John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum batch differences

Has anyone ever noticed any significant batch differences in John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum? I usually buy it at BevMo but I found some at a high end grocery store. I noticed that the label seemed to be not as glossy and it had a black top instead of white. It also seemed a little darker than normal but I bought it anyway out of convenience. When I tasted it, it was noticeably more sweet than usual and the taste was off. Is there any chance of a knock-off version out there? Again the labeling seemed weird too.

If you google john d. taylor falernum, it seems as though there are a few different bottle designs, some with black caps.

I can think of a reason it might taste different:

It is old. In my less dignified drinking days, I once purchased a bottle of Rose's lime juice (I know, okay everybody?! Please forgive me, I promise I am very sorry) and it was darker in color, tasted too sweet and was just off in some ways. It turned out to just be very old. I know that the falernum is alcoholic, but only 11% and I think that lime components age very poorly in the bottle.

The label may have faded over time.

Another possibility for the label: I used to work in a grocery store, and the longer an item sat on the shelf, the more likely it was that another jar or bottle would break in its proximity. If somebody broke a jar or bottle while stocking the shelf above it, the falernum bottle would have been wiped clean. This often fades labels, because either the contents of the container or the cleaning agent are acidic or alcoholic.

Just a few thoughts, but your description immediately made me think of that outdated bottle of Rose's!

On 2016-09-10 05:21, rummy_dearest wrote:
In my less dignified drinking days, I once purchased a bottle of Rose's lime juice (I know, okay everybody?! Please forgive me, I promise I am very sorry) and it was darker in color, tasted too sweet and was just off in some ways. It turned out to just be very old.

Don't feel bad. I recently bought a bottle for a very important cocktail which required Rose's. Then later I found there was a bottle already in a dark back corner of my bar, so now I have TWO of these demonic lime-ish elixirs on hand! :)

I have noticed that the liquid in my older bottles gets darker than the new ones. So yeah, it's probably an age thing.

I now refrigerate my John Taylor falernum. It helps keep the original clear quality.

Does anybody have troubles with their top?. They seem to "stretch" or get out of round and then don't screw back on properly.

On 2016-09-13 11:55, mmaurice wrote:
Does anybody have troubles with their top?. They seem to "stretch" or get out of round and then don't screw back on properly.

Me too, with multiple bottles.

My tops just get sticky from all the sugar, but they still close okay.

Yeah... It tends to stretch out a bit and gets sticky with a lot of use.