Reader Request: Antique bottle of Cuban Bacardi?

[Capn Jimbo]

A fascinating find...


Tony L, on of our newest members recently wrote me to help him identify a very interesting old bottle of Bacardi...

Tony L: Hi I'm your newest member and I have a bottle of Bacardi rum that is 70-80 years old maybe older. I am looking for help to find the exact year. Can you help me? ...

The bottle is not for sale I want to know how old it is and also put it out there so rum enthusiast like us know about it. I will send you the pictures and will put it on the web site if you can send the info and pictures to all the members I think we all benefit from it. I will let you know what they tell me from the link you gave me.

The source: his family. It's a 4/5 pint of Cuban Bacardi, imported by USA Barcardi Imports, and sporting a Dutch style lever cap...



A great find I'm sure we'd all be proud to feature in our collections. The story of Bacardi and Cuba is an endlessly fascinating and rich history, even today. Now the fun begins...


*******
Capn's Log: Tony, do tell us more about how you came to possess this bottle, and I gotta ask... have you had a taste?

[Capn Jimbo]

Step Two, the search begins...


I love research and especially, I love finding the truth about things rum. This bottle and project is quite special. Where to start? Two hints were found...



And...



So I began. The first torn label identified "Bill's Package Store", "...corner of High & Broad Sts", in a state, N? I first found a list of state abbreviations, then using Google Map, discovered there were only a couple of "Millvilles", and voila!

Millville, NJ - a small old town (established about 1800, Wiki) - did in fact, have a "High" and "Broad" street(s). The actual corner is N. High and W. Broad St. Next step: confirm the existence of "Bill's" and when he was in business.

As for the other hint, the serial number on the cap seal may well lead to the year of import. Steps are underway here too. As for you, do ya want to help out Tony? Remember - idiots united are brilliant.

Join Tony and moi in this most worthy effort...

[Capn Jimbo]

Dig it!


I just love this stuff! I was intrigued by the phone number - beginning with "T", followed by 5(?) and ending in 2 (or 3), 8, 4 and yet one more number. If you look closely (above) you can see the remnants of an "A" after the clearly visible "T". Those of you who are old enough will remember that when I grew up telephone numbers used to given with a name, followed by 5 numbers. Example: BUtterfield 8-1234.

This was done to make number memorable - you'd communicate your number by giving the name and first number - then the last four numbers, eg. "My number is BUtterfield eight - pause - one, two three, four". Turns out that Millville, NJ, did in fact have an exchange beginning with "T" - TAylor. My guess...

TAylor 5-284x. A private database (The TEN Project)also revealed this:

The TEN Project: Activated summer of 1955 -- formerly operators only. When first activated numbers covered only 0000-6699 and 9700-9999. Subscribers with private lines, generally kept their old numbers (with leading zeros of course where needed); party-line customers generally assigned numbers starting with 3 thru 6. Payphones were confined to 9700-9899 and 9900s for TELCO use only. Before dial service, payphones were Millville 400-499. Numbers starting with six or nine could dial either 6 or 9. 7000 block opened up March 1960. (Ability to dial either a six or a nine ended August 1961) All thousand-number blocks in service a year or two later.

BTW, I love "Project" sites. Cool beans. But I digress. What did we learn from this...

Bill's Package Store was absolutely located in Millville, NJ and had a "TAylor" prefixed phone number. The Ten Project data seems to indicate the first dial service was established in 1955. The question raised here is this: was "TAylor" used before this (with operator service only)?

C'mon idiots!!

[Capn Jimbo]

C'mon boyz and girlz...


I'm convinced that the phone number is the key to answering Tony's question about the age of this bottle. Further telephone exchange research reveals that prior to about 1955, most telephones used six digits, for example 2-8-1-2-3-4. The calls were placed by the operator and you'd communicate the number you wanted to reach, in this case as "BUtterfield one, two, three, four.

Beginning about 1955, systems converted to seven numbers, say 8-2-5-2-3-4-5 and went to dial service. You could now dial this number using the letters and numbers on your dial telephone, in this case...

TA5-234x, remembered as "Taylor five - two, three, four, 'X'". And this is the number that seems to appear on the label. Why do I believe this? Look again...



Note that each line of the copy on the Bill's Package Store is centered. Based on this centering I believe that Bill's has a seven digit number. Also keep in mind that number were spoken as "TAylor five - pause - two, three, four, something". Numbers were often printed as: TAylor 5 234X (spacing intentional), mimicing its verbalization. Seven digit numbers were dialed as (T-A-5-2-3-4-5).


Bottom Line:

I think this bottle was sold in the mid 1950's, which would make this exquisite antique about 57 years old. Still, to be thorough I am awaiting another resource to confirm when Bill's Package Store was in business...

[Capn Jimbo]

Am I a fackin genius, or what!?


It's crazy, but good shit just seems to stick to my feet. In this case, just for the fun of it I searched on "Bill's Package Store" AND "Millville, NJ" (together). And guess what?

I got just two returns, and I hope you're sittin down. Here goes...

Per the first return, an obit - a guy named Frank Pugliese, born in 1926 moved to Millville in 1937, then fought honorably in WWII, then married sweet Elenor, mother of three children. To help raise the brood, Frank and his brother-in-law Joseph Farnoly purchased "Bill's Package Store" in 1959, and the renamed City Liquor Store remained in business for another 30 years. Frank died in 2011 in our Naples, Florida. Rest in peace Frank!


(Frank and bro-in-law Joe at the opening, 1959)

The now renamed store struggled but eventually became in institution in Millville, and grew to ten times the size of Bill's Package Store. The second return was a protected fee site, but the exerpts seemed to confirm the first.

At this point it seems nearly certain that this rum was sold out of the above storefront most likely between 1955 and 1959, making this rum a probable 53 to 57 years old. You may applaud now, lol...

[Capn Jimbo]

A word from Bacardi...


Their reply in this matter...

Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding BACARDI. We are unable to provide you with historical information or production dates.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your valued patronage.

Sincerely,
Barbara Krupnick
Consumer Services

What's funny is that in this email, I didn't ask for identification nor provide any pics, but rather I simply requested a referral to possible resources who might be able to assist. What did I get? The standard corporate shrug that didn't even address my actual request...

[Capn Jimbo]

Talk about thankless...


Behind the scenes was this. This whole matter began when I received an earnest request from "Tony L", who inherited this bottle and was desperate to learn its history. Sufficiently challenged and intrigued, and knowing the importance of family history I committed myself to spending hours, and hours slowly nailing it down.

I succeeded and "Tony L" was thrilled. But perhaps you've noted something...

Although he is registered, he failed to post even a simple, public "thank you" for the tremedous gift I'd bestowed on him. Even worse, I'd asked him on several occasions that all I asked in return was not even a thanks, but a post on how he came to be in possession of the bottle, what he knew about it, and had he tried the rum. Although he said he'd get around to it, and despite several polite reminders from me...

He posted nothing. So let me be the first to say it...

Tony L, you are a piece of thankless shit. Still I have great pity for anyone who can request and receive a substantial favor, and then rudely ignore the giver. So let me amend that...

Tony L, you are a worthless, shameless, stinky piece of thankless shit. Have a nice day...