I'm hoping to find information about an old bottle of scotch.  My
father received the bottle from a Bostonian friend of his who found it
among her grandfather's belongings after he died.

The scotch is in a brown glass bottle with raised lettering saying
"JOHN FENNELL" above the word "BOSTON."

Taped to the bottle is a paper label (once tied around the bottle's
neck, but the string frayed) which reads:

"Old Curio
Pot Still Scotch
Made 1692
John Fennell
175 Devonshire Street and 34 Arch Streets
Boston, U.S.A.
Contents 1 Pint, 8 Fluid Ounces"

The bottle is sealed with a cork, which I presume is original.  It
remains almost full, with some liquid presumably lost to evaporation.

I'd like any information I can get about the bottle, and I'd most
specifically like to know:

- Is the scotch likely to be tasty?
- Is the bottle valuable?
- Do you think it was really "made" in 1692?  Does "made" mean
"bottled," or does it refer to when the scotch entered the cask?
- What makes "pot still" scotch different from other scotch?
- Does this scotch get better with age, or is it unchanged from when
it enters its glass bottle?  (I know scotch can improve in the cask
before bottling.)
- Who was John Fennell, and did he run a good scotcherie?
- Etc.

Thank you.

  - Ben

I've had a look in to this and it seems that there is very little
information readily available about John Fennell - I did find an
address dated 1886 '161 Devonshire (Boston)', on a list of whiskey
distillers of the pre-prohibition era - which confirms that there
certainly was a whiskey distillery on that street in the past (see
http://www.pre-pro.com/City/Boston/boston_f.htm).

Regarding the definition of 'pot still' whiskey - you will find a
couple of useful websites if you use the following search terms:
definition "pot still"

As regards whether the Scotch is still drinkable - this is doubtful,
but it is known that wines as old as this are still drinkable (see
http://www.vinnicombe.de/html/body_schoenborn.html for mention of a
1735 German wine) - and it is known that whiskey is more resilient to
the effect of oxidation than wine - while a bottle of wine will spoil
within days of opening, a spirit such as whiskey will last months.

'Made in 1672' is possibly both the year the whiskey was aged and the
year of bottling - 'Aging whiskey for any considerable period was very
unusual in the 18th century. Serious aging and charred barrels were
19th-century innovations, and probably evolved together.' (from
http://www.anchorbrewing.com/about_us/oldpotrero.htm).

Whiskey does not improve with age in the bottle, only in the cask
(Only bad things can happen after its bottled. Keep it in a dark, cool
place - http://www.charm.net/~kmarsh/definition.html). The changes
incurred in the cask can be described as follows: 'During this
maturation process the whiskey "breathes" in the barrel, gaining
aroma, flavor and color. Aging, sometimes referred to as mellowing,
takes the edge off the raw whiskey and creates what we know as the
smooth whiskey. Also, during the aging process, a percentage of the
alcohol evaporates. This evaporated alcohol is called the "angels'
share".' (http://www.probrewer.com/resources/distilling/whiskey.php).

I have no idea of the potential value of this whiskey (I could not
find any specific information). It might be too obscure to be of major
interest, but is certainly old enough to be of interest to a
collector.

Hope this helps you!