Midwest Miniature Bottle Collector’s

Newsletter Vol. 32, Issue 2 APR MAY JUNE 2011

The Zodiac

Cucchi (out of Italy)

Made a very nice Zodiac

Set. These bottle pic-

tures are compliments of

MiniBottlelibrary.com

and its webmaster David

Smith. The bottles are

Top Row: Capricorn,

Aquarius, Pisces, Aries.

Second Row: Taurus,

Gemini, Cancer and Leo

Bottom Row: Virgo,

Libra, Scorpio and Sag-

ittarius

If you have pictures of

these bottles in their

painted versions David

would love to get them

to add to the Library

To get you ready for our Show (that’s coming up fast) I have in-

cluded an article from member Mikhail Madar about the Russian

club and their show(s). The Article he sent was so large that I had

to split it (and it still filled up 3 pages this issue) so look for the rest

of the article (about Russian Minis) in a future issue.

There was an issue in January with the show and Hotel. They were

saying that the rooms were all filled for Friday (for the special rate)

but you could get the rate for Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. This

required multi reservations (at the different rates) A phone call to

Bill Baker took are of the problem so if you had that issue, it should

be straightened out. If you don’t have your reservations

yet...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!!

You’ll find a small sample of the Mini Bottle Blast in this Issue.

Why haven’t you been added to the e-mail list to receive this? I

can only think of 2 reasons. 1. you don’t own a computer and have

no e-mail address or 2. You have no idea why you are even getting

this newsletter, somehow you ended up on the mailing list even

though you have never had an interest in mini bottles. If neither of

those apply then get me your e-mail address, the Mini Bottle Blast

is full of bottle pictures (and I know you love those) it’s in color

(making those bottles look that much nicer) and best of all it’s in-

cluded in your membership so it costs you nothing extra. You

could be the first on your block (well second if you happen to live

on the same block as me) to know what latest and greatest bottles

are available.

If you haven’t visited the members area of the website you should

do so. You will find all the back issues of the clubs newsletter as

well as past issues of other clubs newsletters and all the issues of

the Mini Bottle Blast. There are also pictures of some really cool

bottles, links to members pages, photos from past shows and more.

If you want to put a picture of your collection or anything else, just

let me know.

The NWMBC will be getting together again this year for dinner on

Saturday night after the show. If you are a member (or even if you

are not) and would like to join us, get a hold of me and I can get

you the details.

And Speaking of eating in Saint Louis, remember there

will be a charge for the buffet dinner on Friday night. As

you may remember from last year, the food prices keep

going up and the club is unable to absorb these increases.

Be prepared to pay a small amount to help us cover these

costs. We don’t have the actual costs as of the mailing of

the newsletter but I would guess (so don’t hold me to this)

that it will be somewhere between $5 and $15 a small

price to pay to have a nice buffet with all your bottle col-

lecting friends (and help the club stay in the black).

Ron’s Ramblings…...and Club news tidbits

Deadline for the Next Issue is June 1, 2011

2

Send Newsletter Submissions to:

Ron Gabbard

5412 South K Street

Tacoma, Washington 98408

Email: gabspa@msn.com

Those of you that are looking through the newsletter and won-

dering What the heck happened to my Bottle ad? Apparently

you missed last newsletter where I said I was pulling all the ads

unless I heard from you and/or you forgot to contact me. It’s

easy to get your ad back in (or put in one if you never had one)

either e-mail me, write me a letter, call me (this is the second

worse choice as I might still forget depending on when I get the

phone call) or send smoke signals (this would be the worse op-

tion since it is cloudy here quite often and I may not see the

smoke).

Thanks again to David Smith and his Minibottlelibrary.com

website. It makes it very nice for newsletter editors (as well as

collectors) to have a place to easily find pictures for a newsletter

(or to add to a want list). If you haven’t visited or contributed,

you should . The website is a great resource for all mini bottle

collectors.

Days before this went to press, I received the calendar and t-

shirt featured in Mikhail Madar’s article (if you get the MBB

you already saw the pictures of them). Both the calendar and

the shirt are very nice and quite reasonable in price. You should

contact Mikhail (if you haven’t already) to see about picking

these up, the pictures in the calendar are really very cool.

