Archaeologists in Alta, Utah, just hit the historical jackpot: a perfectly intact bottle of alcohol buried since the 1870s mining boom, making it 150 years old!
Instead of just letting it sit on a shelf, they brought in the pros at High West Distillery to do a “medical-grade” tasting.
Here’s the breakdown of how it went down:
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The Method: They used a Coravin (a high-end wine tool) to extract the liquid through the cork without actually opening the bottle and ruining the contents.
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The Scent: Experts picked up notes of oxidized fruit, floral fragrances, and leather.
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The Verdict: It was definitely beer, not spirits. It was “turbid” (super cloudy/milky) with a lot of sediment at the bottom.
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The Taste: Head distiller Isaac Winter took a sip and called it “not unpleasant,” specifically noting it didn’t taste like gasoline or tobacco spit. High praise!
Scientists are now checking the sediment to see if any 150-year-old yeast is still alive. If it is, they’re planning to reverse-engineer the brew so we can actually drink like a 19th-century miner!
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