This amazingly rare bourbon was released in 1973 by the long gone National Distillers, which also owned and produced whiskey brands Old Taylor and Old Grand-Dad. This Old Crow Traveler Fifth is part of the Traveler series, that was launched in the 1960s and ran until the 80s. Why the name ‘Fifth’? A fifth is a unit of volume formerly used for distilled beverages in the United States. It equals one fifth of a US liquid gallon, or 757 ml. These editions were bottled in 750 ml bottles, or so the label says, making them 7 ml short of an actual fifth…
The Traveler Series was designed to be and marketed as a travel companion to travellers who did not want to leave the house without a good bottle of bourbon (because, you know, imagine you’re in an airplane and you have the sudden urge to get stupefyingly drunk, but you don’t have any bourbon with you… The humanity!). That’s why the bottle design is flat: it’s the ideal fit for a businessman’s briefcase. Or in their own words: ‘The tuckaway fifth that packs as flat as your shirt.’ We! Love! This! To! Bits!