For this installment of Collector Conversations I bring you my dear old Dad! He has been collecting for 64 years and has the collection to prove it. Find out the story behind the Old Rip Van Winkle 15yo miniatures that are not supposed to exist!
Category: Miniature Whiskey Bottles
Be sure to watch this edition of Collector Conversations featuring Rotem Ben Shitrit. Rotem’s collection is nearing 10,000 miniature whiskey bottles and he admits he might be just a wee obsessed. Learn about Rotem and his collection, his favorite bottles, and the craziest acquisition he has ever been involved in.
Follow Rotem on Instagram and his website to check out his rarities.
I’ve been meaning to post this article for quite some time so today I bring you my Chicken Cock Whiskey collection. There are several interesting things going on here besides the greatest name ever bestowed upon a whiskey. Let’s take a look.
- We have 5 bottles spanning the prohibition era to the modern era (if you want to see a pre-pro example, check out Chicken Cock’s Instagram)
- One of the bottles is a rye whiskey from Canada that was originally in a tamper-proof tin and produced during prohibition
- One of the bottles is a relatively new release from 2018
First, let’s talk about the new release. Manti Antilla of Grain and Barrel Spirits took on the task of bringing “The Famous Old Brand” back to market. Chicken Cock was established in 1856 in Paris, Kentucky according to the Chicken Cock website. I’m not going to rehash the history here as the folks at Chicken Cock got it right so check out that link. What is astounding to me is not only did Mr. Antilla bring back the name and create a great label but also replicated the original prohibition pint bottle down to the sunbeam embossing and “NyQuil” dose cap. The example I have is the first release and was double-barreled at 104 proof. Since this release, Chicken Cock has followed up with several nice bottlings including one that looks like the version from Canada.
The Canadian version is a rye whiskey, which has also been reproduced by the fine people at Chicken Cock. It is said this version was smuggled in during prohibition and served at The Cotton Club. I have also heard the Canadian whiskeys from the time were smuggled in by Al Capone. What I didn’t understand for a long time is how the brand name was used in the United States and Canada. I turns out the brand was sold to Distillers Corporation Limited of Montreal, Canada along with several other brand names including Coon Hollow and Four Aces.
According to the Chicken Cock website:
Toward the end of prohibition, Chicken Cock Whiskey changed hands again. The American Medicinal Spirits Company, owned by National Distillers Products Corporation, trademarked the brand and sold it for medicinal use. After the 21st amendment passed and prohibition ended, there was a push for the revival of Chicken Cock Whiskey. National Distillers Products Corp. poured efforts into advertising attempting to bring it back to its pre-prohibition glory. But it wasn’t that easy.
https://chickencockwhiskey.com/the-chicken-cock-story/
Below are photos of a pint of the American Medicinal Spirits version and a miniature 1/10th pint of the National Distillers Products Corporation version.
I hope you have enjoyed this blast from the past and look to the future of Chicken Cock, one of my favorite brands of all time!
Over the years I have been chasing a complete run of the same brand of prohibition whiskey bottle sizes: quart, pint, 1/2 pint, 1/4 pint, and 1/10 pint. As it turns out, my quest is impossible to complete, which I will detail here in a minute. Because of this, I have done the next best thing by including two post-prohibition bottles and one brand that doesn’t match but fills in the 1/4 pint slot.
Whiskey Bottle Sizes: Quart
My original goal was to acquire an example of unopened whiskey in each size from the prohibition era (1920 through 1933). First, let’s cover the sizes. On the far left, we have a quart of Old McBrayer Brand Straight Bourbon Whiskey. As far as my research has sussed out, quarts were never sold during prohibition. What’s interesting about this bottle is the whiskey inside was laid down in 1917 and bottled in 1933 so it fits the same date range as many of the other bottles I own. Since prohibition ended in 1933, this whiskey was either taken from 4 existing pints and re-bottled, which was a common practice at the time, or it was bottled straight from the barrel (I believe it was the prior). Either way, there was a brief time when quarts were being bottled without the “Federal Law Prohibits Sale or Re-use of This Bottle” embossed on the glass (1933 through 1935) and this bottle does not have that feature. This is very neat and rare example. Distiller: Allen Bradley Co. Distillery No. 97.
