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Next Auction starts Friday 26th April: Bottle Deadline: UK and EU 15th April.

A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 16 Year Old Bourbon / 2003 Release

Lot: 120152

A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 16 Year Old Bourbon / 2003 Release

Winning Bid: £1,150

Currency Estimate

Important: Currency exchange rates are constantly changing; this feature is to be used as a guide price only. All final transactions occur in British Pounds (£).
Lot:
Distillery: 
Bomberger's Distillery
Age: 
16 Year Old
Vintage: 
1974
Region: 
Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, USA
Bottler: 
Buffalo Trace / Preiss Imports
Cask Type: 
N/A
Bottled Strength: 
45.8%
Bottle Size: 
70cl
Distillery Status: 
Closed
product Details

A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 16 Year Old Bourbon / 2003 Release

A legendary bottle of Bourbon that has had a whole book written about itself: The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste by Charles K Cowdery.

Distilled in Spring 1974, this bourbon is bottled from a single 400 barrel batch commissioned by Adolph Hirsch and distilled under contract at Bomberger's Michters distillery, just outside Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. With the closure of Michter's distillery, the bourbon was sold by Hirsch to Gordon Hue, who set about bottling it immediately.

Responsibility for the early bottling was entrusted to Julian Van Winkle III at his Old Commonwealth site in Lawrenceburg. However, his partenrship with the Sazerac Company and creation of the Pappy Van Winkle brand in 2002, also saw bottling of the Hirsch Reserve moved briefly to Buffalo Trace. This is the 2003 bottling, known affectionately as the "gold foil." Gordon Hue, who had maintained exclusive distribution rights to the Hirsch product despite the Van Winkle and Sazerac connections, soon sold the brand to Preiss Imports who moved subsequent bottling to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers' Willett facility.

In his book Cowdery refers to the bourbon as one of the "best whiskeys I've ever tasted."

Mash bill contains 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.

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Please note: Due to the various ages of bottles and their seals, condition of liquid is at the buyer's discretion and no claim can be lodged against failure/leakage in transit.