http://www.wsmv.com/news/14608054/detail.html

Law Requires Officials Destroy Whiskey That Cannot Be Sold Legally



NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Here's a sobering thought: Hundreds of bottles of Jack Daniel's whiskey, some of it almost 100 years old, may be unceremoniously poured down a drain because authorities suspect it was being sold by someone without a license.

Officials seized 2,400 bottles late last month during warehouse raids in Nashville and Lynchburg, the southern Tennessee town where the whiskey is distilled.
"Punish the person, not the whiskey," said an outraged Kyle MacDonald, 28, a Jack Daniel's drinker from British Columbia who promotes the whiskey on his blog. "Jack never did anything wrong, and the whiskey itself is innocent."
Investigators are also looking into whether some of the bottles had been stolen from the distillery. No one has been arrested.

Authorities are still determining how much of the liquor will be disposed of, and how much can be sold at auction.
Tennessee law requires officials to destroy whiskey that cannot be sold legally in the state, such as bottles designed for sale overseas and those with broken seals.
"We'd pour it out," said Danielle Elks, executive director of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
The estimated value of the liquor is $1 million, possibly driven up by the value of the antique bottles, which range from 3-liter bottles to half-pints.
One seized bottle dates to 1914, with its seal unbroken. Elks said it is worth $10,000 on the collectors market. Investigators are looking into whether the liquor was being sold for the value of the bottles rather than the whiskey.
"Someone was making a great deal of profit," she said.
Tennessee whiskeys age in charred white oak barrels, but the maturing process that gives them character mostly stops when it is bottled. A bottled whiskey can deteriorate over a long period of time, especially if it is opened or exposed to sunlight and heat.
Christopher Carlsson, a spirits connoisseur and collector in Rochester, N.Y., said old vintages of whiskey in their original containers are highly prized.
"A lot of these bottles are priceless," he said. "It's like having a rare painting. It's heavily collected."
The raids, prompted by a tip, were conducted at two warehouses and a home in Lynchburg, about 65 miles southeast of Nashville. Another raid was at a Nashville hotel room where drinks were being served and bottles were being sold.
For now, the whiskey is being stored in a Nashville vault.
Elks acknowledged that pouring out the whiskey would not be a happy hour for her.
"It'd kill me," she said.

Are you nuts?!?

Put me under the drain!

The whiskey is innocent!!!!

*sigh* Silly boys. Its just whiskey.

That's it, I'll be another Al Capone.

Originally Posted by Doody

The whiskey is innocent!!!!

I agree.

That is kind of depressing. Washing history right down the drain because of some tight...grouchy person.

Boys, we are going to declare independence and there will be no such thing as illegal whiskey!

You gotta be carefull with old whisky. About thirty odd years ago I bought a 100+ years old bottle, sealed and untoughed. It gathered dust on a shelf in my office for another 20 years or so. My five kids grew up, all tempted at times to open it up and try it. Then my youngest son took control and entered it into a Scottish whisky sale, when the Japanese were going strong; it had cost about $24 - it then made some $5000! Result!!

So how about this new country of ours?

Like the old story and film 'Whisky Galore', where the guys on a Scottish island declared independence when they salvaged the cargo of a ship packed with Scotch.

But whatever, certainly don't waste it.