Jack Daniel's Decanters

FLTR: The Inaugural bottle (half Gallon,1984), The Gold Medal (half Gallon, 1971), The Silver Cornet (half Gallon,1986), The Riverboat Captain (half Gallon, 1987) and the Tribute to Tennessee (half Gallon, 1982) bottle. The glasses in the front are made specially for the Gold Medal 1971. The InAugural bottle is also available in a 1.5 liter version. For more Information on the Silver Cornet bottle use this link.

One of the most expensive items in my Collection would be this sealed, full Gold Medal 1971 bottle. Incl. the original card board box and the booklet. Very expensive and rare item!

During my visit to the US (11/2001) I bought a full and sealed 1971 Gold medal. What I didn't know before is that the original cardboard box is sealed as well! Here are pictures of a sealed and an opened cardboard box from the 1971 Gold Medal. (b.t.w. I traded the Gold Medal decanter after two days ....)

Okay, now lets talk about the Tax seal that is "guarding" the whiskey in the Decanter as Mr Jack tells us...
There are two different paper Tax seals that the Distillery used on this 1971 Gold Medal.

I can tell you that those two sealed Decanters are "real" sealed because I know where they came from, the eagle seal I bought my self in the store (with the sealed box) and the JD sealed one I bought from a close friend who bought the Decanter himself back then in 1971.
Now here is the thing I want to warn you for. I know that the seals you see are sold or traded for a few bucks a seal ($ 25.00) and people seal there bottles self and than sell them as real sealed bottles. There are stores that sell them as original for over $ 1000.00! I have been to a store in the US that has one up a self for $ 5000.00 ! Not only are these Decanters sold in the US but also in Germany, Europe. I have been attend on a case from a friend that bought a fake sealed decanter in Germany from a store that sells a lot of Jack Daniel's bottles to collectors in the US. So...WATCH OUT when you buy a sealed bottle!

Below you see a original NOT used Tax Seal. There are no numbers on this seal.

But how do you know if you got a real or a fake sealed Decanter?? There is a way to see if the seal is original glued on the Top of the Decanter and that is to use a hairdryer, warm up a corner of the seal and when it lets lose it is -can be- original. The glue that was used back than sort of lets lose of the glass.

But the seal on the decanter I bought in the sealed cardboard box (11/2001) was only glued on the cork-top, not the decanter.... problem.... Is this Decanter than sealed or not.... should I glue the seal on the bottle??
You see, it is a difficult thing....

This is another real cool collectable! What you see on the picture is an empty but sealed Gold Medal 1971 ! This bottle is sealed with an aluminium cap, this way it was send from the "Glass company" to the distillery to be filled. This one is never filled! Un used.....

Maxwell House 1971

This decanter is a replica of a bottle originally designed by Lem Motlow. In 1905, Lem. Motlow filled the bottle with Jack Daniels whiskey and sent it to the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.
The owner of the Maxwell House Hotel, J. Overton, liked the bottle so much like he did the whiskey and requested a meeting with Lem Motlow. It resulted in that the Maxwell House agreeing that Jack Daniel's would be the only whiskey served to the guests and visitors of the fine hotel from this decanter. This half Gallon (1.89 liter) replica was released in 1971 and was filled with 90 % proof whiskey. Estimate value now-a-days (end 2003) would be $ 800.00 for a full and sealed bottle with cardboard box and booklet.

The Cardboard box

Here is another very rare collectable Maxwell House 1971 bottle. It's a sealed / empty bottle like the Gold Medal 1971 above. Made by the Owens company. When the bottle was made they sealed it with this aluminium cap so it would stay clean inside. At the distillery the bottle got filled with Jack Daniel's whiskey.

Below is a picture of a maxwell-proofbottle. It got the same print on it. (it's a half gallon bottle). At the right a full/sealed maxwell 1971 and two original Maxwell glasses.

Here is a picture of the Belle from Lincoln, The commemorative bottle from 1979

1500 ml Belle of Lincoln

They did make a second version for export reasons. Here are both bottles, the 1.5 liter and the 1.750ml decanter.

The export seal of the 1.5 liter Belle of Lincoln.

The Silver Cornet Commemorative Decanter was created to honor Mr. Jack's hometown band, The Silver Cornet band. Jack Daniels loved the brass bands so in 1892, Mr. Jack recruited townspeople and distillery workers as musicians for his new band. He also purchased instruments. The band is still playing and there are a lot of CD available around the US! It's a 1.750 ml size Decanter with 90 % proof whiskey.

The "Inaugural" Decantere was released on the 80th anniversary of Mr. Roosevelt's presidency. It would commemorate Jack Daniel's admiration of the 26th president of the US. It's a 1.750 ml size bottle with 90 % proof whiskey.

Back then Mr. Jack was looking for a unique bottle to hold his whiskey. After considering many shapes and sizes, he finally agreed to the familiar square bottle. The bottles back then held a Quart or 4/5 Quart. This a 1 liter version of the first square Jack Daniel's bottle from 1895 and it hold a 86 % proof whiskey. If you want to see the original bottle from the year 1895, please check ot the "real old bottles and jugs page"...

This bottle commemorate one of the oldest aging houses on the grounds of the distillery. The barrelhouses where built after prohibition in 1912. These buildings are 7 stories high and has proven ideal for aging whiskey. This beautiful decanter was sold with a wooden box and in two different vesrions. A Summer 1999 and a winter version 1994 . This is a 750 ml size bottle with 94 % proof whiskey.

This is a 1000 ml size bottle with a86 % proof whiskey inside.

The third 125th anniversary kind of decanter is sold in Spain, Europe as a package deal with a 700ml black label bottle. Ugle top....

In 1796 Tennessee became the 16th state of the US. 100 years later, Mr. Jack designed a special decanter to honor Tenessee, the state where he distilled his whiskey. Only a few were ever produced back then because the bottle was very difficult to make. If you want to see the original bottle with the white printing please check out the "Back bar bottle" of this site. In the 60-ties they also made a "Centennial" bottle with a silver, gold and an embosement print. Same design, and very rare. For picture pleasecheck it out at the Back bar bottle page!