If you haven’t bought your raffle tickets for the show raffle bot-

tles you are running out of time to do this. You don’t have to be

present to win (and many times non-attendees win) so flip on

over to page 17, contact Sandy Wheeler and get those tickets.

And even if you don’t win (I can kind of sort of promise that

there is a chance that you will but only if you buy tickets) you

will be helping the club out and helping out the club feels as

good as finding a cool new bottle you didn’t know existed.

(okay maybe not that good but it feels good) And the club

thanks you for your support.

LAST MINUTE NEWS: Mikhail Madar posted pictures on

facebook of the new Crystal Vodka mini bottle days before

this is going to Press. I’ll include the picture in the next is-

sue of the Mini Bottle Blast if you want to see it, by then I

hope to also have word on its availability. This is one bottle

you will want to add to your collection!!!

The President Speaks…..From Your MMBC President, Ted Verstreater, Illinois

3

I think the President has gone into hiding, preparing for the Show in Saint Louis.

Since I have been unable to get a hold of him and I haven’t received his quarterly

―state of the club address‖ I decided to use this space to point out a couple of the

Liquor stores in St. Louis that I have found a nice selection of mini bottles at. I con-

tacted both and inquired about any deals they may offer us during our convention

and as you see it was worth my effort.

I’m hoping to see many of you at the how where we will get to see the president’s

―state of the club‖ speech in person and also visit with old friends, meet new friends

and add lots of bottles to our collections. From what I am hearing this looks to be a

pretty good show.

15921 Manchester Road

Ellisville, MO 63011

Phone: (636) 227-4543

9053 Watson Road

St. Louis, MO 63126

314.918.9230

Lukas Liquor Superstore

Looking for even more bottles while in Saint Louis for the

show?

Here are two of the best Liquor stores you will find. If you need direc-

tions, talk to one of the show venders, club officers or you could ask the

hotel staff.

Lukas is offering a 6% discount if you mention you are from the Mini

Bottle show.

Friar Tuck is offering a 10% discount if you are a MMBC member

from the show.

Remember you have to ask for the discounts (and might need to check

with manager)

Editors note:I confirmed both these discounts with store manager (Lukas) and Corpo-

rate office (Friar Tucks)

First Trip To the Show?

If you have any questions or concerns feel

free to contact me either by e-mail

gabspa@msn.com or phone 253-241-8213

And I’ll do my best to find an answer (if I

don’t already know)

If you are flying in remember Airline

regulations limit you to 100 Mini bottles

per person in your luggage.

WAYNES WORLD BY WAYNE FULL

4

. For this issue I am going to write about bottles that all collectors have seen, and that Scotch and Ceramic collectors

probably have in their collections: Ceramic Books!!

I am fortunate enough to have books by three different distillers and a total of twelve different books, a small num-

ber when you look at the books in the ―Miniature Bottle Library‖ and see about 200.

I’ll start with what I think is the most common set of books here in the U.S.A. They are the ―The Spirit of Scot-

land‖ by Rutherford & Co., LTD., of Montrose, Scotland. The set consists of four volumes, numbers I, II, III, & IV

that are black, blue, green, and yellow in color. They are 1/10 pint and contain Rutherford’s Blended Scotch

Whisky at 86 proof. Each book is about 3 11/16‖ tall, 2 ½‖ wide and 1‖ thick.

The next set is similar to the first set. It also is ―The Spirit of Scotland‖ by Rutherford & Co., LTD., of Montrose,

Scotland. This set also consists of four volumes, numbers I, II, III, & IV that are black, green, brown, and red in

color. They are 1/10 pint and contain Rutherford’s Liqueur (made with Scotch Whiskies) at 86 proof. Each book is

about 3 13/16‖ tall, 2 ½‖ wide and 1‖ thick.

Next are two books that are also called

―The Spirit of Scotland‖ but are by

Paterson, LTD., of Glasgow, Scotland.

These two books are both volume I,

one being pink and the other black.

They do not have a size on them but

do contain Paterson’s DeLuxe Scotch

Whisky at 70 proof. Each book is

about 3 15/16‖ tall, 2 1/4‖ wide and

7/8‖ thick.

.

Lastly are two books by L.W. McLech. The books are tan with a brown binding and pictures of girls in bathing suits on

their covers. One is titled ―Last Exit To Brooklyn‖ and the other is titled ―A Nitch Of Burns‖. They do not have a size on

them but do contain 70 proof Scotch Whisky. Each book is about 3 3/16‖ tall, 2

1/16‖ wide and 11/16‖ thick

As with all bottles, these would make a fine addition to any collection and certainly do to mine.

5

Robert "Bob" Snyder, 86, of Amarillo died Thursday, Dec 9,

2010 after a lengthy battle with renal failure. Bob was a long-

time member of the MMBC, and between 1969-1972, with the

help and support of his wife Norma, he wrote three volumes of

"Bottles In Miniatures", selling all over the world and becom-

ing one of the first authorities on miniature bottles. In 1980, he

published "Whiskey Brands" and later published the "Whiskey

Paper". He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Norma and his

daughter Jodie Snyder Nimmo and her family.

Sad Loss for the Mini Bottle Collecting World

6

The Club Directory

Kiski Beam & Spec. Club: c/o Mr John D Ferchak Jr, 8916 Cranberry Dr, Monroeville PA 15146 Ski Country Decanters Club, Lavon Daugherty E-Mail: ski-countrydecanters@yahoo.com or write to: Ski Country De-canters Club, PO Box 473, Sugarcreek OH 44681-0473. Website at www.skicountrydecanters.com Midwest Miniature Bottle Collectors’ (MMBC): c/o Jim Crawford, 6934 Brittany Ridge Lane, Cincinnati OH 45233. Site at http://miniaturebottles.com Annual Show: April 29-May 1 2011, St. Louis Mo. Northwest Miniature Bottle Club: 982 “E” Street, Washogal WA 98671, Attn Donna. www.minibottleclub.com Annual bottle show August , 2011 Graham, Washington Western New York Miniature Liquor Club: Mr Wayne Full, 285 Lydia Lane, Cheektogowa, NY 14225-5237 Annual Picnic:July, 2011 Thorold Ontario Canada Associazione Collezionisti Bottiglie E Mignon Club Delle Mignonnettes: Via Gaibola 25, 40068 San Lazzaro De Savena (Bo) Italy Hong Kong Miniature Liquor Club Ltd: Unit C, 16th Floor, Century House,3-4 Hanoi Road, T.S.T., Kowloon, Hong Kong. Chairman: Mr. Wai Man Ch(n, Man’s. URL: www.miniaturehk.com. Email mans@kingcyber.net Verein Der Miniatureflaschensammler Deutschlands E.V. (The Assn of Germany’s Miniature Bottle Collectors, Regd.): c/o Ivan Uhlik, Dietrick-Bonhoeffer-Str.7,88471 Laupheim, Germany. Osaka Miniature Bottle Club: c/o Mr Taizo Shiratsuchi, 11-2 Hakucho 1-Chrome, Habikinoshi, Osaka 583, Japan New Zealand Miniature Bottle Club (formerly Port Nicholson Miniature Bottle Club): c/o Mr. David Smith, 11 Trevor Ter-race, Paremata, Wellington ,New Zealand Email minibottles@xtra.co.nz. www.minisnz.com AGM;Feb 18-20th 2011 Christchurch New Zealand. The Mini Bottle Club UK: c/o Jacky Drake, 22 Falcon Road, Calne Wiltshire, SN11 8PL, U.K. The club website is at http://www.minibottleclub.co.uk/ (UPDATED WEB AD-DRESS) AGM: May 2011 time and date to be determined

Inactive Clubs—Lilliputian MBC, Great lakes MBC, California MBC

MMBC MEMBERSHIP

Dues are $20.00/year for U.S and Canadian Members

and $22.00 for international members. You will receive

quarterly newsletters. Mail a check, payable to “MMBC”

to our membership chairman:

KEITH COCHRAN

PO BOX 16912

RAYTOWN MO 64133 USA

Please include the following:

Name

Address

City ,State and Zip

Country

Phone: (Optional

Email(Optional

New Members

What?!? No New Members?!?

Are you doing your part to bring in new members? The more members we have, the more trading partners for you. Just think if every member brought in 1 new member we would double in size. (how’s that for sim-

ple math?) So everyone...get started in bringing in those new

members. (even if it is getting old members back it counts)

Visit the MMBC club site at:

http://miniaturebottles.com.

Remember to do your part for the club

and help Recruit new members.

7

FOR SALE OR TRADE: Lots of bottles and new ones being added monthly. www.webshots.com/user/gabspa look in the

bottles for sale or trade album. Contact me with any interest Ron at gabspa@msn.com or call 253-241-8213.

FOR SALE: A huge figural collection with many rare items, many rare items seldom seen. If you are looking for some-

thing, now is the time to send me your want list, as this is the first it has been advertised. Collection also has a good number

of German and Japanese give-a-ways. I can put you in touch with these great minis. I personally have thousands of scotch

minis and others for sale. Contact Butch Jones for information at (405) 722-3237 (nights) or email him at fmjmini@aol.com.

(1-09/1-10

WANTED: I am looking for one of the Famous First’s Spirit of St. Louis Airplane minis. I need this for a friend who had

one, but was destroyed in a recent move. This was a very special mini to him, and I am helping him find a replacement. If

you have this mini, please contact Jim Crawford at shooter@fuse.net, or call me at (513) 467-9113.

Figurals, what have you got? Send me all of them! Come to think of it I probably don’t have the room. Just send

me the photos for Miniature Bottle Library and I will love you forever (in a purely platonic way guys!) Send to

minizv@gmail.com

WANTED: I am looking for any type of minis from USSR, Russian, Ukrainian, Armenian, Uzbekistan and any other Post

Soviet Union countries. Will offer good trades or will buy. Mikhail Madar e-mail:madarbek@gmail.com

WANTED: I am looking for minis with Cyrillic letters on labels. Will offer good trades or will buy. Mikhail Madar e-mail:

madarbek@gmail.com

WANTED: Still looking for good Irish whiskey ,preferably older ones... I would be happy to buy any, but, I also have

several (for trade only), many of them good to very rare.. Plus, I wouldn't be above trading out of any other category for

some good ones.. If interested, email me, Bill Orr at Shamrock@peoplepc.com

FOR SALE: Collection of over 2300 bottles, Whiskey, Scotch, Vodka, Gin, Rum, Brandy, Wine, Gin, Liqueurs... Also for

sale (5) custom made display cabinets... Located in Newaygo, MI - Contact Ron Finger (231) 652-4927 or rjfin-

ger1@gmail.com

Photos can be seen at: www.kcinkc.com/rfinger

Wanted: Someone interested in purchasing the remaining bottles of Robert Snyder’s miniature bottle collection. Over 750

―straights‖ and ceramics. Wild Turkey and Luxardo animal ceramics. Whiskeys, gins, vodkas, rums, cordials, etc. Too nu-

merous to list. Also available, Bob Snyder’s Bottles in Miniatures and Whiskey books, ―go withs,‖ advertisement products,

and related reference/bottle books. Interested? For more information, please contact: Jodie Snyder Nimmo, Albuquerque,

New Mexico 505-292-6571

jodiejay@comcast.net

Send any want ads to Ron Gabbard at ron@minibottleclub.com, or mail to him at 5413 South K

Street, Tacoma WA 98408.

WANT ADS

FOR SALE: Approximately 1200 minis offered for sale from 40 year collection in the following separate groups:

76 Blends, Bourbons and Whiskeys

116 Brandy, Champagnes, Cognacs

95 Canadians, Gins, Japanese, Greek and Chinese Liqueurs

66 Miscellaneous, Mixed Cocktails, Vermouths

240 Scotch and Wine

107 Rum and Vodka

548 Miscellaneous Liqueurs

Approx. 99% glass, sealed, excellent condition. Many purchased from old collections. Selling as entire lot, or in above listed

groups. E-mail: jlkaderlik@msn.com to advise your category(s) of interest.