Whiskey Bottle Sizes: Pint
The next bottle, going left to right from the quart, is a pint of Old McBrayer Whiskey (notice how the word Brand was omitted). This is one of the most common prohibition era bottles you will find as a collector but is still a really nice bottle. However, this one is in dead mint condition with one of the best fill levels you will ever see, which makes it a condition rarity. Laid down in 1915 and bottled in 1933, this example boasts a 10 cent California tax stamp decal on the back, which means it was prohibition overstock and sold post-prohibition. Distiller: Allen Bradley Co. Distillery No. 97.
Whiskey Bottle Sizes: 1/2 Pint
The next bottle to the right of the pint is a 1/2 pint Old McBrayer Whiskey. Much harder to find than the pint sized version, this bottle is interesting because the whiskey is noticeably lighter, which is not a huge surprise when you consider it was not distilled by Allen Bradley Co. but rather by Joseph Schwab, Jr. Distillery No. 409. This is another example of the main brand being different than the distiller listed on the tax stamp. Distilled 1917 and bottled 1932.
Whiskey Bottle Sizes: 1/4 Pint
Continuing to the right is an extremely rare 1/4 pint of Antique Whiskey. I know of only two brands that can be found in this size with the other being Old Barbee. [Edit 10/22/17: I forgot about the 1/4 pint Old Grand Dad that pops up every now and then so that makes three] So, if whiskey during prohibition was sold for medicinal purposes what is the point of something this small, which could be easily consumed in a single sitting? Could it be this was a sample bottle given to doctors to give to their patients along with their prescription much like they do with drug samples today? This seems to be the best explanation as far as I’m concerned. Makes a great story, anyway. Distilled 1915 and bottled 1928. Distiller: The A. Keller Company Distillery No. 9 (not sure if the distillery number is correct as the tax stamp is hard to read).
Whiskey Bottle Sizes: 1/10 Pint
Finally, we have a 1/10 pint version of Old McBrayer Brand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Unfortunately, the angels took their full share on this one. I include this bottle since it matches my other Old McBrayers. The decal Illinois tax stamp is dated 1937. According to whiskey historians and my own research, miniature whiskey bottles were never issued during prohibition, which makes perfect sense to me. Mini whiskey bottles, when not being served on trains or airplanes, were by and large produced so people could sample the wares before buying in bulk. There is certainly no reason the US Government would approve the sale of minis during prohibition since the loophole of selling medicinal whiskey was already stretched about as wide as possible. Or was it? Here is proof of the existence of a 1/10 pint miniature whiskey tax stamp that was made for E.H. Taylor that was bottled smack dab in the middle of prohibition:
Unfortunately, no authentic miniature Old Taylor whiskey bottles have ever been found with one of these tax stamps that I know of. Could this stamp be a prototype? Was it ever used?
I hope you have enjoyed this post and find the history of these bottles as interesting as I do. Cheers!
In this post I want to share one of my favorite brands: Old Sunny Brook. It isn’t particularly hard to find and doesn’t excite many collectors but I’m a big fan of the evolution of this brand and its mascot, The Inspector.
In the photo above we have four bottles that represent very different eras in whiskey history. The half-pint bottle second from the left is from the pre-prohibition era and was actually distilled by The Sunny Brook Distillery Co. When prohibition hit, the vast majority of distillers went out of business and disappeared — but their whiskey did not. It was rounded up and purchased by a select few companies and stored in consolidation warehouses. One of the largest and most common of those companies was The American Medicinal Spirits Company, which hoarded countless barrels from just as many defunct distillers. The pint on the far left is a great example of an AMS bottle and has probably the best fill level of all the bottles in my prohibition pint collection.
