{"product_id":"vintage-tom-collins-bottle-cap-detroit-treasures-gifts-home","title":"Vintage NOS 1940s–1950s Kar’s Tom Collins Mixer 🍸 Cork Bottle Cap — Detroit, Michigan","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWho Mixed a Kar's Tom Collins? 🍸 Vintage NOS 1940s–1950s Cork Bottle Cap, Detroit, Michigan\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 1\/4\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:315px;margin:0 auto 20px;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RoCv3Kd-Vxk\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e🆕 \u003cstrong\u003eNew Old Stock (NOS)\u003c\/strong\u003e, unused and uncrimped, with the original cork liner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e🍸 A vintage \u003cstrong\u003eKar's Tom Collins Mixer\u003c\/strong\u003e cork-lined bottle cap from the \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Kar Bottling Co.\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cstrong\u003eDetroit, Michigan\u003c\/strong\u003e, 1940s–1950s. \u003cstrong\u003eKar's\u003c\/strong\u003e in big silver letters on a black band, and \u003cstrong\u003eTOM COLLINS MIXER\u003c\/strong\u003e in green on a silver panel, with \u003cem\u003e…tling Co. Detroit\u003c\/em\u003e running around the skirt. Inside, the old pressed-cork liner from the days before plastic. Like every uncrimped crown it measures 1 1\/4\" across.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🏭 John Kar and Delray\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Kar\u003c\/strong\u003e was running the John Kar Cafe, a saloon on West Jefferson in Delray, by 1909. In 1922 he bought the A. R. Andrews and Son Bottling Works and set up at 8559 West Jefferson Avenue, and his pop was an instant hit. Delray was Detroit's Hungarian neighborhood, a mix of Hungarian, Slovak and Polish families down by the river, so plenty of Kar's ads ran in Hungarian: \u003cem\u003eKar János és Fiai\u003c\/em\u003e, John Kar \u0026amp; Sons. Besides his own Kar's label he bottled \u003cstrong\u003eO-So\u003c\/strong\u003e pop, one of Michigan's favorite sodas, in creme soda, lemon-lime, cherry, grape, strawberry, root beer, orange and Rock and Rye.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe neighborhood remembers it well. One woman recalled the plant smelled like bleach and sugar water; another worked there as a kid and got paid in pop; and the story goes the employees used to fish right out the back window. John Kar died in 1951 and his son \u003cstrong\u003eEd\u003c\/strong\u003e kept it going; the business later passed to other owners and closed for good in the early 1990s. Delray itself emptied out after the 1967 riots, as its families moved Downriver to Allen Park, Lincoln Park and Wyandotte.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🍋 Who was Tom Collins?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNobody, and that was the joke. In the \u003cstrong\u003eGreat Tom Collins Hoax of 1874\u003c\/strong\u003e, you'd ask a friend, \"Have you seen Tom Collins?\" and when they said no, you'd tell them he was just around the corner in a bar, saying things about them. Newspapers joined in and printed made-up sightings of Tom Collins, and music halls wrote songs about him. The drink with his name, gin, lemon, sugar and soda water, was in print by 1882 in Harry Johnson's bartender's manual, and a bottled Tom Collins mixer like Kar's put the soda and the sour in one bottle so you only had to add the gin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n🆕 New Old Stock (NOS)\u003cbr\u003e\n🔧 Unused and uncrimped\u003cbr\u003e\n🟢 Original cork liner\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"relatedBlock\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🔎 More From The Vintage \u0026amp; Antique Gifts Archive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/memphis-cork-bottle-cap-transports-collectors-treasures\"\u003eAntique 1920s Memphis Chaser Cork Bottle Cap 🥤 Lithiated Soda History\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/1950s-vintage-clems-orange-drink-cork-bottle-cap-malvern-ar-historic\"\u003eVintage Clem’s Orange Drink Cork Bottle Cap 🧡 Malvern, Arkansas NOS\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/1960s-hires-draft-root-beer-bottle-cap-collectible-vintage-treasures\"\u003eVintage 1960s Hires Draft Root Beer Cork Bottle Cap • Baker Bottling MO 🟠 American Icon RIP 2022\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44453261377768,"sku":"VAG-8200197505256","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/2718\/4037\/files\/il_fullxfull.4886107527_3945.jpg?v=1785439080","url":"https:\/\/vintageantiquesgifts.com\/products\/vintage-tom-collins-bottle-cap-detroit-treasures-gifts-home","provider":"Vintage and Antique Gifts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}