FOR SALE : I have a 3 page list of old and new bottles most of which are vodkas such as Saaga from Estonia, Marani from Arme-

nia, Snow Leopard from Poland, Valt from Scotland and many more which are not sold in the U.S. Write me at

dmspaid2161@me.com and I'll email you my list. If you'd like a hard copy and snail mail, write me at David M. Spaid, P. O. Box

2161, Palos Verdes, CA 90274 PS Also have Tito's, X-Rated, Sputnik, Sputnik House of Lords, etc

8

MELOS MINIS By Mike Olson

In this article we'll look at a mixed bag, plus a bottle which is sort of a

mystery to me.

We'll start off with a couple of pre pros, followed by two super Cali-

fornia bottles and end with some newer Alabama minis. Every once in

a while I obtain a bottle I'm not quite sure how to categorize. The first

bottle is a good example of this. It is Thos Moore Possum Hollow

Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey with a gold foil label

Printed in orange and black. The bottle looks like a pre pro, but the

label looks like it's from the early 1930's. It may have been made for a

special occasion, such as the end of prohibition. Anyway it's a great

looking mini.

The next pair are pre pros in unusual shaped bottles. The Myrtle Springs Straight Whiskey is in a small

Pumpkin seed shape. It was made by Rehkopf Dist. Co. Paducah, Ky and has a green and yellow label. The

Old Quaker Rye Blend is in a small square bottle with a colorful label similar to the ones used in the 1930's.

9

The next two bottles were

Bottled For Sontag Drug

Stores Los Angeles, Cali-

fornia. The Old Stage

Coach Brand Whiskey

has a label printed in brown

and orange. The Lou Belle

Whiskey has a label printed

in orange and black. These

two are good examples of

the killer labels which

came out of California dur-

ing the 1930's. Unfortu-

nately, they are rare as hell

and it took me over 25

years to obtain the Lou

Belle.

The last three bottles are nice Bourbons

from the 1950's/60's and have Alabama tax stamps. The Crab Orchard has an

Aged 7 Years panel in red on the label. The Tom Hannah is very rare and I have the

same label in a different shaped bottle made for export. The last bottle is G&W

Mountain Ridge in a seldom seen variation with a paper Alabama tax stamp.

Finally, the sate of Alabama has sold some

really unusual minis that can be found

no where else. I'm not sure why this was

and have heard they had some strange

laws. What ever the reason, I'm glad they

did and I'm always on the lookout for more

of them.

Melos Minis Cont.

Until next time . . . .MELO . . . .

10

Mini Bottle Blast Blast from the past

Tanteo teqauila Chocolate, Jalapeno and Tropical. These are ac-

tually at least 3 years old. Samples that were provided to liquor stores but never sold to consumers. The flavors are unusual for

tequila. Sent by Seva Trakhtman

Kara French vodka.

Got this picture from Madar in Ohio. He tells

me this one is a vodka imported into Asia from

France and is not new (might be a couple of

years old???). But it's quite rare and a great

looking mini.

Sent by Seva

As you should know if you read the newsletter, I have started putting out on online supplemental newsletter

called Mini Bottle Blast. In it members send pictures of new bottles that we share with everyone that is inter-

ested. Well I have received some pictures of bottles that are not necessarily new but are bottles you may or

may not have seen. So I present to you a newsletter within a newsletter and pictures of some not so new bot-

tles as well as some new ones. And remember if you find any new bottles in your area e-mail the pictures to

me so I can continue sharing them.

Medwedeff

Russian vodka - This

is a frosted window mini.

Picture from collector in

Belarus.

Sent By Seva

Opthimus Rum

Found on Jorge

Rodriguez

Facebook Page

11

Potocki

Tube vodka mini Imported into UK.

I got this one from the company

Sent by Seva

Pravda with

Gold Jewel Picture received

from Polish col-lector.

This special ver-sion of Pravda

was only given to members of a

Polish collectors club.

Sent by Seva

Four Roses

Single Barrel Whiskey

Found By Jim Crawford

Military 5

Vodka

Sent in by Jim Baiers

Ceramic Mini from Russia

Sent in by Mikhail Madar

Some of these pictures appeared in

recent issues of the Blast and others

have not. If you want to see the rest

of the pictures you can go to the

club website where past issues are

archived. Or better yet sign up and

start receiving the Blast monthly.