The 1/10th pint miniature whiskey bottle is from the early 1940’s and is very common but notable because now the name is Old Sunny Brook Brand and the distiller is National Distillers Products Corporation, which bought AMS in 1929. It is the first to claim it is Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey in the set. The final bottle is from the 1970’s and is the first example to drop the “Old” in the name. The Inspector gets a make over on this bottle and looks much younger than its paternal looking predecessors. This bottle is once again distilled by The Old Sunny Brook Distillery Co., run by National Distillers until the brand was discontinued in 1975. For more in depth history of Old Sunny Brook, visit this fantastic article at Those Pre-Pro Whiskey Men.
It has been too long since my last post, what with life and all. I have so many delicious whiskey posts planned but with so few Spock mind-meld techniques at my disposal, I must submit to the available hours and the speed of my fingers.
I’ve been blessed to have been born into whiskey royalty. My father, David M. Spaid, and his (and my) very good friend Harry A. Ford, Jr. put together a not-so-small effort to share some of the rarest miniature whiskey bottles known. Not content to make it 99 bottles, as the song goes, they made it 101. 101 Rare Whiskey Flasks. So rare, I don’t own any of them.
Believe it or not, there are a few copies of these 48 page booklets hanging out in the bowels of my father’s garage. You can still buy one for $10 including shipping if you want one. Printed in 1989 in black and white (color was crazy expensive back then for the short run they did) 101 Rare Whiskey Flasks will curl your toes and grow hair on your chest when you see the various rare brands and their designs.
With permission from the authors, I present to you the Introduction from 101 Rare Whiskey Flasks.
Scott Spaid
Editor, WhiskeyBent.net
101 Rare Whiskey Flasks – $10 US including shipping (US only). Note: this booklet is in black and white.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the world of miniature whiskeys. That’s whiskey with an “e”. The majority of people who have this book will use it as a guide and are already converted to the bottle collecting “faith”. For those of you whom this is your first look at miniature whiskeys, you’ll see many which would be considered the “best of show”.
There are a good many questions which collectors might have about this book. Some of these will deal with pricing, some with why certain bottles were chosen and others were not, and finally, why the era of the 1930’s and flasks or flats instead of just any style bottle.
To begin, let’s look at the title of the book, 101 Rare Whiskey Flasks. Not exactly snappy, but it does get the point across. There are 101 bottles here because it seemed to be a nice number, not overwhelming but more than a small sample. 101 also seemed to be important because the two of us could each show 50 of our favorite bottles and naturally one which both of us have in our collections.
The idea of flasks and the 1930’s sort of go together. Probably most collectors would easily agree that the 1930’s were the golden age for miniature liquor bottles and miniature whiskeys in particular. And, the best of these bottles were the flasks. Flats or flasks are very seldom seen today and that makes the older ones more interesting. After the ’30’s, we had the 1950’s and these were the war years… thus a great many brands went to the wayside. The 1950’s saw the beginning of the taste changes in the American public which has resulted in the “white goods” epidemic. (White goods are clear spirits such as vodka, rum, and gin.) The 1960’s saw economics take over so that fewer and fewer brand names were produced. After all why should a company distribute 20 brands and take the time and expense to make up new labels when all the same liquor could easily be sold under just one brand name.
The thirties were something special though. With the end of prohibition in December of 1933, everyone who could begin producing whiskey. After all, the nation had seen well over a decade of bathtub gin, Canadian whiskey, and the best (or worst) Scotland had to offer. It was time to get down to old bourbon and rye…American drinks! No one knew what would really catch on. It might be the taste or maybe it would be the name of the whiskey or even the label design. Demographics weren’t a big thing in the mid-1930’s. So if you could produce bourbon or even buy it from someone who did produce it and had the necessary licenses, you could begin issuing any whiskey you wanted to. If your Aunt Fanny had a taste for the strong stuff, why not take that one-month-old “stuff” and call it Aunt Fanny’s blend!
Liquor stores got in the act too. You’ll notice several bottles in this book, which were made for specific stores or a chain of stores. Most whiskey was produced in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Pennsylvania but it could easily be trucked anywhere and bottled there. California was a prime example. Take a gander at the bottoms of those labels and you’ll note that a good number of them were produced here in the Golden State.
