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No matter which way you slice it, Old Cabin Still (known as “Cabin Still” today) has always been regarded as a bottom-shelf bottle. If you were unlucky enough to taste the modern version, there would be no argument about how terrible it is. But 50 years ago would have been a very different story. Old Cabin Still may have been priced like other bargain basement brands, but the quality was much higher. It’s because it was still a product of the Stitzel-Weller Distillery.
Stitzel Weller needs no introduction. If you wanted a wheated bourbon anytime from the 1950’s to the 1990’s, you had basically two options: Maker’s Mark or Stitzel-Weller. Everyone else was using a ryed bourbon mash bill. Bourbon that came from Stitzel-Weller showed up in brands like Old Fitzgerald, Weller, Rebel Yell and others. Advertisements for these bourbons tried to appeal to a consumer’s senses by using words like “mellow,” “rich” and “whisper of wheat.” They also made claims like “If you can find a better bourbon, buy it!” or “People who drink Old Fitzgerald don’t know any better.”

Of course the purpose of advertising is to get people to buy your product, but Stitzel-Weller’s ads seemed particularly focused on highlighting how superior their product was over others. Today’s dusty bourbon collectors would probably agree with that sentiment. They have been known to pay some of the highest prices for anything coming from DSP-KY-16. And I haven’t even mentioned the most famous examples of Stitzel-Weller bourbon – all of those labels that the Van Winkles bottled!
So if you thought that Old Cabin Still from the 1970s was using some sort of inferior bourbon, that’s probably not true. It’s likely that it wasn’t made from the choicest stocks of barrels, but quality was still a part of its DNA.
1972 Old Cabin Still Duck’s Unlimited Commemorative Decanter
America had a drinking problem following World War II. Wait, I don’t mean it like that. What I mean is that they had a problem with the type of alcohol they drank; it wasn’t bourbon. Americans began to shun their native spirit for clear spirits and beer. Bourbon was seen as an old person’s drink and was deemed “uncool” with the new generation. With each passing decade, less Americans bought bourbon. That meant that less bourbon was produced.

Many distilleries were forced to adapt with the times, or close forever. One of the ideas to boost sales was to sell bourbon in collectible decanters. This was designed to appeal to people who might not like bourbon, but liked to collect stuff. On a personal note, my grandpa was a huge collector of Jim Beam decanters and thought they’d be worth a lot of money later in life. I have many friends with relatives who believed that, too. Unfortunately, many of these collectors opened and drank the bourbon inside because they believed the decanter itself was the valuable part. Many decades later proved that it is the bourbon inside that made it valuable. Oops!
Every distillery seemed to release some sort of collectible porcelain decanter from the 1970s through the 1980s. They were mostly filled with low quality bourbon under the assumption that if collectors would buy them, they probably wouldn’t be drinking what was inside. This is why most of them rarely had bourbon older than 8 years or above 86 proof. This bottle of Old Cabin Still is (kind of) the exception. It was filled with bourbon that was six years old and bottled at 90 proof (although 1973’s Duck’s Unlimited Decanter dropped to 86 proof).

The bourbon inside was their standard wheated mash bill. Some more knowledgeable enthusiasts will wonder if it used the distillate that had a barrel entry proof of 107 or 114. I’ve read that there is a preference for the lower barrel entry proof compared to the higher one. Stitzel-Weller changed it at some point between 1962 and 1992, but I haven’t found out when exactly it occurred. Based on some of the things I’ve read, it doesn’t appear like that change happened before 1972 which means that this bottle of Old Cabin Still contained the old style of SW put in the barrel at the lower proof.
So how is it? Thanks to Tim from the Neat Drinker’s Association annual Advent Calendar blind tasting, myself and 17 others got a chance to taste this. I’ll give a summary of their experiences at the end of the review. As usual, I sampled this neat in a glencairn.
Tasting Notes
Nose: A silky nose that’s dripping with age (the oak seems extremely soft). I can find scents of chocolate sauce, Werther’s Originals and lots of vanilla. Fruit notes center around citrus rind, flat cherry cola and peppermint candy cane. Delicious!
Palate: Each sip has a very mature taste to it. Oak is everywhere along with varnish, tobacco leaf and leather. I find chocolate, brown spices and peppermint. There’s lots of candied citrus rind, Christmas fruitcake and stone fruit preserves. Each layer of flavor builds on top of each other. If it wasn’t for the low-ish proof, it would be almost perfect.
Finish: The finish has a lot of similarities to the palate. Lingering tannic notes like oak, varnish and tobacco make you think it’s both old in terms of vintage and age of liquid. The candied fruit notes center around orange and the brown baking spices are soft and pleasant.
Score: 8.6/10
During the blind Advent tasting, we’re encouraged to give tasting notes and expand on our guesses. Here was my summary:
Whatever this is, it’s a treat because of how old and refined it tastes. It doesn’t have much pop and it’s not high proofed, but it’s elegant in its delivery. This is almost certainly a dusty of a high caliber. My first thought is that it reminds me of the 24-year-old pre-fire Heaven Hill that’s bottled by That Boutique-y Whiskey Company/C. Dully/Single Cask Nation/Quixotic Rare and Limited. But as I continued to sip and ponder, I think the quality is better than those. I think this is a bonded bourbon with similarities to modern-day Buffalo Trace. Something in me thinks this is a wheated bourbon from Stitzel Weller. My final guess is a 10 Year, Old fitzgerald 101 rectangular decanter (I wasn’t sure of the exact name, but this was the bottle I was describing).
Surprisingly, I did not win the best guess that day! Another member (Mark) guessed closer to the proof (and year) by guessing an early 70’s wheater from Old Fitz or Weller bottled at 86 proof.

Final Thoughts
In lieu of my typical final thoughts, I’ll give a rehash of what the Advent group thought.
This was the highest rated bottle out of 20 submitted for the 2024 Neat Drinker’s Association (Slacker’s) Advent scoring an average of 8.89 out of 10. Close behind it was an Old Label Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (140.2 Proof) which scored an 8.86/10 and a Wild Turkey Kentucky Legend (Donut) that scored 8.77/10. Essentially a rounding error, but a win is a win.
Many members of the group noted a dusty funk that pointed them in the direction of a vintage bottle. Some of the most common profile notes included varnish, oak, brown sugar, floral, butterscotch, tobacco and dried fruit. Orange seemed to be one of the more popular fruit notes.
The most popular guesses revolved around dusty Wild Turkey split between 8/101, 12/101 and Cheesy Gold Foil versions. A few outliers guessed dusty versions of IW Harper, Old Grand Dad and even a Blanton’s.
Regardless, it seemed as if everyone was impressed with the quality of this decanter. It was funny that every guess for a dusty bourbon was a bottle that was at least a mid-tier bottle back when it was originally sold. If you’re doing an advent and want to trick everyone, try finding a lower-tier dusty to see if the audience thinks its one of the more expensive labels, haha.
No matter what the guess was, everyone seemed to agree that this was a special bottle that was universally enjoyed. Maybe it’s time to start going to some estate sales to see if I can find my own.
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