12

The last few months have been very good for me! I have been able to add the countries of Bonaire, and The

Republic of The Union of Myanmar (formerly called Burma) to my list of countries. I have also been able to

upgrade a 50ml plastic sachet bag of Vodka from Malaysia, to real glass bottles from Malaysia.

The first mini shown is CADUSHY OF BONAIRE LIQUEUR, and comes from the southern Caribbean is-

land of Bonaire. It is a tall mini 40 ml in size, is 20% alcohol, & is actually made from a mixture of Lime &

Cactus ingredients. Great looking mini! I want to thank Harland Johnson for this mini. He found this new

mini during a cruise ship port-of-call stop just after Christmas.

Next are 3 flavors of SUB CLUB VODKA cocktails from Malaysia. Malaysia is located in the South China

Sea, just north of Indonesia. The first of these minis is a red colored Vodka called ―Cosmopolitan‖, next is a

yellow Vodka called ―Hawaiian Vodka‖, & last is a greenish colored Vodka called ―Lemon Drop‖. All 3 are

100ml frosted glass bottles.

The first mini in the 2nd picture is a fantastic miniature Liqueur from Malaysia. It is TINGPAIBOJIANJIU

LIKUER. The label is written in the official language called ―Bahasa Malaysia‖, and has a great looking red

& yellow label. The unique shape of the bottle is like a ―Quarter-Round piece of wood molding. This mini is

91ml in size and 35% alcohol. Next is TAIN QI BU CHIEW LIKEUR (also from Malaysia). This mini li-

queur is a cup shaped 75ml mini & is 36% alcohol.

Finally is a ROYAL CLUB WHISKY from Myanmar. Myanmar is located west of Thailand, & east of India.

This bottle is a 90 ml PET mini with a very elegant looking Green & Gold foil label. This mini is made by the

Myawaddy Myanmar Distillery Group, & is 43% alcohol.

It’s My Pleasure

By Jim Crawford, Ohio

13

My name is Mikhail Madar, but most of you know me as Madar. I have been an MMBC member for 5 years, and I think it

is time for me to contribute an article for the MMBC Newsletter. I am originally from Russia, but I became a US Citizen in

2009 so, if you don’t mind, I would like to start off by talking a little bit about Russian miniature bottles and collectors.

Not many people know there is a Russian forum-club of mini bottles collectors. We currently have around five hundred

members located around the world. Most members are from Russia, or let’s say – post-Soviet Union countries and most of

them speak Russian.

First, I would like to say a few words about the Russian Miniature Bottle Forum-Club, RUSSIANMINIS. The forum-club

started on December 13, 2006. The RUSSIANMINIS Forum-Club started from another small internet community. After a

while, members start to meet the last Saturday of each month. These monthly meetings, which are still going every month,

allow collectors to talk about their favorite hobby; trade, sell, and buy bottles; and find new mini bottle collecting friends.

Then in 2008 we decided, that we are big enough and ready for an annual miniature bottle show. We decided to hold our

annual International Miniature Bottle Show the last Saturday of October each year. Right now the show is not as well or-

ganized as the MMBC show, but we are still growing, and someday we will meet the standards set by the annual MMBC

Show. And way more people attended this show, than MMBC annual show at Saint Louis. This year, our show took place

on October, 30th in Moscow. At list, more than 110 only collectors from all around the Russia attended this year’s show.

Many even came from former USSR republics. Here are just few pictures:

RUSSIAN MINIATURE BOTTLES By Mikhail Madar

14

Our Forum-Club members are not all in Russia, so some meetings take place in

other cities and countries, annually and monthly. Big annual events happen

every January in Minsk, Belarus, and similar events are held in May in Kiev,

Ukraine.

Here couple of pictures from those meetings.

RUSSIAN MINIATURE BOTTLES Continued….

Mikhail Madar

To have so many meetings, collectors always do have

the option to go to some or all of these events just to

see our friends, to talk about mini bottles, almost at

any time of the year. This is one of the things I think

is really good.

Every year, for the

Annual Show in Mos-

cow, our club prints

club pocket calen-

dars. Here are aFew

pictures of pocket

calendars from this

and previous years:

15

RUSSIAN MINIATURE BOTTLES Continued….

