A Dewars Engraved And Gilded Licensed Trade Whisky Decanter Bottle c1890

Description

Heading : A Dewars engraved and gilded whisky decanter bottle
Date : c1890
Period : Victoria
Origin : United Kingdom
Colour : Clear
Stopper : A ball stopper
Neck : Short neck
Body : Bottle shaped bottle
Base : Polished
Glass Type : Lead.
Size :    26cm to top of stopper
Condition : Excellent
Restoration : None
Weight :  815 grams

Eric Knowles Comments

These were made for advertising purposes in the licensed trade both within the the UK and the United States. John Dewar attained Royal assent in 1893 and all advertising materials and bottle labels carried the Royal insignia from this date. The application to patent the Dewars brand submitted to the US patent office in 1933 makes specific reference to the use of Royal insignia for this purpose. There was a spate of applications following the end of prohibition. but no applications were made in the name of Dewars prior to this.

Dewars was and remains a blended whisky. This was distributed to wholesalers in casks as a cost saving measure. The wholesaler would fill and distribute these bottles to the gin palaces and drinking establishments of the day. One of the reasons that blended whisky had such a poor reputation was the result of “cutting” . The wholesalers were not averse to adding water and the landlord and licensee most definitely did so. this is borne out by court records.

Pottery and glass jugs were also manufactured bearing the names of various blends to place water on the bar to dilute to taste. Decanter bottles were always stoppered as they contained whisky. Similar bottles were also produced for blended rum and also gin.

A client called me many months ago to ask about a Munro whisky “water bottle” that appeared on another web site. This was just another decanter bottle without a stopper. the wear in the neck from where the stopper had once been in contact was immediately obvious. The perpetrator is well known.