John Haig "Dimple" bottle

[AlanH]

I have a bottle of "Dimple" Haig but it is not the usual "Pinch" shape (see photographs) I can date it between 1925 and 1931/2 but cannot get any further information. Can anyone help?

I've tried:-
Diageo Archive,
Charles MacLean (WhiskyMac),
McTears,
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Blog,Etc.

But to no avail.

Help please!!!

AlanH

[blenderm]

There are a couple of points that don't seem to add up, you say that you've dated it between 1925 and 31 but the analysis seems to be dated 1881 [can you confirm the date]. If so then it cannot date from the 1930's as these analysis' were changed every 5 to 10 years and mostly stopped in the 1930's. It also looks as if it sealed with a stopper cork and these were not used in the industry [apart from Teachers Highland Cream] until around 1930 or slightly later. The bottle is said to contan 26 and 1/2 ounces where it should read 26 and 2/3 ounces. It also looks to be from a modern one piece mould rather than a 2 or 3 piece mould. Can you post a photo of the markings on the base of the bottle as these factory markings may help.

[AlanH]

Thanks for your prompt reply. First, the dating of the bottle:-
Earliest Date-- D.C.L. bought Haig & Haig from Robertson & Baxter in 1923 and transferred its assets to John Haig in 1925. So 1925 is earliest date.
Latest Date-- My mother worked in John Haig's bottling hall until she married in 1931. (I was born in 1932). She "liberated" this bottle before she left her employment.

Marks on bottom of bottle:- None (see photograph). This in itself is strange as most mass-produced bottles will have some form of reference on them to facilitate reproduction.

This and the lack of information from other people that I have contacted lead me to an outlandish but plausible theory:-
The bottle was never on the market!! It was a "make-up" for appraisal for a proposed bottling that never took place. A short run of bottles could have been made in any of the glass bottle works owned by the D.C.L. The labelling is easy enough to do and could account for the out of date analysis which refers to John Haig whisky in general and not to this particular bottle. The carton that accompanies the bottle is of poor quality cardboard and I don't think it would be used for the final retail product.

My mother did not drink and I think she may have taken this bottle more for bravado than for the whisky. I just wish that I had discussed it in more detail when she was alive but at that time it was just a bottle in a cupboard and not of much interest.

Any thoughts on the above??

AlanH

[blenderm]

I think you may be right in your assumption as pre production runs were and still are quite commonplace. It may be that this was the last "bottling" that your mother worked on before leaving and the reason for the memento which would tie in with the cork being used. It may also have been an experiment on using a cork to let the markets around the world see the bottle finish.

[AlanH]

Thanks for your reply. I think we've got as near to the the truth as we can get (unless somebody else knows better). But thanks anyway.

AlanH

[AlanH]

Perhaps Walter C Hurst would like to post a comment?

AlanH.