I have been looking for an absolutely mint example of the A.P. Hotaling "Rick Rack" fifth from Portland, OR for quite some time. Thanks to forum member westernbittersnut I finally have one in my grubby little mitts. The bottle dated to the late 1870s and has quite elaborate embossing, with a large crown motif with crossed sabers in a shield and surrounded by a zig zag pattern. Not many of these bottles exist, so I consider myself very fortunate to have encountered this one. It's the bottle at the right, below.
The bottle to the left in the accompanying photo is Hotaling's first Portland whiskey. It dates from his original 1871 opening of the Portland Agency. Also very rare, with only a handful of mint examples known. This one was pulled from the waters of Puget Sound, and was covered in barnacles and sea life when I got it. A stinky mess, but nothing a Muriatic bath couldn't clean off.[
]
The bottle to the left in the accompanying photo is Hotaling's first Portland whiskey. It dates from his original 1871 opening of the Portland Agency. Also very rare, with only a handful of mint examples known. This one was pulled from the waters of Puget Sound, and was covered in barnacles and sea life when I got it. A stinky mess, but nothing a Muriatic bath couldn't clean off.[
]
