Back in the 1970s and 80s, decanters were a way to sell whiskey when whiskey sales were on a decline. Michter’s Distillery in Pennsylvania took advantage of the Egyptian craze sweeping the nation in the late 1970s to early 1980s. The King Tut exhibit was touring the world and in 1976 through 1979, it was touring the United States. A young Joe Magliocco, working for his family’s firm, Chatham Imports, remembers selling the decanters in the 1980s. It inspired him to purchase the Michter’s brand after it went bankrupt and the trademark was abandoned.

Michter’s Distillery released a series of decanters based upon the exhibit. There were also decanters with Queen Nefertiti and the Goddess Selket amongst other decanters with the theme. Egyptian history was of huge interest in America at the time. Of course, Michter’s whiskey was very popular then and now. The
empty decanters still sell on eBay and in yard sales and can be purchased by collectors of Egyptian themed items and whiskey collectors.

In the 1950s, distilleries started releasing special decanter bottles for the holidays. Brown-Forman was the first to release a holiday decanter in 1949. By the 1960s, when whiskey sales started to decline, ceramic decanters were first introduced. Jim Beam had an extensive line of decorative, ceramic decanters
with themes ranging from cars to dogs and vases. Stitzel-Weller had their Cabin Still Hillbilly decanter and their ever popular Irish St. Patrick decanters. Ezra Brooks had a whole range of figurative decanters that rivaled Jim Beam in variety. Decanters were a way to sell whiskey in an ever declining market. They often included age statements for the whiskey of ten or more years old.

Decanters began to lose their popularity in the 1980s. They were hard to fill on the bottling line at the distilleries. They were expensive to produce. The cost of designing and producing the decanters, on top of the extra expense of the labor filling them, made distilleries phase out ceramic decanter production.
Michter’s gambled upon the King Tut craze to sell their whiskey, but in the end, it failed and the distillery went bankrupt.

The King Tut series of decanters is an image of the past. They are probably more popular today than they were in the 1980s when they were first sold. People still look for them and if they are filled with Michter’s Sour Mash whiskey, they can bring a nice price. Even the empty decanters can demand a better price
than other figurative decanters at yard sales and on eBay. They are a reminder of an era of distilling history that is fondly remembered by many people. The era of the whiskey glut and age statements.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller