Nick Drummond and Patrick Bakker said they found more than 66 bottles of Prohibition-era whiskey hidden within the walls and floor of their home.
(CNN) -
When a New York couple was told their 100-plus-year-old home was built by a notorious Prohibition-era smuggler, they passed it off as a small town legend.
But during a recent home renovation, the couple discovered something that revealed that the legend could be true.
In early October, Nick Drummond and Patrick Bakker said they found more than 66 bottles of Prohibition-era whiskey hidden within the walls and floorboards of their home, which was built in 1915.
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A post shared by Nick Drummond (@bootleggerbungalow)
"Our walls are built of alcohol!" Drummond wrote on Instagram.
He documented the unexpected finding in a series of posts on social media.
I can't believe the rumors are true!
He was actually a smuggler! '
The couple had been living in the home, located in the small town of Ames, about three hours from New York City, for a little over a year.
They decided to start major renovations two months ago.
Drummond, a designer and historical conservationist, told CNN he was removing the outer skirt, along the back of the hallway attached to the home, when a mysterious package fell.
"I said to myself 'what is that?'
I was very confused, ”he said.
"I was looking and there was hay everywhere, paper and glass… I saw another package and it's this bottle of whiskey."
«I said: It can't be!
This is a stash of whiskey.
And it is as if, suddenly, the entire story of the smuggler appears.
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A post shared by Nick Drummond (@bootleggerbungalow)
The couple found more bottles of Prohibition whiskey
Drummond continued and found more bootleg packages of whiskey under the floorboards after entering the lobby through a hatch discovered within the floor.
He said they keep finding more bottles.
"Initially we found seven six-bottle packs on the wall and then at that point we found four more packs and actually, as if it wasn't fun enough, less than a week ago, we found more," Drummond said.
The liqueur is a Scotch whiskey brand under the Old Smuggler Gaelic Whiskey label, which is still being made.
Each bottle was wrapped in tissue paper and straw and packaged in a six-pack, Drummond said.
The original owner of the house was a German man known as Count Adolph Humpfner.
After investigating newspaper articles and various legal websites, Drummond said he discovered that Humpfner was known to be a mystery man in the city and was involved in many scandals.
He died a sudden death and left the smuggled liquor, as well as a much-disputed fortune.
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A post shared by Nick Drummond (@bootleggerbungalow)
The series of discoveries prompted Drummond to continue documenting the renovation of his home on social media.
Followers have come forward to participate in learning a new story about the house and its owner smuggling.
The couple plan to leave the bottles they found empty or evaporated in the house, and sell the bottles they found full.
The filled bottles are estimated to be worth about $ 1,000 each, Drummond said.
The couple said they will keep one of the bottles filled with whiskey to try.
Era of prohibition
