Description:

Kennedy John 1917 - 1963 Distinctive bottle of Haig & Haig Pinch scotch, owned by President John F. Kennedy, with intact contents in a Christmas gift box. Possibly unique as a Presidential artifact and a most desirable relic of Camelot Sealed bottle of Haig & Haig Pinch blended scotch whiskey, given to Mrs. & Mrs. John F. Kennedy as an inaugural gift after he won the 1960 Presidential election. The scotch is in the original Christmas box, and shows some toning wear. The gift was stored in the home of Capitol police officer and Kennedy chauffeur/handyman James H. Boyer, Sr. after the Kennedys moved from their home in Georgetown to the White House in the Fall and Winter of 1960-1961. The bottle when purchased was accompanied by a cardboard box label from "Steuben Glass Corning Glass Center", possibly the senders of the gift, (and possibly the manufacturer of the fancy artistic bottle) and addressed to "Honorable John F. Kennedy 3307 N STREET WASHINGTON, D. C."

Also included and suitable for a final display are two receipts for alcohol, purchased by Mrs. John F. Kennedy, one while the Senator was campaigning for the Presidency, and a later one while President at "The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" . The receipts were part of an important archive of Kennedy expenditures and together with the Scotch provide a museum quality grouping of the lighter side of Camelot.

Haig & Haig Pinch is one of the largest distillers of blended Deluxe Scotch whiskies in the world. Robert Haig was summoned before church elders in 1655 for operating his still on the Sabbath (Sunday), marking the earliest documented reference to a distillery company still operating today.

Around 1870, Haig & Haig were the first to use the newly developed practice of blending, culminating in the early 1890s with the creation of Pinch, a deluxe blend of exceptional distinction. The whisky was awarded a gold medal in 1987 in the Deluxe blended whisky category of the International Wine and Spirit competition.

Pinch is distinguished even further by its famous triangular, dimpled bottle wrapped in wire net. The blend is known as The Dimple in markets outside the United States. The whisky has been bottled in this container since its creation, with the hand-applied wire mesh originally designed to prevent the cork from coming out during export shipments through rough seas. The Pinch `decanter` has been put to decorative use around the world. To protect its exclusive use, the Pinch bottle was the first bottle to be patented in the United States, in 1958.

This lot came from direct descendants of the heirs of Officer James H. Boyer, Sr., who became a U. S. Capitol policeman in 1949. Officer Boyer developed friendships with many Congressmen and Senators, including John F. Kennedy. Boyer became a personal driver for the Kennedys, as well as a handyman for Jackie at the Kennedy Georgetown home.

Boyer and friend John J. "Muggsy" O'Leary, who met while serving together on the Capitol force, helped the Kennedys move from Georgetown to the White House. At that time, Boyer was asked to store some of the many inaugural gifts sent to the Kennedys, and he stored them in his basement. This lot is among those gifts. After President Kennedy's assassination, Officer Boyer was one of the main Capitol police on guard at the Rotunda, as a grieving nation filed passed the coffin.

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