Balach Found Bottle
Photographs from
Ted Balach
Written by K. R.
Overholt Critchfield, © August 8, 2001
~~ Renovated
10-22-08 ~~
~~
Updated November 28, 2003 ~~
SEE BELOW!
Kathie Kohan wrote to me
about her friend, Ted Balach, who has a rare old
bottle of Overholt whiskey that is kept inside a
wooden box. Ted told a story about how he came to
have it. His sister's husband's father was a
chiropractor named Adam Weaver. One day, as
payment for his services, the chiropractor was
given the bottle of whiskey, which is labeled as
follows.

"This is bottle No. 2383 of very select
stock of rare
Old Overholt Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey;
this whiskey is 6 1/2 years old, and is bottled
exactly
as it comes from the original barrels at 123
proof.
Bottled at Broad Ford, Pa. by A. Overholt &
Co. Inc.,
and distributed by National Distillers Products
Corp., New York.
Signed by Thomas F. Brown, Vice Pres."
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Above is
an enhanced (reduced in size & touched up) photo of
the large card
that is inside the wooden box. The text is retyped below.
 
In
the very forefront of famous American whiskey
names stands the famous brand
OLD
OVERHOLT
For
130 years, it has graced the cellars and tables
of the knowing, and its fame has traveled the
wide world over. In this package is presented a
special bottling of this famous old brand -- at
its superlative finest, because of its unusual
age and proof. Bottled exactly as withdrawn from
the wood, the unparalleled potency and flavor
created by the ripening years are sealed within
for your delectation. This whiskey is indeed a
rarity for, since Repeal, whiskey of this age and
proof has been virtually impossible to obtain.
Please remember that this is a mighty whiskey;
treat it with the utmost respect when used
straight. Use it as a rare brandy, and savor it
in a brandy inhaler; or use it sparingly in
highball or cocktail; then you will enjoy its
incomparable virtues to the utmost. Straight Rye
Whiskey, Bottled by A. Overholt & Co., Inc.,
Broad Ford, Pa., at 123
Proof. This whiskey is six and one-half years
old.
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Kathie Kohan is seeking information to help her friend
place a value on this amazing find.
Ted Balach does not have an e-mail address, but Kathie
will make sure all pertinent mail
gets back to him. Her e-mail address (as of 5-17-01)
follows.
kkohan@csonline.net
~~
Updated November 28, 2003 ~~
Two Updates for Balach
Found Bottle
On January
10, 2003, Richard J. Mason wrote, "Some
years ago, I found hidden in the drop down
basement playroom ceiling of my home, the same
type of wooden box that Balach found, and the box
contained a bottle of exactly the same select
stock of rare Old Overholt Pennsylvania Straight
Rye Whiskey; 6 1/2 years old, etc. My bottle
remains full with the Federal seal intact. The
label is identical, except for a much lower
bottle number and 122 Proof, instead of 123. I'm
sure that my bottle was placed in the drop down
ceiling by the original homeowner, who was the
co-owner of a large, wholesale liquor, beer and
wine distributorship. I just spotted your website
today, so I thought that you would enjoy hearing
about another rare Overholt find."
Melissa
Ruth wrote to me on September 4, 2003, wanting me
to know that "there is a restaurant in DC
called Martin's Tavern that has a bottle of Old
Overholt whisky hanging in a box on the wall,
along with a letter from the woman who gave it to
them, who was a Mellon. I think that one of the
Mellons had kept old casks of whisky and at one
point bottled them. I'll get the details and try
to take a photo for you. My mother and I use the
whisky to flavor our mincemeat pies and tarts
during the holidays."
And so, we
have two more accounts to add to the Balach
Found Bottle saga. Perhaps a few more of
these rare bottles will be revealed to us. If
Richard and/or Melissa send me photos, I will
publish them on my web site. Thank you both for
writing!
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