Most collectors realize that the same exact whiskey goes into a number of different bottles and many companies filled for a variety of other companies. Few people though realize how prevalent this still is. Ever notice that Jim Beam has bottles which state they are bottles by James B. Beam? Ever wondered if there is a Wild Turkey distillery? (There isn’t.) So, it was in the 1930’s that the same liquor might have gone into a score or more of different brand names. Thus the Hinze people in Kentucky could produce both War Admiral and Frederick. Are we really to think these were two different whiskeys? It’s possible but highly improbable. Consequently, the 1930’s had literally hundreds of different brand name whiskeys.
This leads us to the point that if there were hundreds of miniature brand names produced, why did we pick these particular ones. The answer to this question has several parts.
Rarity is one of the reasons. Availability is another. These sound almost alike, but they really aren’t. It is always wonderful to see rare bottles you’ve never seen before; however, it is extremely frustrating to be unable to ever add them to your collection.
A good many California bottles were picked because of their rarity. Quickee’s Fernwood (a name we feel which definitely deserves notation) along with the Wilshire Midget and the others are in the “knock your socks off” category. We did not include such bottles as Green Mill and Old Cask because they have previously been shown in other books. We carefully gleaned the contents of the six books (Snyder, Triffon, Spaid) done in the last two decades so that nothing shown in those pages would have been seen in another book. A few of the bottles here have presented in a club newsletter or two; however, for the most part, everything in these pages is pictured here for the first time!!
Now we come to what may be the most controversial aspect of the book, the pricing. Pricing a bottle is a no-win situation. As soon as the price appears, the value either goes up or down. The swap meet sellers and antique dealers who really care nothing about the bottles per se will begin smacking their lips because now they can point to a book a say, “See, there’s the value, right there!” The collector moans and groans because he or she wants more bottles but doesn’t want to pay the price. No one ever remembers that the value of his own collection has just gone up if he owns any of the pictured bottles.
If you’re wondering how we came up with these prices, that answer is simple. The old law of supply and demand is the answer. Look to the bottles which are sold either at the shows or directly from collections. Read every copy of each and every auction magazine which has ever been published. Last year (editors note: this would have been 1987 or 1988) when Old Camel (Triffon, Volume 1) went for $500 in the Mini Bottle International auction everyone was amazed. But where can you get an Old Camel bottle?
Now here’s a WARNING. Don’t start thinking that every whiskey miniature from the 1930’s is worth a humungous price. It isn’t. There just might be one hundred thousand Mill Farm bottles floating around. Great looking label in perfect condition … maybe it will bring $10, possibly $12. Now Four Bits, that’s a different matter. We know of exactly four of them. So, it’s supply and demand. In fact, the majority of whiskey bottles from the ’30’s would sell for $20 or less. Gins, rums, and cognacs would generally fetch even less. And liqueurs, brandies, and wines will usually be under $5.
So, if you like the prices great. If you don’t like the prices, then buy, sell and swap the bottles for what you think they are worth. We happen to think the bottles in this book are worth a great deal. And, incidentally, just in case you’re considering asking us … we’re not selling … and we’re not trading.
Let us know what you think of this book, and whether you’d like to see more in the future. Finally, good bottle hunting!
— David M. Spaid & Harry A Ford, Jr.
This week, as I devoured the blog posts of my fellow whiskey bloggers, I realized I’m more of a museum curator rather than a historian. That’s ok because now I know my place in the WWW (Wonderful World of Whiskey). Don’t get me wrong, I love the history. As your curator, today I’m taking you down the hall to the Old Fitzgerald exhibit. Old Fitzgerald is to RC Cola as Jack Daniels is to Coke. Both have been around for ages while those in the know quietly enjoy their RC Cola as the majority of the world say, “Coca-Cola rules!” To each his own.
You may ask yourself why I titled this post “Old Fitzgerald Strikes Back.” Well, its not my fault because The Coopered Tot started it with his Old Fitzgerald post, which I highly recommend if you enjoy deep dive whiskey research like I do. All geeky Star Wars references aside, I was inspired by his post to the point where I felt I just had to answer back. So, Mr. Tot, if you’re reading this (and I’m sure you are) you’ll have to post another article in the future called “Return of the Fitz.”
