1900 Harry Johnsons Bartenders Manual (Mixellany)

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them, in the desire to offer special inducements and to obtain trade, have pushed these goods on to the public notice, and by so doing have cut into their own flesh. By offering and introducing the different brands, whether they were called for or not, and with- out stopping to think whether it was advisable or profit- able to do so or not, people in our business have in- jured themselves and the trade as well. A very large number of distilleries have introduced case goods at the expense of the proprietors of saloons and restaurants. When a man buys whiskeys, for in- stance, at from $2.50 to $3.00 a gallon for 10-cent goods, he has the chance to make a very handsome profit. But the majority of wholesale dealers now put up the same article in case goods and charge an enormous price for it. The average price of case goods is from $10 to $14 a case. With the dozen bottles in the case, at a cost of $12, the price would be $5 per gallon. That is, we must pay for the labels, the fancy bottles, and the immense amount of advertising in newspapers, by circulars, etc. Although people sell- ing at retail, can very seldom get more than 25 cents for two, an average of 12^ cents a drink, they are also obliged to cater to those customers who never take a whiskey without a glass of ginger ale, soda, seltzer, or other mineral waters, which reduces your profit ma- terially, as the side-drink is always a gift. You can al- ways figure that whenever you sell a case containing twelve bottles of whiskey, that there is always a case or more of some kind of a mineral water given away with the liquor. Consequently, it puts the price of your whiskey at an advance of from 70 to 75 cents a gallon. Another bad feature of the use of case goods is, that with people who drink, they are no longer satisfied with an average amount, but take a large-sized drink, in order to have it "stiff " enough when mixed with the