that closed 1920's.

The label is discoloured but the cork is untouched...sorry, photos are not very good.

We've scrapped to enough money to go away for a long weekend, end of Oct.

Lets take a poll, I think we should sell it, dh thinks we should drink it!

What do you think?

johnnyskeleton

http://www.irelandwhiskeytrail.com/?pg=allmans_bandon_distillery_cork.php

Keep it. Find out what a collector would pay for it. It's probably not worth much in monetary terms, but it would be a shame to see a historic bottle opened (and thereby rendered almost worthless). You might run into legal problems selling it, so maybe check with your local customs office to see if it is alright to sell it as an antique.

Most likely, the whisky is going very different to a modern bottle, but not necessarily better. So, unless you are big into your whisky history and want to try it to try a historic bottle of whisky, I'd say you shouldn't drink it.

I've heard that these older whiskys are stronger and oilier than modern whiskys.

Brockagh

Glad2be wrote: »

Before someone jumps on me, it says on the label "whisky" not "whiskey".

Its says on the label that its a guaranteed 10 yr old bottle of pot stilled, unblended whisky, from Allman distillery Bandon ..

Its from a distillery in Co. Cork that closed 1920's.

The label is discoloured but the cork is untouched...sorry, photos are not very good.

We've scrapped to enough money to go away for a long weekend, end of Oct.

Lets take a poll, I think we should sell it, dh thinks we should drink it!

What do you think?

It's worth a lot, although maybe not as much as it was a few years ago. If you're thinking of selling it, I would be interested.

paudieol

i would also be very interested in buying if u wer selling as this distellery is less than a mile from my house and the pub which is still on the grounds today is my local.

please PM if you wish to sell

Quick google says that the last known bottle is in the old still bar in Bandon.

There is a forum at whisky.com. Could be worth asking there.

I'd say it'd be worth a few quid to a collector

Legion2008

There's a collectors corner forum on the Irish Whiskey Society's forum pages, a direct line to individuals who might be interested in your bottle. Several people post similar questions there.

http://forum.irishwhiskeysociety.com/viewforum.php?f=41

paudieol

Deleted User wrote: »

Quick google says that the last known bottle is in the old still bar in Bandon.

There is a forum at whisky.com. Could be worth asking there.

I'd say it'd be worth a few quid to a collector

yup the bottle is still behind the bar but slightly worse for wear after it got a bit fire damaged

Glad2be

Have not made our minds up yet as to what we should do.

I have found the people on here very helpful.

Will take a look at the forums and do a bit of research before we make a decision.

Glad2be

Hi again,

just wondering if anyone has an explanation for why Allmans called it "whisky" and not "whiskey". Can anyone give an explanation?

Brockagh

Midleton called its whiskey whisky too... If you look at old Paddy bottles, they have "whisky" on the labels. There is nothing really to say that whiskey made in Ireland has to be called "whiskey" - it's just that the remaining distilleries all call it "whiskey".

Most distilleries in the US call their spirit "whiskey" too, but Maker's Mark call it "whisky".

johnnyskeleton

Glad2be wrote: »

Hi again,

just wondering if anyone has an explanation for why Allmans called it "whisky" and not "whiskey". Can anyone give an explanation?

There are a few versions of the story, my favourite is that dublin distilleries used e and cork didn't to distinguish their products. When idl took over most whiskey production they opted for the e spelling to distinguish Irish whiskey as a product separate to scotch. Had this one company not made this decision and instead opted for whisky, perhaps whiskey would have fallen into disuse or perhaps be considered as a different drink altogether eg jack daniels

aidjtk

Firstly If you are going to sell this I will give my right arm to purchase the bottle. If you have no use for a right arm a monetary equivalent

The Bottle is possibly one of the rarest bottles ever and given the condition (unopened with perfect label as it appears on the Label) is one of the best.

There is the famous bottle in the Old Still Bar, Bandon, mentioned above, which has unfortunately been burned in a fire which burned the cork. The Bottle, with a burned label, has a small amount of liquid in it which people still call whisky although I have my doubts. There is three (I think) empty bottles with labels falling off in a local musuem in Bandon aswell.

