Episode 278 - Dusty Booze with Aaron Goldfarb

The Modern Bar Cart Podcast

In this fascinating deep dive with Aaron Goldfarb (@aarongoldfarb), author of Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits, some of the topics we discuss include:

• What constitutes a “dusty” or vintage bottle and some of the historical forces that created the trend of hunting for them, especially in the Bourbon world.

• Some tentative answers to the question, “Did it really Use to Taste Better?,” featuring oak tree rings, barrel entry proof, and cedar fermentation tanks.

• How dusty hunters use label cues like importers, tax stamps, DSP numbers, and Julian dating to determine the true age and origin of the bottles they encounter.

• A romp through some of the packaging gimmicks that dominated the Bourbon world in the second half of the 20th century.

• And a look at today’s secondary market for spirits with respect to how it started and where it might be headed.

• Along the way, we consider the historical impact of Howard Hughes’ liquor collection, salute the unwavering faith and confidence of bourbon distillers, get Aaron into bed with a sultry bottle of pre-phylloxera Cognac, and much, much more.

Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits will drop in about a month, so be sure to pre-order your copy if you’ve got some time on your hands and think you could uncover the next outrageously valuable bottle hiding in a storage unit or estate sale.