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VOK LIQUEURS

Do you remember the classic looking VOK mini bottles? They used to be commonly found in all mini
bottle collections. Now, many newer collectors never heard of them. I thought I would write about
these minis from “Down Under”. Australia at one time offered many unusual & attractive minis. One
of the most unusual was put out by Jan Vok Liqueurs. These minis were manufactured & Distributed
by the John Cawsey Co. Pty, Ltd. since the early 1930’s.

In 1989 I wrote a letter (Email was not yet invented) to the distillery asking a number of questions
about these bottles. Their responses lead me to write this article. One of my first questions was why
did they choose the design for the unusual shaped bottle?

The original Vok bottle was designed to depict a "beautiful nude study hand-carved in glass".
Looking at the design now, it's hard to realize the first shape evolved into the unique Vok bottles.
The Vok minis shown are just a few of 26 very colorful flavors produced. Advokaat liqueur is one
flavor which consists of a yellowish colored mixture of egg yolks & brandy. All Vok bottles have the
phrase "Goede Kwaliteit" printed on the cap, which is Dutch for "Good Quality". Since Advokaat is a
traditional Dutch liqueur, and was the first flavor made by Jan Vok, these words now appear on all
their bottles.

The most unusual point about Vok liqueurs is the statement embossed in the bottle's back saying the
"Bottle always remains the Property of JAN VOK Liqueur Co,". This stems back to the early days of
Australia when glass was very expensive and labor was cheap. The result was manufacturers would
mark their bottles so they could be returned, washed, and reused,

I am not sure when they stopped making Vok Liqueurs in the unique shaped bottles. The company,
however, is still producing full size liqueurs today, but all their bottles are now shaped normally!

Jim Crawford

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