Not bourbon, but a rye - a very special event

A friend found a gallon jug of Fulton rye while cleaning out an old house. It was unopened; wax sealed and obviously very, very old.

So old, in fact, that even a google search doesn't give much help. The date on the bottle is 1918, so pre-prohibition.

He opened it. Hey, it's not my bottle, so his perogative, but I might not have. I'm not sure. Anyay, I'm thankful he did, as he broke me off a half pint to savour, which I have been doing. It's quite earthy to the point that I almost think the rye may have been smoked or at least roasted for a long time. When I take a sip and breathe in the vapors, it almost makes me cough. It has no sweetness at all that I might expect in a rye, but it's very, very smooth. One of the best whiskeys I've ever had, and I used to live with a high volume, high end whiskey merchant.

Of course I asked him about it. He'd never seen such a thing, but estimated its value could easily be north of 10k. What a find!