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Tammy Coxen

@tammylc.bsky.social

1.5K followers 450 following 4K posts

Booze and cocktail history nerd. I host the My Tiny Bottles podcast & YouTube series (mytinybottles.com), and teach cocktail classes online and in-person as Tammy's Tastings (tammystastings.com). Also a SMOF, so may occasionally post about SF conrunning.

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · Dec 2

Looking for cocktail folks? Here's my starter pack of people who post about drinks and spirits! New additions include @roberthess.bsky.social, @rumwonk.bsky.social, @tiki-tom-tom.bsky.social, @andrewbohrer.bsky.social and @carrieallan.bsky.social

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 4h

There's still time to sign up for tonight's book talk! It's gonna be a blast. Noah is such a wealth of info and the book is jam packed with interesting stuff. Plus we'll be mixing up some cocktails along the way! www.tammystastings.com/upcoming-eve...

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 18h

Starbucks did have to add some pumpkin to their syrup because of nonsense like this!

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 20h

Thanks!

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 20h

Certainly more common, especially while traveling. And there's an ethos of wearing a mask if you feel ill to protect others. But it's certainly nowhere near most people anywhere I've been.

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 21h

I was in Korea in May. There may have been a few more masks, but still no higher than 10% at most. I saw some people masking in India, but mostly for air quality reasons, like folks on motorcycles.

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

Spring caps are known for their tight seal, so although it's super dusty on the outside, it’s very full on the inside. I’m excited to taste this little piece of Scotch whiskey history! I’ve had great luck with the other Scotches in grandma’s collection so far. 21/21
mytinybottles.com/tag/scotch/

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

All of Grandma’s 1960s tiny bottles look like they were purchased across the Atlantic, so I’m wondering if maybe a trip to visit family in England is what started her on her collecting journey. 20/
mytinybottles.com/tag/1960s/

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

It’s labeled “Dimple Scots” so is the UK version, not the American “Pinch” one, and is marked at 70 proof - old British proof style for 40% ABV. Given grandma’s collecting period and looking at comparison bottles online, I’d guess late 60s for this one, since in the 70s the look was updated. 19/

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

To me, the new Dimple bottles look bland and boring. I much prefer Grandma’s tiny bottle, which is wrapped in gold wire and features an unusual spring cap wrapped in gold foil. The label itself is delightfully “ye olde.” Which is fitting, since this is one of the older bottles in the collection. 18/

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

Starting in 2008 Dimple/Pinch received a boost in the USA when Walter White drank it on the hit TV show Breaking Bad. Then in 2014 Haig released a new Haig Club bottle in a marketing collaboration with footballer David Beckham. Today the brand is owned by Diageo. 17/

A screen shot from the TV show Breaking Bad shows two white men sitting in chairs. The one that is facing us is pouring liquid from the ver recognizable Pinch bottle into a tumbler.

An ad for Haig Club whiskey shows David Beckham sitting in a brown chair. He's leaning forward in his chair and his arms are on a table or bar. He's a white man with heavily tattooed forearms who is smiling and holding a rocks glass containing whiskey.

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

Like many Scotch whiskey brands, Haig and Dimple’s popularity peaked in the 1970s, before taking a dive during the booze dark ages of the 1980s and 90s. By 2000, sales were reportedly only 750 cases per year. And like many Scotch whiskey brands, it has seen a renaissance in recent years. 16/

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

It would dominate through 1970, and was the first brand to sell one million bottles in a year. James Bond was a Dimple man, drinking it in several of Ian Fleming’s novels. 15/

Licence to Distill. Haig Whisky and James Bond.

Did you know that James Bond rally drank Haig Whisky? Guest Blogger Thomas Cull from Literary007.com shares the secret of Haig Whisky and James Bond.

www.haigwhisky.com

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

Meanwhile, the brand would diversify and build a strong UK following with its Dimple and Gold Label bottlings. By 1939 the Gold Label had become the top selling Scotch in the home market. In the 1960s this was fueled by its oh-so-memorable slogan “Don’t be vague, ask for Haig.” 14/

A color advertisement features drawings of Pinch and Five Star bottles. The ad has the slogan "Don't be Vague ask for Haig" on it, and the word Haig is in big red letters. It also declares "no finger whiskey goes into any bottle"

A newspaper ad features line drawings of 4 different size bottles of Haig Gold Label. The headline is "Haig in every Home - and Handy sizes for Picnics, Parties and Travelling. The slogan "Don't be vague, ask for Haig" appears at the bottom of the ad.

