From what we can tell, this Old Lewis Hunter Whiskey was distilled in 1913 and bottled in 1917 at the Old Hunter Lewis Distillery which produced whiskey from 1850 – 1974. The distillery was first known as the Megibben & Bramble Distillery and they produced whiskey under the Excelsior brand until 1891 when it was bought by G.S. Sharpe and began making both the Excelsior and G.R. Sharpe brands.
In 1902 the distillery was bought by Julius Kessler and Company after the death of Sharpe and they changed the name to the Old Hunter Lewis Distillery – 11 years later they distilled this very bottle of Old Hunter Lewis Whiskey. In that very same year, 1913, Kessler’s other distillery sustained massive damage and all of its brands and operations were moved to the Old Hunter Lewis Distillery. These brands included Sam Clay and Paris Club.
This distillery, like so many others, fell victim to prohibition and had to close in 1920. Also like so many other, when they went to re-open Old Hunter Lewis in 1932 it needed some massive repairs and upgrades. By 1935 the distillery had been rebuilt bigger and better than before and was bought by Seagrams in 1942 who then closed it in 1947. It opened again in 1958 but was shattered once again in 1980.
We tasted this 1917 Old Lewis Hunter Whiskey at a friend’s get-together and one of the main points of conversation that arose around this bottle was the blacking out of the word RYE on the bottle. Noe one there was sure why and a discussion in a private online whiskey group didn’t result in any solid insights either since there didn’t seem to be a reason why it would be blacked out pre-prohibition. If anyone reads this and has more info / knows why I’d love to hear it.
For photos and a bit more info on the distillery check out this piece about it on Abandoned Online.
Old Lewis Hunter Whiskey Info
Region: Kentucky, USA
Distiller: Old Hunter Lewis
Mashbill: At least 51% corn – we think… might be a rye
Cask: New charred oak
Age: 4 Years
ABV: 50%
Price: NA – Private collectors and auction
Old Lewis Hunter Whiskey Review
EYE
Caramel
NOSE
Dense dark sweets, spice, oak, vanilla, sweet grains, powdered sugar and dark fruit. It’s a solid “standard” bourbon character with some of the expected old bottle effect showing up. The word rye may be blacked out, but it has a spicy character that suggests a good amount of rye was used.
PALATE
Caramel heavy dark sweets, oak, baking and rye spice, vanilla, sweet grains, powdered sugar and dark fruit. The OBE comes through a bit stronger on the palate and like the nose the spice is quite bold on the palate.
FINISH
Long spicy fade dusted with oak, caramel and vanilla
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Well balanced and full bodied with a round smooth feel.
OVERALL
This 1917, pre-prohibition, bottle of Old Lewis Hunter Whiskey is interesting for a couple reasons, but mainly the blacked out rye. I’ve seen these exact bottles from that same year without the rye blacked out and the only thing we could think of was that it just wasn’t a rye. It was something else, like maybe Sam Clay or Paris Club bourbon, and they didn’t want to print new labels. Or maybe it was mix of whiskeys they had laying around so they couldn’t call it a rye. Nobody seems to know.
Though what we do know is that there is some rye in there. This Old Lewis Hunter Whiskey has a nice spicy character to it that runs from the nose to the finish and nicely compliments the sweeter tones. That spice level makes me think that if it isn’t a rye that it’s at least a high rye bourbon; though that level of sweetness would also suggest that if it was a rye it was on the lower side. Whatever the case, this Old Lewis Hunter Whiskey is pretty darn good and I’m glad I got to try it.
SCORE: 87-89/100 (B+, not consumed at home)