Commodores Royal O.K. Old Bourbon K.Y. Marx & Jorgensen Portland OGN.
Must tell a fish (whisky bottle) story.
My wife and son were out trout fishing on a small stream in Grays Harbor County near Aberdeen Washington. The fishing trip was in the summer of 2011. They were crawling over a log jam when they noticed there was a bottle hung up in it. My wife collected the bottle which was muddy and dark green in color. They brought the bottle back home and told me about it knowing I like old bottles. You could see there was writing and after taking off some of the mud and green algae it read, “Commodores Royal O.K. Old Bourbon K.Y. Marx & Jorgensen Portland OGN”. I looked up the bottle on the internet—but found no information. So, I decided to contact various bottle collectors online asking about the bottle but still no one responded to my inquiries. Finally, I called a bottle club in Seattle and talked to a member, he said the bottle was quite the find and was a turn of the century western whisky bottle. According to him, Western whisky bottles were in demand and this one was one of the very rare. He offered me a good deal of money for it sight unseen, I told him I wasn’t interested in selling and I wanted to know more about the bottle. He suggested I contact a dealer in California at an auction house. I called the auctioneer, and he was familiar with the bottle. He told me if it was two toned it would be worth quite a bit of money and suggested I clean it carefully. So, armed with bottle cleaning guidebooks I slowly started cleaning. As I cleaned the green disappeared and it became obvious it was not two toned, instead it was clear and iridescent. The more I cleaned the more beautiful the bottle became; the iridescence made it shimmer and a slight purple hue was obvious. The only nick on the bottle was a small fisheye on the applied top area. In my mind I believe this made the bottle unique. Evidently, when the bottle floated down the creek during a high flood event it hit something and caused the mark. The rest of the bottle does not have a single scratch.
Excited, we went back to the stream twice looking along the banks and, in the water, but found no other bottle or any other area that had old debris like a garbage dump. How the bottle got there is a total mystery. The area has a logging history, and a logging railroad ran next to the stream in the late 1800s. I can imagine a celebration where the whisky bottle was opened for whatever reason and thrown away after it was empty. I wish the bottle could talk; I would love to know the story. Where did it come from? Who bought it and why? The following is information found by (WESTERN WHISKEY GAZETTE (WWG).2014).
(WESTERN WHISKEY GAZETTE (WWG).2014). “the firm of Marx. & Jorgensen had their start up in 1877, an article in "The Daily Astorian" dated January 26, 1879 stated that the firm already had an established branch operating in Astoria, Oregon, which is 98 miles by river, downstream from Portland. According to the research, “their product line appears to have been exclusive to one brand, "Commodores Royal Old OK Bourbon". It was Kentucky bourbon whiskey, which was casked at the distillery on the east coast, shipped in hogsheads via railroad, and bottled initially in embossed private mold amber glop top cylinders in Portland. This bottle is quite rare and is considered to be one of the top Oregon whiskies.
Later, a clear "German connection" glop top cylinder was produced. This bottle would date. ca. early to mid-1890's. About the same time, a domestically produced tool top was also blown. Neither the amber glop, or the clear tool tops are embossed with the name of the product.
The third variant in the lineup of embossed Marx & Jorgensen cylinders is a "real hitter". It would date from approximately the same era as the prior variants; ca. early 1890's - 1902. It is embossed with full faced coverage "Commodores / Royal / OK / Old / Bourbon K.Y." inside of a large ornate draped crest topped by a large, jeweled crown, with "Marx & Jorgensen / Portland Ogn" beneath. (why the period after both K and Y in KY?).
The bottle was blown with a manganese dioxide based de-colorizor that allows the bottle to turn purple when exposed to UV radiation (sunlight). It has a long-tapered collar over single ring closure that was sealed with a cork. The shoulders were air vented by a series of six small vents. The base was air vented in a like manner. The embossing does not bear any indication of air venting, although it is extremely bold and crisp. The base is plain and void of mold marks or glasshouse identifiers. We are unable to ascertain for certain which of the glass factories blew this variant, although all evidence points to San Francisco & Pacific Glass Works.”
