Watch for more decanters later in the auction! DISCLAIMER: Due to state law, contents of decanters have been disposed of. The Old Crow brand has a venerable history as one of Kentucky's earliest bourbons. Old Crow is aged in barrels for a minimum of three years, and in the United States is 80-proof while Old Crow Reserve is aged for a minimum of four years and is 86-proof. James C. Crow, a Scottish immigrant, started distilling what would become Old Crow in Frankfort, Kentucky, in the 1830s. Reportedly a very skilled distiller, he made whiskey for various employers, which was sold as "Crow" or, as it aged, "Old Crow" – and the brand acquired its reputation from the latter. Crow died in 1856. W.A. Gaines and Company acquired the name and continued to distill the bourbon similar to his recipe, but the original distillation formula died with its creator. The substantial remaining stock of original Old Crow acquired near-legendary status. After the Civil War the Old Crow logo was changed from a picture of James Crow to the current crow perched atop grains of barley. In 1875, offering drinks from the last available cask reportedly secured the election of Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn of Kentucky to his first Congressional term. A dispute over ownership of the name "Old Crow" was decided in 1915 in favor of the Gaines company. [MIA 366]