What the bottle represents is far greater than it's contents. Allman's is a HUGE part of bandon history. Two factories, one on the north side of the river other south side, distilled the whisky. The Factory employed 200 or so people directly, but the company also purchased local barley providing great employment to the largely farming community.

As for the Whisky/Whiskey thing, Older Distilleries didn't adopt one name or the other and generally went on the preference of the Business. Use of term Irish Whiskey is protected under legislation and as the legislation gives the spelling Whiskey it is always spelt whiskey despite whisky more widely used.

the beer revolu

Understandably, while negotiations are ongoing, the price might not be openly discussed but I think this thread deserves to know what the bottle goes for if it does sell;)

Glad2be

Hi aidjtk,
Over the last few days, I have taken a little detour and spent a bit of time researching the distillery and have found the history fascinating.

Allmans whisky was considered a good whisky in it's time.

The Allman family apparently also owned the Overton Mill, a cotton mill, the ruins of which are still standing on the outskirts of the town.

I have become fascinated by what the did next and what became of their ancestors?

The only other Allmans I've ever heard of, are the Allmans brother band !!

If it sells and if the buyer agrees then I will come back and let you know how much it sells for :cool:

aidjtk

The whisky was only available aged (10-15 year old I think) and like all great products did well in America aswell as across Ireland. Unfortunately prohibition and a family dispute lead to the companies bankruptcy in 1915 (I think)

I've been trying for years to get information on what happened to the Allman family. two nephews of the original James C Allman where the last Allman's to own the factories. There was a Philip Allman that came back to bandon in the 1980's but I haven't been able to find out about him. It was during a search for the decendants that i came across this thread.

The company was bought by Beamish with the brewery on the north side of the river, which still survives intact today, becoming West Cork Bottling bandon. The distillery on the south side was closed and sold for parts after the last of the whiskey sold in 1925.

Elvis35

Hi Glad2be,

Did you finally sell this? I was in that pub (the old still) a few nights last week when i was back in the area for a family Holiday. I know the pub and the region very well as I grew up only a few miles away. My father used to bring grain to the "still" (long after the distillery closed).

I'd be interested in buying the bottle for sentimental reasons ...if the price was not out of this world...

Cheers.

Jburto60

Is this still a running string?
I discovered that I am a descendant of the Allmans, and along the way that their ancestors originated in Scotland, taking a ship of grain to Ireland to help with the famine, whence they settled there - perhaps that's why they felt they could use whisky instead of whiskey as I think the rule is only liquor distilled in Scotland can be called whisky.
Anyway I hope the old sample tasted great
If anyone has more info I would love to hear it. I discovered my father 2 years ago and subsequently all this previously unknown history. I live in Scotland but was born in England. There are many mysteries but I love the description of the Allman distillery in Alfred Barnard's book.
JB

Elvis35

Hi Jb - not sure if the originators of this thread are still following this or not.....some of those comments go back a couple of years. The Allman story is fascinating and I hope to visit the museum in Bandon where some of the distillery items can be viewed. Given your family connections I think you would find a visit to the region most interesting as well. All the best, DC.

Brockagh

Jburto60 wrote: »

I think the rule is only liquor distilled in Scotland can be called whisky.
JB

As long as it satisfies the rules of the country in which it's made (distilled fermented grain matured for x years in wood etc.), you can call it whisky or whiskey. There are not rules when it comes to spelling whisk(e)y. Canadian distilleries call their produce whisky, and Cork Distillers, amongst others, called their produce whisky in the past. Most American distillers call their stuff whiskey, but Makers Mark call it whisky... but the "whiskey" spelling is predominantly Ireland and the U.S.

Glad2be

Hi @juburto60 did you see that a bottle of Allmans whisky was sold recently by Adams for 6,600.

Your ancestors gave harbour to a priest chased by an orange mob and as he left he gave your family a blessing that they make money from water.

Uisce beatha - water of life

They sound like good people