Miniature (spirits)
Miniature , even miniature bottle or serving bottle , hereinafter referred liquor trade a small bottle with two to five Zentiliter (20 to 50 milliliters ) fruit brandy , grain spirit , liqueur or other highly concentrated beverage.
History of origin and execution
The exact origin of the first spirits miniatures is difficult to understand. As a prerequisite for the automatic production of large quantities of identical miniatures, the machine hollow glass blow molding process , which was available from 1903, was required .
There are indications that miniatures of the current form originated in the USA in the 1930s , because they were not subject to alcohol tax as “samples”. Colloquially, they are also called shots or nips in American English .
Miniatures made well before World War II had cork stoppers . Before and after the war, the vials were closed with solid metal screw caps. Plastic screw caps were used in the 1950s through the 1980s . In the 21st century, screw caps made of light metal are mostly common, in some countries tear -off capsules ( pull-off bottle caps , ring caps ) are also used.
The creation of the 2-cl “portion bottle” from Underberg from September 1949 is particularly well documented and shows how the design of a miniature played a special role when it was launched on the market after the war. These portion bottles have a plastic screw cap.
Volume and pack sizes
The volume of two to five centiliters (20 to 50 ml) corresponds roughly to the volume of a common shot glass (approx. Two cl) or a double (approx. Four cl), which is why the term “portion bottle” is also used.
Miniatures are sold individually. Depending on the brand of spirits, packs of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 20, 24, 25, 30 or 60 bottles are also offered. In addition, some manufacturers offer containers , i. H. a compilation of several different miniatures with different content.
Back: 35 cl and 10 cl; in front the 2-cl and 4-cl miniatures
A 2 cl miniature corresponds to the volume of a shot glass.
Miniatures pack
Bundles of various miniatures
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market
Miniatures are used in hotel minibars (in English also mini-bar bottles ), in train and airplane restaurants (therefore also airline bottles ) and in other places or under certain circumstances where the use of liter or half-liter bottles is uneconomical or is impractical. The original idea with product samples still held, so that especially some drugstores sell miniatures.
collection
Due to the almost worldwide distribution, the different bottle shapes with different colored spirits and the type of label design , miniatures are a popular souvenir and collector's item. The collector hobby is pursued individually or in associations and clubs.
Thematically, it is collected according to countries, types of spirits or label motifs. A special collection area are miniatures with intact alcohol control - bands .
- Examples of miniature clubs and systematic data collections on miniatures are
- Miniature Bottle Collectors, founded in 1979; Motto Thinking Small Since 1979
- The Mini Bottle Club UK , founded in 1979
- Association of Miniature Bottle Collectors Germany eV, founded in 1989,
- New Zealand Miniature Bottle Club, founded in 1981,
- Miniature Bottle Library,
- and the private collection Miniaturas de Colombia.
In Schiedam , in the province of South Holland , there is the Nationaal Jenevermuseum Schiedam ( Dutch Distilleries Museum - De Gekroonde Brandersketel ), which exhibits around 12,000 miniatures from 60 countries.
Similar uses
In addition to being used in the spirits industry, miniatures are also made for shampoos , shower gels , care lotions, etc. Particularly perfume miniatures, which are produced in even much fancier bottle shapes as spirits, are popular collector's items.
literature
- Miniature Bottle Collector Magazine , 184 issues from 1974 to 2005.
- HF Montague: Montagues Modern Bottle Identification and Price Guide , 2nd ed. (1980), HF Montague Enterprises.
Individual evidence and explanations
- ↑ The term portion bottle is rarely used for spirits, but more often for non-alcoholic liquids.
- ↑ Small Bottles, Big Business , accessed March 13, 2017.
- ↑ HF Montague: Montagues Modern Bottle Identification and Price Guide , 2nd ed. (1980), HF Montague Enterprises.
- ^ Underberg: Then and now (pdf).
- ↑ Willi Bongard: The bitter secret - The small bottle with the big effect , Die Zeit, February 28, 1964; accessed on March 13, 2017.
- ↑ Julie Hyzy, Laura Childs and Cleo Coyle (coauthors Jenn McKinlay and BB Haywood): The Cozy Cookbook: More than 100 Recipes from Today's Bestselling Mystery Authors . Penguin Publishing Group, 2015, ISBN 978-0-698-17902-8 , pp. 232 (English, 368 p., Limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ^ Crew pilfering whiskey and caviar 'driving Air India bankrupt'. In: The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved January 14, 2013 .
- ↑ James Teitelbaum: Destination: Cocktails: The Traveler's Guide to Superior Libations . Santa Monica Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-59580-843-1 , pp. 446 (English, limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ WhiskyAuction.com ; accessed on March 9, 2017.
- ↑ Midwest Miniature Bottle Collectors
- ↑ The Mini Bottle Club (UK)
- ^ Association of Miniature Bottle Collectors Germany eV
- ↑ The association came from the amalgamation of the First German Mini Bottle Club . Volkmarsen (1980–1989), the association of mini bottle collectors eV. Hanover (1984–1989) and the miniature bottle club of the GDR (1986–1990).
- ^ New Zealand Miniature Bottle Club
- ↑ Miniature Bottle Library
- ↑ Miniaturas de Colombia
- ↑ Sheila Gazaleh-Weevers, Shirley Agudo and Connie Moser: Here's Holland . Eburon Uitgeverij BV, Delft 2007, ISBN 978-90-5972-141-8 , pp. 109 (English, 492 p., Limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ↑ Glinda Bowman: More Miniature Perfume Bottles , Schiffer Publishing Ltd (1996), ISBN 978-0-88740-999-8 .
- ↑ Jeri Lyn Ringblum: A Collector's Handbook of Miniature Perfume Bottles: Minis, Mates and More , Schiffer Publishing Ltd (1996), ISBN 978-0-7643-0038-7 .