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**** Matt Reading wrote this week's Blog entry. Matt has been a good customer and friend for a number of years. His collection of decanters is incredible and we thank him for sharing some of his pictures and thoughts. We're sure you'll agree that these decanters would make an awesome addition to any collection.
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HOFFMAN DECANTERS- by Matt Reading
I have been collecting decanters for about 14 years. I take great pride in my collection. I hope that this entry into the Blog will help promote the decanters and show other collectors how beautiful they can look in your collection.
Years ago, to promote the sale of their liquor, companies started issuing decorative decanters with different themes. There were decanters of cars, trains, movie stars and a host of other themes. My favorite was the line of decanters that centered on college mascots. Several different companies found it cheaper to produce college teams as licensing for professional teams was much too expensive. The top companies that produced the college decanters were McCormick, Ezra Brooks and the topic of this article Hoffman Distilleries.
Hoffman Distilleries is located in Lawrenceburg Kentucky and are known for their 80 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon. To help promote sales, they marketed their bourbon in several different styles of decanters that featured college mascots. In 1981 the decanters were made in the shape of football helmets with mascot heads wearing them. Under the base, a wind-up music box played the schools "fight song". As far as I know, only 10 teams were produced and sold to the public. The teams included the Auburn Tigers, Clemson Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Kansas State Wildcats, Kentucky Wildcats, LSU Tigers, Missouri Tigers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oklahoma Sooners and the Tennessee Volunteers. I have been lucky enough to acquire nine of the ten- I am missing only the hard to find Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Nebraska decanter can get pretty expensive, as die-hard fans of the school pay top dollar for it.
Hoffman also made several sample decanters that are commonly referred to as "mock up's" These samples were produced in limited quantities. They were never filled with whiskey and did not include music boxes. They are slightly larger in stature then their standard decanter. They are rarely seen and I know of only 10 teams that exist. The known teams are the Michigan Wolverines, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Washington State Cougars, Texas A & M Aggies, Miami of Ohio Redskins, Indiana Hoosiers, Alabama Crimson Tide (elephant), Alabama Crimson Tide (man), Michigan State Spartans and the Iowa Hawkeyes. I have been fortunate enough to acquire 8 of the 10 for my collection.
This article has addressed only one style of the college decanters. There are several others that are equally interesting and collectible. I hope that this has helped garnish some interest in the section of the hobby that I love. If anyone has any more information or knows of any that I didn't mention, please let me know. Of course, if anybody has any for sale, I think I know of a good home for them. I can be reached by email at : joannereading@yahoo.com
Finally, I would like to give special thanks to my good friend Gary and of course to Lou & John of Inside the Park Collectibles. You guys are the best and you always have top-notch sports collectibles.
Matt- thanks for the kind words and for your great article. Lou & John
NEXT WEEK'S TOPIC- NFL PROMOTIONAL FOOTBALL BOBBING HEADS- by John Pergine