You don’t have to be a bourbon drinker to appreciate Jim Beam Bourbon decorative decanters. Made from 1955 through the 1990s, Beam delighted collectors by pouring their bourbon into attractive ceramic figural decanters and highly decorative glass decanters. Beam decanters reached peak popularity during the bottle collecting boom of the late 1960s – early 1970s. At the time, whether opening the bottles diminished the collector’s value was the subject of lively debate. So yes, there are still plenty of Beam decanters out there filled with vintage bourbon. (Just like there are vintage Avon bottles filled with vintage cologne.)
Beam ceramic bottles were produced by Regal China until 1992, after which bottles were made by Wade, according to an article on World Collectors Net. Regal China, founded in the late 1920s, was known for cookie jars, salt and pepper shakers and figurines. Per Worthpoint, they decorated the Hull Red Riding Hood pieces. Jim Beam cut out the middleman and purchased Regal in 1968. Operations ceased in 1992.
Decanters came in myriad motifs from American landmarks to animals to famous people to sports and more. Politically-themed elephants and donkeys have many variations, in particular. During the heyday, buyers were as excited about new releases as Beanie Baby collectors were in recent memory, although not to the extent they camped out to be the first to see new shipments. The bottles above are my Beam bottle collection, all New Hampshire-themed and all purchased by my dad and put on specially built shelves as soon as they were released.
While Beam vintage decanters are not the killer hot commodity they were in the 1970s when they were arriving new to liquor stores, they are very cool vintage decor, particularly the ones with regional interest. Prices are reasonable so you can treat yourself.
Here’s a few Beam decanters that caught our eye on Etsy…
Do you have a Beam decanter in your life or, even better, are you a collector? We’d love to hear your story. Tell us about it in the comments section.
2 comments
What is the best publication on Jim Beam containers?
Thanks for asking. I don’t have specific recommendation, but I would suggest requesting a few from your local library to see which suits your needs best. Also, remember that any pricing guidelines in a book are a snapshot in time and can not be relied on as up to date.