Mikhail Madar

This year we did even more. A few month ago our forum-club held a

competition for the best picture of miniature bottles. We received

more than 100 pictures for that competition. A winner was selected

by a vote, and the competition was won by Alex Saprygin from Ger-

many, with a picture titled ―paintbrushes‖. Using the winning picture

from this completion, we ordered wall calendars made for next year,

2011. The Calendar came out very beautiful.

Also, we printed some special T-shirts with our logo in front, and the

―paintbrushes‖ picture on the back side.

Last summer, in Lvov, Ukraine was another big show for members of

our club. To celebrate, organizers of this meeting made limited edition

(only two hundred sets of miniature vodka – ―Evning Lviv‖), which was

originally called ―Zlatogor‖ Vodka. All bottles were individually num-

bered, and the Forum- Club name on it.

Editors note: Contact Mikhail if you are interested in getting a Calendar

or T-shirt.

16

Butch’s Minis………..Butch Jones, Oklahoma

It’s Time

From time to time (sorry), some of you may have seen the

glass—domed clock featured here. It’s by Manhattan Liq-

uors and was produced in the 1940s. I added this bottle to

my collection at least twenty years ago, picking it up at a

mini bottle show.

The two tall clocks are also

by Manhattan, and feature mini bottles as the clock

faces. The pendulum and chimes still move. These were

added at different times, one from David Hood and the

other many many years ago at a mini bottle show. They

stand about eight inches and the body of the clock is

probably celluloid.

I do not remember where I picked up the two Big Ben

clocks below, but probably from a collection. The ce-

ramic was bottled for the UK mini bottle club and con-

tains Teachers Scotch. The clear clock is by McLech,

and contains sherry. The are about six and six and one-

half inches.

The ceramic clock is by Miniature Specialties,

also from the 1940s. I got this one from Pat

McMullen many years ago. It stands about five

inches. Similarly-made ceramics are sometimes

hard to find, because they appeal to a secondary

collector’s market.

17

2011 Show Raffle Bottles

Every Year the club has bottle raf-

fles to help earn money for the club.

This year we have 3 lots. The raf-

fles will be done in order with the

first ticket winning bottle one, the

second bottle two and the third the 9

bottle tequila set. You need not be

present to win (the club will ship

bottles to you) historically we have

had just about as many non attendee

winners as attendee winners. (no

that is not an excuse to not come to

the show)

Thanks to member Paul Zaiser for

his Elvis bottle donation.

The 2011 Raffle bottles:

1. McCormick Elvis 55

2. Ski Country American Kestrel

3. Set of 8 Tequila Lluvia de Estrellas

flavored tequilas (frosted bottles w/

wooden lid) AND 1 Caballero Aguila

Tequila Reposado

(note the Caballero bottle is 100ml)

Raffle Tickets are 1 for $5, 3 for $10 , or 7 for $20

Send your checks made out to the MMBC to:

Sandy Wheeler, Raffle Chairman

212 E Norton Road Apt 1

Springfield, MO 65803

18

Newbie Corner

So Where Did you find all those bottles?

We are always on the lookout to find those elusive bottles but where do you look. Here are some places I’m sure you’ve

looked and some you maybe haven’t tried yet.

Liquor Store-Always a tried and true favorite. Depending on what state you live in depends on if there are great choices

or no choices. Some States (Like Washington State) have a website that actually lists what is available and even what stores

they are available at.

Antique Store/Flea Market—You can sometimes run into some old treasures here, especially if the seller has no idea

of what they have. I started my collection buying a bunch of bottles from a guy at a Flea Market.

Newspaper Want Ads—Believe it or not I have found people listing mini bottles for sale either as a single ad or as

part of a garage sale ad. In some cases you can get good deals and in others the people think their common bottles are made

of gold.

Craig’s List—For those of you that are computer savvy Craig’s list is the want ads for the computer. I have found some

really great deals, occasionally there will be the overpriced bottles but more often than not on Craig’s list people just want

the stuff gone.

