TORONTO -- A couple from upstate New York found dozens of whisky bottles dating back to the 1920s hidden in their walls and floor boards, all but confirming their suspicions that the old home once belonged to a prohibition-era bootlegger.
Nick Drummond and his partner Patrick discovered the bottles wrapped in hay while completing repairs to their home in Ames, N.Y, about 200 kilometres from the Canadian border.
In a video posted on the Facebook page Bootlegger Bungalow, where the couple posts updates about their renovations and discoveries related to their home, the couple is seen taking apart some panels on the exterior of the home only to find several bundles of hay with visible bottles inside.
Another video shows they also found bundles containing bottles inside a hatch on the floor of their mud room.
“It blows my mind that this was buried in our walls for almost 100 years, without anyone knowing,” the couple wrote in the group, accompanied by a photo of a whisky bottle dated from 1923. “It was a pretty legit hiding place. We’ve counted 42 bottles so far! We’re leaving most of them in their original bundles for now.”
According to the Daily Gazette of Schenectady, a local newspaper from the area, the bottles were labelled “Old Smuggler” Gaelic Whiskey and were marked with a black label to indicate they were of high purity.
The couple said they hope to one day try the whisky and even hinted at creating a glass floor so people could see where the bottles were hidden.
The couple said they had been told that their home once belonged to bootleggers, but this all but confirms it. They are now in the process of going through the New York archives to hopefully pin down exactly who built their home.
Prohibition in New York State lasted from 1920 to 1933 and was implemented to limit crime and improve the health of its citizens, but in northern New York, bootlegging alcohol from Canada quickly became a popular option for people looking to make a buck or to get a buzz.