Was the bottle my wife and son found
on a ship that came into Aberdeen, WA? Was it traded? Of course, we will never know but I do know that was an incredible find and it is a beautiful bottle. The small fisheye makes the bottle special and unique and matches my wife and sons “fishing Trip” perfectly.
Must tell a fish (whisky bottle) story.
My wife and son were out trout fishing on a small stream in Grays Harbor County near Aberdeen Washington. The fishing trip was in the summer of 2011. They were crawling over a log jam when they noticed there was a bottle hung up in it. My wife collected the bottle which was muddy and dark green in color. They brought the bottle back home and told me about it knowing I like old bottles. You could see there was writing and after taking off some of the mud and green algae it read, “Commodores Royal O.K. Old Bourbon K.Y. Marx & Jorgensen Portland OGN”. I looked up the bottle on the internet—but found no information. So, I decided to contact various bottle collectors online asking about the bottle but still no one responded to my inquiries. Finally, I called a bottle club in Seattle and talked to a member, he said the bottle was quite the find and was a turn of the century western whisky bottle. According to him, Western whisky bottles were in demand and this one was one of the very rare. He offered me a good deal of money for it sight unseen, I told him I wasn’t interested in selling and I wanted to know more about the bottle. He suggested I contact a dealer in California at an auction house. I called the auctioneer, and he was familiar with the bottle. He told me if it was two toned it would be worth quite a bit of money and suggested I clean it carefully. So, armed with bottle cleaning guidebooks I slowly started cleaning. As I cleaned the green disappeared and it became obvious it was not two toned, instead it was clear and iridescent. The more I cleaned the more beautiful the bottle became; the iridescence made it shimmer and a slight purple hue was obvious. The only nick on the bottle was a small fisheye on the applied top area. In my mind I believe this made the bottle unique. Evidently, when the bottle floated down the creek during a high flood event it hit something and caused the mark. The rest of the bottle does not have a single scratch.
Excited, we went back to the stream twice looking along the banks and, in the water, but found no other bottle or any other area that had old debris like a garbage dump. How the bottle got there is a total mystery. The area has a logging history, and a logging railroad ran next to the stream in the late 1800s. I can imagine a celebration where the whisky bottle was opened for whatever reason and thrown away after it was empty. I wish the bottle could talk; I would love to know the story. Where did it come from? Who bought it and why? The following is information found by (WESTERN WHISKEY GAZETTE (WWG).2014).
(WESTERN WHISKEY GAZETTE (WWG).2014). “the firm of Marx. & Jorgensen had their start up in 1877, an article in "The Daily Astorian" dated January 26, 1879 stated that the firm already had an established branch operating in Astoria, Oregon, which is 98 miles by river, downstream from Portland. According to the research, “their product line appears to have been exclusive to one brand, "Commodores Royal Old OK Bourbon". It was Kentucky bourbon whiskey, which was casked at the distillery on the east coast, shipped in hogsheads via railroad, and bottled initially in embossed private mold amber glop top cylinders in Portland. This bottle is quite rare and is considered to be one of the top Oregon whiskies.
Later, a clear "German connection" glop top cylinder was produced. This bottle would date. ca. early to mid-1890's. About the same time, a domestically produced tool top was also blown. Neither the amber glop, or the clear tool tops are embossed with the name of the product.
The third variant in the lineup of embossed Marx & Jorgensen cylinders is a "real hitter". It would date from approximately the same era as the prior variants; ca. early 1890's - 1902. It is embossed with full faced coverage "Commodores / Royal / OK / Old / Bourbon K.Y." inside of a large ornate draped crest topped by a large, jeweled crown, with "Marx & Jorgensen / Portland Ogn" beneath. (why the period after both K and Y in KY?).
The bottle was blown with a manganese dioxide based de-colorizor that allows the bottle to turn purple when exposed to UV radiation (sunlight). It has a long-tapered collar over single ring closure that was sealed with a cork. The shoulders were air vented by a series of six small vents. The base was air vented in a like manner. The embossing does not bear any indication of air venting, although it is extremely bold and crisp. The base is plain and void of mold marks or glasshouse identifiers. We are unable to ascertain for certain which of the glass factories blew this variant, although all evidence points to San Francisco & Pacific Glass Works.”
Was the bottle my wife and son found