E-bay—The old standby. There are always lots of bottles to be found if you check other ―versions‖ of e-bay (from the

U.K., etc) you will find even more bottles for sale. Sometimes you can get a good deal and sometimes the seller must be

smoking crack if they think the bottle is worth that price. (I keep seeing the Pasha Turkish Coffee bottle that everyone has

at least 3 listed as a rare bottle for only a mere $45)

The Mini Bottle Blast—-Our own supplemental newsletter is one of the best places to find new bottles that are avail-

able. This is the result of many of the club members that trade and stay in contact throughout the year sharing their bottle

finds with each other.

Saint Louis Show—You’ll find a large selection of bottles at every price but more important than that is the contacts

you can make. By meeting someone from Florida, or California you now open up all the bottles in their area that they find.

(Your own personal Mini Bottle Blast)

Other Clubs—Different clubs offer different ways to get bottles, Some clubs have auctions, some raffles and some have

club bottles that they sell. Many members of this club are also members of other clubs (it increases your contacts and thus

the availability of bottles)

Other Shows—In addition to our show, other clubs put on shows. You can find shows in England, Russia, South Amer-

ica as well as a small show in the Pacific Northwest.

Facebook—There are many collectors out there on Facebook and even some private groups. These collectors are from

all over the world which opens up the possibility of getting bottles from places you may never get to visit. I just had a col-

lector from Spain contact me through one of these groups and we are getting ready to make some trades.

Your Own Website—It’s not as hard as it may sound to put together a website (and there are club members that would

be willing to help). You then get to meet bottle collectors from all over the world that visit your website giving you the

opportunity to get some really great trading partners.

Websites—There are websites that sell miniature bottles and many of them will ship. You can also find individual collec-

tors that have bottles for sale or trade.

Think Outside the Box—Some of the coolest bottles I got came from an idea I had. I contacted a collector in England

(since I collect Scotches) and offered to send them $100 that could be used to purchase bottles for me. When they had

enough to fill a box they could ship them, and when they used the $100 let me know and I would send another $100. Fortu-

nately this is something that can be done since most collectors I’ve met tend to be honest people.

MIDWEST MINIATURE

BOTTLE COLLECTORS

32 nd

ANNUAL SHOW

April 29-May 1, 2011

SHERATON PLAZA HOTEL 900 West Port Plaza

St Louis MO 63146

Phone 1-888-627-7064 & reference

Midwest Miniature Bottle Show in Sheraton

Westport Hotel—Plaza Tower

OR

http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/

Book/Minibottle10

To book at special Sheraton MMBC site online.

MMBC Room Rate Until March 27, 2011, or until our

block of rooms is GONE! Reserve EARLY!!!

$105. 00 + Tax**

Friday, April 29, 2011

5:00 PM Member’s Sandwich Buffet

6:00 PM Meeting

7:00 PM Member’s Consignment Auction

Location: To Be Announced

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Show Hours 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Hospitality Suite Open After The Show

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Show Hours 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

For Additional Information, Contact:

Note that the show is

the last weekend of

April due to Easter

NOT the 3rd weekend

Jim Worsley-Table Chairman

(785) 234-2857

Email:

jrswwor@sbcglobal.net No Telephone Reservations

Check out the MMBC Website at: http://miniaturebottles.com

Show Chairman

Bill Baker Rhodesbb@aol.com

19

No Formal Golf this year, but contact Butch

Jones if you are interested in playing 18.

Midwest Miniature Bottle Collectors (MMBC) 5412 South K Street Tacoma, Washington 98408 Forwarding & Return Postage Guaranteed Address Correction Requested President………………..Ted Verstreater President Elect ………... Treasurer………………..Bill Baker Secretary………………..Linda Voris Membership…………….Keith Cochran Show Coordinator………Bill Baker Newsletter……………….Ron Gabbard Website…………………..Keith Cochran Printer……………….FedEx Kinko’s 3815 S Steele St Tacoma, WA 98409

The 2011 MMBC Show Jug

Yours will be waiting for you

in St. Louis April 29th to May

1st

Thanks again to Jim Crawford

for another spectacular design

and to Kuba for another fine

looking jug.

Online Bonus Picture Here’s a shot of the 3 sizes of Crystal Vodka, I’ll include pictures of just

the Mini as well as any additional info I find, in the next issue of the

Blast