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Sometimes I let my mind wander on different subjects and today it was whiskey bottles. I often wonder if the shape of the bottle or the size make a difference on whiskey sales. I believe the answer is yes and no. An interesting shape of the bottle may influence a first time buyer of a brand, but if the whiskey in the bottle disappoints the consumer, there will not be a second sale of the whiskey brand to that consumer. 

Let’s look at the history of whiskey bottles. Bottled whiskey dates back to at least 1849 when Benniger’s Grocery Store in New York sold a Bourbon in a bottle. We know this because in the 1960s, National Distillers had a contest looking for the oldest bottle of whiskey with a Bourbon label and this bottle won the contest. However, bottles for whiskey were made before that date. They were often figural shaped bottles sold to consumers to bottle their whiskey when they went to a liquor dealer to get whiskey from the barrel. They reused the bottles because they were expensive and cost many times more than the whiskey itself. Consumers would bring their own bottle or jug to the dealer and the dealer would fill the bottle from the barrel of whiskey the consumer wanted. Distilleries did not bottle their own whiskey until the 1850s when Hiram Walker started to offer Canadian Club in the bottle to consumers. In 1870, Old Forester became the first whiskey to be sold only by the bottle.

In the 1880s, bottles became machine made and the price of a bottle dropped to a point that it became economical for distillers to start bottling their own whiskey. There was no regulation at that time on size of bottles, but distillers were practical and sold their bottles as 1/10 pint. ½ pint, 4/5 quart, quart, ½ gallon and gallon bottles. I have seen a 4/5 pint bottle from this era as well, but it was an uncommon bottle. The distillers bottled their whiskey based upon the amount that consumers wanted. It was not until after Prohibition that these sizes were regulated for whiskey sales.

Bottles came in a variety of shapes. Distillers did this for the same reasons that they do today. They wanted a package that set their whiskey apart from others on a shelf and the shape of the bottle was one way that they achieved this distinction. However, many distillers chose the standard bottle shape for economic reasons. It was cheaper to buy a bottle that was mass produced from an existing bottle mold than to have your own bottle design. The distiller would then depend upon label design to set their whiskey apart on the shelf. E.H. Taylor went from a white label to the now familiar gold label in the early 1900s for this reason. 

As the bottle designs were developed, so was the type of closer for the bottle. Cork was the most common closer at first, but screw caps were developed and became popular. The screw cap created a good seal for the bottle and the whiskey did not get “corked” when the cork had mold on it. A screw cap was easier to open and did not break when open, making it more reliable for people who did want to reseal the bottle. Screw caps were the seal of choice for the distillers for about a century. 

Whiskey bottles are an important part of whiskey sales. The shape can catch the eye of the consumer and lead to a purchase, but the whiskey in the bottle has to please the consumer to get them to buy the next bottle of whiskey.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller