Silver Goose Bourbon Black Label Vintage T-Shirt

Not available in stores

Silver and bourbon. The stuff of legend, captured in this t-shirt. Imagine sitting in your own saloon, the Silver Goose.

Mark Twain wrote about Virginia City, Nevada:

"... brass bands, banks, hotels, theatres, 'hurdy- gurdy houses,' wide-open gambling palaces, political pow-wows, civic processions, street fights, murders, inquests, riots, a whiskey mill every fifteen steps... and some talk of building a church."

-- Roughing It, Mark Twain

Virginia City was once one of the richest places on Earth with the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859, which resulted in a million tons of silver ore worth billions in today's dollars. At the height of the rush, the railroad carried 30-40 trains a day, back and forth, with lumber for the mines, supplies, and workers.

The great writer of western novels, Louis L'Amour wrote one of his best stories about it: From the flap: "It was just a godforsaken mountainside, but no place on earth was richer in silver. For a bustling, enterprising America, this was the great bonanza. The dreamers, the restless, the builders, the vultures -- they were lured by the glittering promise of instant riches and survived the brutal hardships of a mining camp to raise a legendary boom town."

At the Silver Goose, business picks up as the thirsty dreamers and assorted folk finish their day. Fortunes are being made in this town, so you keep the good stuff , behind the counter and in the back room. "Henry Comstock traded an old blind horse and a bottle of whiskey for one-tenth share" of the Ophir mine (Wikipedia reference).  He sold it to a judge for $11,000. That could buy a lot of Old Crow, a premium bourbon at the time.  

But $11,000 was nothing. According to the Smithsonian, at the peak of the "bonanza" in 1876, John William Mackay's income was over $450,000 per month. His firm's revenue exceeded that of half of the states in the Union. Not bad for having started in the mines at $4 per day. 

Today, one of the best ways to invest in silver is through U.S. Silver Eagles. Gorgeous coins with a face value of $1 but worth a premium  over the one ounce spot price. These days, the spot price hovers in the $25-30 range, after being below $20 for many years. During a silver bull market in 1980, when the Hunt Brothers were attempting to corner the market, the price for one ounce rose to nearly $50, before falling back down.

Buy a few American Eagles, sit back with a glass of your favorite pour, and contemplate the precious metal that made fortunes, built many more, and may once again.

The Vintage Look

The shirt has a unique distressed, vintage look; cool, subtle, like washed in a creek. Like maybe it's seen a few things. The fabric remains the highest quality (see below).

The T-shirt

Our tees are the highest quality you will find. 100% combed and ring-spun cotton by Bella Canvas, a USA-based company. Feels soft and lightweight, with the right amount.

Free Shipping -- Please allow from 7 to 14 days for shipping.

(Picture: American Silver Eagles at Colonel Bourbon HQ, accompanied by Maker's Mark.)

• 100% combed and ring-spun cotton (Heather colors contain polyester)
• Ash color is 99% combed and ring-spun cotton, 1% polyester
• Heather colors are 52% combed and ring-spun cotton, 48% polyester
• Athletic and Black Heather are 90% combed and ring-spun cotton, 10% polyester
• Heather Prism colors are 99% combed and ring-spun cotton, 1% polyester
• Fabric weight: 4.2 oz (142 g/m2)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Side-seamed construction
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping

Size guide