Old Fitzgerald Whiskey 1/2 Pint
Circa 1950, these Old Fiddles have been in the family for a while and I’m the current caretaker. Known for their “fiddle” shape, they were inspired by the song “My Old Kentucky Home” written by Stephen Foster. Bourbon doesn’t get any more Kentucky than this.
Old Fiddle was a product of Bardstown Distillery out of, you guessed it, Bardstown, Kentucky. I don’t know much about this brand but I look forward to finding out more as I post photos of my other fiddle bottles in the future (Old Anthem, Bourbon Springs, Bard’s Town, and Bard’s Town Bond). With that said, here is the text from the back label, which has an ariel view of Bardstown Distillery. Enjoy!
“The Fiddle Bottle (design patent 107353) has been designed in honor of the immortal bard, Stephen Foster, who composed “My Old Kentucky Home” at Bardstown 1852.
For 129 years the limestone waters that bubble from Bourbon Springs have been used to make bourbon whiskey famous for richness, mellowness, and bouquet. With these seemingly magical waters, and fine grains, our distillers make our whiskey by the same, slow method their fathers used. You will find this a fine drinking and mixing whiskey, rich in body, exquisite in flavor and bouquet, mild and mellow.”
I thought I would go north of the border with this post and share my Lincoln Inn Old Rye Whiskey bottles. One is a full pint and the other is a 1/10th pint. The pint bottle has never been opened while the mini was consumed years ago. Either way, these are very neat bottles that came from the Distillers Corporation Limited, Montreal, Canada. The pint bottle shows up a lot on ebay because of the incredible embossing on the front and back. People saved them because of this and rarely does it show up with such a nice label and I’ve never seen another one sealed and full.
It is thought that Lincoln Inn was one of the brands from Canada that Al Capone would smuggle in for his speak easies. Seems plausible. I don’t know much about this brand except from what I learned at pre-pro.com, which is interesting. As it turns out, Distillers Corporation LTD eventually turned into Seagrams.
For the analytical people out there, here is exactly what the pint label reads:
Lincoln Inn OLD RYE WHISKEY
Bottled in Bond under Government Supervision
DISTILLERY NO 6 PORT NO 10.D
Carefully Double-Distilled and Matured in Charred Oak Barrels. Bottled straight from the wood by
DISTILLERS CORPORATION LIMITED
MONTREAL, CANADA
ALCOHOLIC STRENGTH 50% BY VOLUME
CONTENTS 16 FLUID OZS.
U.S. STANDARD 100% PROOF
Let me introduce myself. My name is David Spaid, former editor of The Miniature Bottle Collector, which is now out-of-print. I’ve been collecting bottles of all sizes for over 50 years and, apparently, I’ve had some impact on my son, Scott. From time-to-time I will be writing for WhiskeyBent.net. Cheers! Now, on to the article.
Perhaps some of the most beautiful bottles ever made were Golden Wedding whiskey in carnival glass. I’ve seen them in full pints before but don’t let that mislead you. The bottles pictured here are 1/10 pint miniatures and probably the best set of variations ever assembled in one place (my collection). Let’s take a closer look.
The Ryes pictured above are major variations in that one is an “Old Rye” and the other is “RYE Whiskey A Blend”. Notice the one on the left does not mention Schenley as the distiller. The one on the right has the distinctive Schenley gold medal neck label, however.
These three bourbons are my favorites of the bunch. Rather than ryes, we have bourbons with similar variations like the first two bottles. The bottle on the far right has to be the most handsome of them all and Schenley’s had no problem putting their name and gold seal on this one.
Finally, we have another set of ryes all with the Schenley’s masthead and gold seals. As far as dating these bottles go, I’m going to leave that to Scott to figure out so I can test his knowledge. Do you own a different variation of a Golden Wedding bottle in any size? Let Scott know so he can catalog it on this blog.