MARLBOROUGH, MASS — A single bottle of Old Ingledew Whiskey, bottled in the 1860s in La Grange, Ga., by Evans and Ragland, sold for $137,500 on June 30 in Skinner’s Rare Spirits sale. The contents of the bottle had been carbon-14 dated (using a hypodermic needle through the cork) to 1763-1803, making it one of the oldest known whiskeys in existence; the result shattered the auction house’s presale expectations that it would bring between $20,000 and $40,000.

The whiskey had reportedly been purchased by financier John Pierpont Morgan in the 1860s during visits to Georgia. The bottle, which was part of his estate, was given by his son, Jack Morgan, to James Byrnes of South Carolina. Byrnes, a US Congressman, US Senator and Supreme Court Justice prior to World War II, was Governor of South Carolina from 1951 to 1955. After retiring from office, Byrnes gave the bottle to Francis Drake, a friend and neighbor. The bottle remained in the Drake family until they approached Skinner about selling it.
Skinner’s rare spirits specialist, Joseph Hyman, said he was not aware of any other bottles of this whiskey having come to auction. It sold to an American buyer. For more information, www.skinnerinc.com.