Who: Jim Crawford, 59, of Delhi, a retired Procter & Gamble Co. information technology manager and near-teetotaler who owns more than 6,200 miniature liquor bottles.

Jim Crawford in his Bottle Room. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Where: On custom-designed shelves in the family room of the home he shares with wife Nancy and daughter Michelle.

        How dry I am: "I started collecting in 1967,” Mr. Crawford explains. “When I was working with P&G, I traveled 70 percent of the time. Back then, the airlines would give each adult passenger two miniature liquor bottles. So, I would drink one and stick another on the shelf when I got home.”

        Frequent flier: But 6,200 bottles? That would take a lot of flights.

        “I also bought a lot of bottles in Florida,” he says. “Back in the mid-60s, only 12-13 states sold miniature liquor bottles.”

        Thrill of the hunt: “Nowadays they are much easier to find,” he says. “Indiana sells miniatures, so does Kentucky. I also purchase a lot at shows and conventions. The main group is called the Midwest Miniature Bottle Collectors. They have a convention in St. Louis every year, and people come in from all over the world.”

        Last call: “You name the kind of liquor and I have it in miniature,” he claims. His collection includes: brandy, bourbon, cognac, liquors, gin, vodka, brandy, rum, rye whiskey, Canadian whiskey, Irish whiskey, Scotch whiskey and straight whiskey. He also has miniature beer bottles and figurine bottles.

        “But that's not all,” Mr. Crawford continues, “I also have stonewear jugs dating back to the late 1800s.”

        Just a thimbleful: What exactly is a miniature liquor bottle?

        “There is no standard height,” he says. “But most run from 2 to 6 inches. American miniatures usually contain from 2 ounces to 1/10th of a pint or 50 milliliters.”

        Mr. Crawford's collection includes bottles from 191 countries.

        Ha, ha! “Plus Cincinnati,” he quips. “But, I don't count that as a country.” That one is a bottle of Eagle Whiskey from National Distilleries.

        Regardless, he is considering applying for inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records in the category of miniature liquor bottles from the largest number of countries.

        One of the most surprising things about Mr. Crawford's collection is that the seals are intact on all but 10-20 bottles.

        “Believe it or not,” he says with a grin, “We don't drink all that much.”

        For more information on miniature liquor bottles check out www.miniaturebottles.com.

        Share your prize possessions with Marsie Hall Newbold by mail: c/o The Cincinnati Enquirer, e-mail: marsolete@aol.com.

Cincinnati's best concert summers
Double disc cap tures James Brown at his best
Get to It
KIESEWETTER: 'Enterprise' treks back to beginning
DAUGHERTY: Spend a week just drifting
DEMALINE: Summer filled with aging 'family' fare
KENDRICK: Good news, bad news on theme park access
McGURK: Film festival adds sponsor
Singing at 71
Delhi man has 6,200 bottles on his wall
Fourth generation joins whiskey business
It's time to toast fine U.S. beers
Kiwi raises a question:
Avner is a delightful must-see of summer
Technical glitches slow 'Nabucco'