NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A man who has been indicted on charges of illegally possessing up to $1 million worth of Jack Daniel's whiskey claims he is a collector who was trying to sell the vintage bottles they came in, not the spirits.

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Randy Piper, 47, of Goodlettsville was indicted on four counts related to the illegal possession, sale, transportation and storage of the liquor.

Officials seized 2,400 bottles last October after receiving a tip that someone was selling alcohol without a license. They raided two warehouses owned by Piper and a home in Lynchburg, the small town about 65 miles southeast of Nashville where the famous Tennessee sipping whiskey is distilled.

The value of the seized liquor has possibly been driven up by the value of the antique bottles, which range from 3-liter bottles to half-pints.

One seized bottle dates to 1914, with its seal unbroken. Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission Executive Director Danielle Elks said it is worth about $10,000 on the collectors market.

Piper told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he has been collecting Jack Daniel's bottles for about six years. He acquired most of the seized bottles when he bought the two warehouses where the spirits were being stored.

"I have a large collection, including some really old stuff," he said. Piper is out of jail on $25,000 bond with arraignment set for Feb. 22.

Investigators have said they were looking into whether the liquor was being sold for the value of the bottles rather than the whiskey.

When asked if the state would consider Piper's arguments that he was selling bottles, not the booze inside them, the ABC official cited the state law concerning alcohol sales.

"This state's position is anyone selling without a license is doing so illegally," Elks said.

Piper's attorney, Raymond Fraley Jr. of Fayetteville, said his client was singled out last week for selling one bottle for approximately $350 and charged with illegally possessing all the others.

"He was not selling whiskey, he was selling collectibles," Fraley said. "There are people on (online auction site) eBay every day selling it."

Some Lawmakers Want Liquor To Be Auctioned

Despite the liquor's value, it may get poured down the drain.

Tennessee law requires officials to destroy whiskey that cannot be sold legally in the state, such as bottles designed for sale overseas and those with broken seals.

The whiskey is being stored in a Nashville vault pending a hearing on a claim by Piper that it's legally his.

Some lawmakers suggested that the state sell the liquor and donate the rest.

"The concern is that we were going to be destroying a 1914 bottle and some other older bottles as well. We were looking into the possibility of other options as opposed to destroying the bottles," said Danielle Elks of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Some lawmakers want to find another alternative.

The foreign liquor, the leaking bottles and the older bottles can't be sold under federal law.

However, state Sen. Joe Haynes wants to auction off the rest, with the funds going to alcohol and drug abuse programs.

"It's something that we can divert rather than pouring it out. We can divert it to something useful," said Haynes.

Those that couldn't be sold would be donated to a museum.

Elks said if the ABC gets control of the alcohol about 90 percent could be auctioned. But she said the proposal by lawmakers would give them the ability to preserve a piece of Tennessee history.

"It certainly clarifies it and gives us the authority to donate the alcohol to the museum," said Elks.

In addition to the court proceedings, ABC also has a hearing scheduled later this year about the confiscated bottles.

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