W. A. Lacey Bourbon Bicentennial Continental Navy Decanter

Ah, Old Bottle Effect (OBE). What a double-edged sword you are.

To some people, it’s a funky note, some find it literally a dusty note, maybe its something else, but there’s no denying 1) it’s a thing and 2) there are people who pay big, BIG bucks to find it.

For me, OBE can go in two very different directions. I genuinely dislike the old wood and dusty notes I’ve found in bottles that others fawn over. Then there’s OBE like this.

I make no secret how I feel about low-proof bourbon. An 80-proof bourbon nowadays is nearly unanimously thin, flavorless, and disappointing. Even older (in age, not date) bottles are no better - see my not-so-favorable reviews of big dogs like Elijah Craig 18 Year Old or Eagle Rare 17 Year. This applies to rye as well, if a little bit less (see my thoughts on Sazerac 18 Year Old, for example). I’d go for a 6-12 year old bourbon that’s a solid proof - doesn’t have to be hazmat to be good - and has good flavor than something either younger or older that’s low proof oak or grain water.

Bourbons and whiskies from the past have something else to them. This decanter’s bourbon is only 80 proof, and yet it garnered a 7.7 for me (and a positive review from my friend Ryan, an aficionado of dusties, which is probably a better endorsement than I could ever give). It’s non-age-stated but is likely around 7-8 years old. There’s really no way to know who distilled this in Kentucky - could have been National Distillers, Stitzel-Weller (unlikely), Jim Beam, we’ll never know. The farthest I got in the search was Ryan himself, who found that the bourbon came from Cyrus Noble - unfortunately, they sourced at the time, so we’re back to square one. W. A. Lacey is no longer around and there’s no daughter company with access to those records as far as I can tell. Lacey was a bottler based in California that sourced this from somewhere in Kentucky for the nation’s bicentennial but disappeared shortly after in the darkest days of bourbon. The decanter itself is a HAAS Bros design, one of dozens they created for the bourbon industry in the 60s-80s. Just a cursory Google search shows decanters of animals, mythical creatures, fairy tales, historical events, notable buildings, and more. Alas, as with W. A. Lacey, HAAS is also no longer around.

So, what is that “other” thing that makes these dusties so delicious? It seems to be a decanter-by-decanter and bottle-by-bottle answer. Some, like the Old Crow Chessmen and Old Crow in general from that era have higher levels of ethyl carbamide in them, confirmed by none other than Freddie Noe himself, who discovered this while trying to recreate the Old Crow of the past (not the Old Crow of today, which shares little with its predecessor). Ethyl carbamide, also known as urethane but having no relation to polyurethane, is a chemical that naturally forms during fermentation. Low levels are generally seen as harmless, but higher levels are carcinogenic. The Wikipedia page on this chemical is fascinating and is a must-read for anyone as interested as I am in this factor. Nevertheless, while today’s fermented and distilled beverages have small amounts, 1960s/70s Old Crow has levels far above the legal limit.

Some other decanter dusties have lead in them, particularly glass ones and porcelain/ceramic where lead paint has leeched through the porous material. There may be other chemicals we don’t yet know about. I say with fair certainty it isn’t differences in distillation technique, if only because there is plenty of evidence for how distillation happened in the 50s and 60s, especially in companies like Jim Beam and National Distillers who are still around in one form or another. If we were talking something from the 1800s, that might be a different story, but this is Freddie Noe - if there was something in the distilling equipment that could re-create the grandeur of mid-century Old Crow without the ethyl carbamide, I got the feeling it would’ve been done already.

My final thoughts here: decanters can be beautiful, but not everything in a decanter is good. Beam decanters from the 70s and 80s were more for selling off 80 proof bourbon that was piling up behind a dearth of orders. Chessmen might be the best bourbon I’ve ever had. This falls somewhere in the middle, closer to the Chessmen for sure. Again, this is impossibly viscous for 80 proof and with no evidence of leakage or evaporation I don’t think it’s simply concentrated bourbon.

I do hope someone in the whiskey world is exploring these long-defunct companies. They may not have had the legacy they wanted, but it’s hard to argue they had some of the best bourbon in history at their fingertips.

W. A. Lacey Bourbon Bicentennial Continental Navy Decanter Whiskey: Specs

Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Origin: Unknown

Mashbill: Unknown

Proof: 80 (40% ABV)

Age: NAS

Location: Indiana

W. A. Lacey Bourbon Bicentennial Continental Navy Decanter Price: N/A

No Official Website

W. A. Lacey Bourbon Bicentennial Continental Navy Decanter Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Thick, like cold maple syrup. Thick rims bleed slowly.

Nose: Old bottle effect in full force, but definitely a bourbon nose and a truly classic one at that. Dark red fruit, a little vanilla, more of a dark caramel taffy.

Palate: Viscous, a touch tingly, dark stewed fruit with a rye-like mint flair. The flavor is all back palate, with roasted and buttered corn. Mouthfeel is again viscous, coating, heavy in the mouth especially under the tongue.

Finish: Minty and more rye-forward than either the nose or palate. My whole palate is lacquered and it won’t let go on a very long finish.

Overall: I need to find where this comes from…it’s just too good. Impossibly viscous and full-bodied for 80 proof, closer to the mouthfeel of a near-hazmat bourbon of today minus the heat.

Final Rating: 7.7

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Label Batch 4 or 2, Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (Stagg Jr. Batch 10, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Has promise

1-3 | Let’s have a conversation

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