The Prohibition was a dark time in US history. It was widely believed that the outlawing of alcohol would reduce or even eliminate many social problems such as crime, mental illness, and poverty. However, during this time, six companies were in possession of medicinal licenses to produce alcohol.
The American Medicinal Spirits Company was still busy bottling the 1917 Old Taylor whiskey when the government finally lifted the ban in 1933. Before this, they enjoyed the freedom to sell their products under the guise of medicinal purposes while hundreds of distilleries went out of business nationwide.
The Courier Journal reported that three extremely rare bottles of the 1917 Old Taylor whiskeys exist to this day. David Russell, 73 years old and a resident of Louisville, said that these bottles were given to him as a gift some 35 years ago. A Baptist neighbor who did not drink approached him with the whiskeys after clearing out some cabinets. Apparently, he did not want them to go to waste.
Russell shared, "When I saw the first bottle, saw the date and that it said 'for medicinal purposes only,' I knew it was Prohibition bourbon." He added, "… The three that I have are in different variations of evaporation. I don't know what would cause that. If you look at it, it looks like whiskey. I don't think you'd want to drink too much of it, though, at 100 proof.”
The bottles would have remained in obscurity had Russell not heard that the Old Taylor distillery near Frankfort was being renovated by a new company. If Russell would have it his way, the bottles would be preserved in a museum or possibly even at the distillery itself.
Old Taylor was founded by Colonel E.H. Taylor sometime in late 19th Century. The distillery ended production in 1972 but business partners Will Arvin, Wesley Murry, and master distiller Marianne Barnes have started plans on reviving the old business. Barnes has told the Courier Journal in a previous interview that her company, Peristyle, is planning on developing recipes by doing a reverse grain analysis on Old Taylor bottles from the early 1900s.