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

Meanwhile, the brand would diversify and build a strong UK following with its Dimple and Gold Label bottlings. By 1939 the Gold Label had become the top selling Scotch in the home market. 14/

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

The start of World War II put an end to the age statement-ed whiskey until 1969, when there was a marketing campaign promoting its return. Although I did find one fabulous ad from 1946 offering 2400 bottles of pre-war 12-year-old Pinch, so there were some highly prized old bottles cached away. 13/

A 1960s ad for Pinch announcing that "The smooth 12-year-old is back."

A newspaper ad promoting the sale of "Pre-War Scotch Whiskey." The seller is offering 2,400 bottles of Haigh & Haigh Pinch for $8.88/fifth.

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

Or course Prohibition knocked the wind out of Pinch’s sales, but only temporarily, and it was able to capitalize on its pre-Prohibition popularity after repeal. By 1937, Pinch was being marketed as a 12-year-old whisky – “The Supreme Scotch of Senior Age.” 12/

A newspaper ad with the headline "Haig & Haig's famous Pinch Bottle - The Supreme Scotch of Senior Age." The ad features a line drawing of the pinch bottle sitting next to a Scotch & Soda, and the words 12 years old.

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

It was this company that would introduce the Dimple bottle in 1893. Or more accurately, the Pinch bottle, as it was known in the US. Pre-Prohibition, Pinch was marketed as the upscale bottling compared to the 3-star and 5-star Haig & Haig bottlings and other Scotches on the market at the time. 11/

A newspaper ad for Haig & Haig products from the 1930s. There is a drawing of both the Pinch and the 5 Star bottles. The text reads "Fame... these are the most famous bottles in all the world and often imitated. Be certain, therefore, to ask for Haig & Haig by name, for no on has ever successfully copied the rare flavour of these old, full-bodied Scotch whiskies. There are two types for your choice: The popular "Five Star" and the very Special "Pinch Bottle"

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

and Bottle #32: Seagram’s Amandine for more about DCL and their connection to other bottles in Grandma’s collection. Such was the success of their involvement in DCL that in 1888 two of John Haig’s sons founded an export business called Haig & Haig to sell their products to the American market. 10/

Bottle #32: Seagram's Amandine | my tiny bottles

Another Seagram's bottle is a great excuse to tell how Seagram's busted out of Canada and became a major player in the USA.

mytinybottles.com

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

John Haig was a founding member of the Scotch Distiller’s Association in 1865, which became Distiller’s Company Limited (DCL). This was the amalgamation of several distilleries that once controlled over 80% of the domestic and 75% of the worldwide Scotch market. Check out Bottle #31: VAT 69... 9/

Bottle #31: VAT 69 Scotch | my tiny bottles

What do Bollywood villains and polar explorer Ernest Shackleton have in common? They both drink VAT 69 Scotch whisky!

mytinybottles.com

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

“it should be noted that the Steins and Haigs, while intermarried, were quite ruthless in business and often targeted and took advantage of the other families financial difficulties to grab each other’s businesses over a period of 100 years.” All’s fair in love and distilling, I guess! 8/

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

This is where all the Haig whiskies are still made today, along with a vast quantity of whiskey for other brands. According to the great haigwhiskey.com fan site, where I learned all this history: 7/

Haig Whisky & Jameson - History of the Whisky Cousins

Do you know the history of Haig Whisky and Jameson? The history of the whisky cousins goes back centuries, find out all about it & the Haig family tree!

www.haigwhisky.com

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

The intertwining of the two families continued as he married his cousin Janet Stein, and then bailed out her brother Robert Stein, taking over when the Kincaple Distillery he’d founded failed. Their son John Haig was born in 1802 and in 1824 built the Cameronbridge Distillery. 6/

A black and white drawing of sprawling whiskey distillery with tall smoke stacks, several buildings, and train tracks in and out of the complex.

Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

Their eldest daughter Margaret married John Jameson, and the two moved to Dublin, where eventually Jameson would found his eponymous company. But it was their son William who would start down the path to the modern Haig company. 5/

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

By 1733 the Stein’s distillery in the Kennetpans was the largest in Scotland, and the family were the leading Scottish industrialists of their time. The marriage of John Haig and Margaret Stein in 1751 would go on to birth not one, but two giant whiskey brands. 4/

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Tammy Coxen @tammylc.bsky.social · 22h

But the brand has been around for much longer than that. Some people claim that Haig is the oldest Scotch whiskey name, going back to its progenitor, Robert Haig, who began distilling in the early 1600s. His descendants would go on to intermarry with another distilling giant, the Stein family. 3/

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