BENGALURU: Hailing from Kodagu — where no feast or ceremony is complete unless liquor is served — Kishoo Uthappa, a civil contractor, has a large collection of miniature liquor bottles.
He saw his uncle’s collection when he was in high school in 1985, and got an empty mini bottle from him. That was the start of his own collection of liquor and cologne bottles. However, he stopped adding cologne bottles to the stash about three years ago as the content evaporates quickly.
Kishoo says, “I pick up a bottle or two when I see them at stores. They are pretty expensive. I pick up some from the airport where they are easily available. I now have a collection of 200 full bottles of scotch and vodka, especially Absolut — which has come up with its own collection of different kinds of bottles. ”
He has a mini bar at home with all kinds of bottles for his guests. “I relish every flavour of alcohol now. I used to drink one or two brands before. But now I find everything enjoyable,” he says with a laugh.
His family is proud of his collection. “I was talking to one of my friends about Absinthe, a drink with 75 per cent alcohol content. It is banned in most countries. I was telling him how I would love to own a bottle and my son reminded me that I already do have a miniature from Germany,” he recalls.
On some Sundays, they take the collection out, clean the bottles and rearrange them.
Peg bottles are new in India, he says. “The smallest bottles otherwise are of 250 ml here. But in Europe, peg bottles are very common.”
Kishoo started a Facebook page a year ago that now has about 200 followers. While he has bought bottles from some, he has found some fraudsters too. “I had once transferred money to a guy who promised me some mini bottles but I never received them,” he says.
Kishoo has also reported fake profiles, owners of which download pictures of bottles from the Internet and portray them as their collection.
He never sells anything from his collection but is ready to exchange. He says, “It is my hobby and I don’t intend to make any money out of it.”