PIPIFAX

 PIPIFAX

 

Not a whiskey, but marketed in the end by a well known Western Whiskey distributor. And in all probability, concocted using sub-standard whiskey deemed unsuitable for bottling as bourbon. 

 

The brand was first trade marked on Nov. 15, 1870 by Max Walter. The label pictures the devil, a jester or a muse holding bottles of the elixir. The bottles he is holding appear to be black glass labeled slicks.

 

Later, on September 9, 1873, J. M. Goewey trade marked it once again. The label is substantially different and much more "floral", depicting a cherub hovering above a flower arrangement. It is now referred to as a "MAGIC Bitters".

 

According to Wilson, John Sroufe (of Slaters Bourbon fame), bought out Goewey in 1876, and commissioned a mold for a square bottle. They controlled the brand until dropping it in the mid 1880's.

 

The bottles are somewhat hard to acquire and most have a weak strike due to mold "burn out". This example is one of the better ones that I've seen over the years and has a decent strike and some crudity in the applied top.