1916–1931 Old Stagg Medicinal Whiskey Pint w/ Original Box (Prohibition Era)

1916–1931. Medicinal Whiskey. Old Stagg. Pint with original box. — one of the most extraordinary American whiskey artifacts in the current Wooden Cork catalog, a Prohibition-era pint of Old Stagg produced under one of the four federal medicinal whiskey licenses that kept American bourbon production alive between 1920 and 1933.

The National Prohibition Act (Volstead Act) permitted the sale of whiskey for ‘medicinal purposes’ under a prescription system administered by physicians. Four distilleries received federal licenses to continue producing bonded medicinal whiskey: A. Ph. Stitzel, American Medicinal Spirits (which became National Distillers), Brown-Forman, and the Glenmore Distillery. Old Stagg was produced by A. Ph. Stitzel under this medicinal license, making it among the few genuinely legal American whiskeys available during the Prohibition years.

The 1916–1931 date range encompasses both the pre-Prohibition production period and the Prohibition production under the medicinal license. A pint in original box surviving 90–109 years in this condition is extraordinarily rare — most Prohibition-era medicinal whiskey was consumed within months of production and the packaging discarded. This is among the most valuable American whiskey expressions in the current Wooden Cork catalog.

Specs

• Producer: A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery, Louisville, Kentucky
• Style: Bonded American Medicinal Whiskey
• Production period: 1916–1931
• Format: Pint with original box
• Legal status: Produced under federal Prohibition medicinal license

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Frequently Asked Questions

• Which distilleries were licensed to produce medicinal whiskey during Prohibition? Four: A. Ph. Stitzel, American Medicinal Spirits (later National Distillers), Brown-Forman, and Glenmore Distillery. Old Stagg was produced by A. Ph. Stitzel — the same distillery that would later become Stitzel-Weller and produce Old Fitzgerald and the original Van Winkle bourbons.
• Why is the original box so significant? Prohibition-era medicinal whiskey was almost universally consumed immediately and the packaging discarded. A surviving intact pint with original box from 1916–1931 is among the rarest physical artifacts of American whiskey history.