Age of King George IV bottle?

[mchomin]

Does anyone have any information as to the date of this bottle? The foot label reads "Special Quality" as well as "Guaranteed to contain the finest Highland Malt and other Scotch Whiskies matured in Sherry Wood". In addition, the following number is punched into the foot label (see attached photos):

110954

The bottle is sealed with a driven cork and lead capsule (the top of which bears a crown) which reads "King George IV Scotch Whisky, The Distillers Company Ltd, Edinburgh", and the bottle itself appears to be a two-piece mold with no apparent markings on the bottom.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Jojo]

Thanks for the photos! We will see if we can have your bottle dated for you.

[wchurst]

Mike,

I got a few ideas about your bottle for you - Nothing exact, but should help narrow down the dating a bit for you!

I compared several ads showing bottles for KG-IV, and came down to two from 1912 & 1929, and noted similarities/differances below:

The Cap:
1912 - "Foil-wrap & Cork"
Yours - "Foil-wrap & Cork"
1929 - "Spring-Cap"

Bottler:
1912 - "Distillers Company LTD"
Yours - "Distillers Company LTD"
1929 - "Distillers Agency LTD"

Main-Label Description
1912 - "Liqueur Whisky"
Yours - "Scotch Whisky"
1929 - "Old Scotch Whisky" ("Gold Label" added )

Footer-Label Description:
1912 - "Special Quality"
Yours - "Special Quality"
1929 - "Extra Special"

Not an exact dating, but your bottle has more in common with the 1912 bottle than the 1929 bottle!

Since both Ad's straddle WWI, and war often having an impact on design changes, I'd suggest trying
to find some examples from about the early 1920's as the potential 'best bet' to finding a match here.

Cheers,
Walter C Hurst
wchurst@hotmail.com

[Jojo]

Thanks Walter, appreciate your expertise! This is what we found out from Diageo (mchomin - this is the parent company to King George IV):

We have an advert from 1923 which features this bottle, or one very similar, but your bottle could date from earlier than that, possibly the later 1800s or early 1900s.

DCL (Distillers Company Limited) registered King George IV as a trademark in the 1880s and it was sold in export markets only. In 1924, DCL created the Distillers Agency Ltd to run their Export Branch and the packing changed to reflect this.

[mchomin]

Thank you very much for your research, Walter and Jojo! That definitely narrows it down!

Best regards,

Mike Chomin

[wchurst]

Jojo,

Interesting point you found on the Distributors Agency LTD....I'll have to file that away in my notes - Thanks!

Cheers,
Walter C Hurst
wchurst@hotmail.com