I was a jaded magic enthusiast in the beginning of the 1970s having moved an hour away from the Seattle area (a ferry ride away across Puget Sound) and not finding anything exciting and new, just retreads of 1950s ideas. However, Sid Brockman (the Tannen of the Northwest with Micky Hades being the Magic Inc analog, perhaps a young Steve Minch the Ken Brookes-ish presence) insisted I travel to and attend “Seattle Magic Ring Inc’s Ladies Night”. A part of the misogynistic dysfunction of male oriented magic groups, this was the annual Winter event where the women’s axuillary held a dinner and a show by the club members.
I was bored and disappointed until a fellow in casual attire jumped up and started a clumsy version of “Passe Passe Bottle” which was old when Hoffman described it. Yawn, and then my jaw hit the floor and stayed there for five minutes. Don Brisbane (who was cast/crew for the Virgil and Julie’s World Wide Tour) presented Ken Brooke’s version of “Multiplying Bottles” and I was astounded. I vowed to learn, perfect, and perform that — only if I could do it better than Don did. Over the years Don & I became friends and he added insights to his approach and wonderful details of the tours with Virgil.
Many years later I finally found an estate (in an antique store) from a Belgium magician which included an affordable bottle set — Mystpho of Holland at dirt cheap price; nine bottles with three silver metal tubes. I added a liquid container to one of the tubes and proceeded to learn the Ken Brooke’s routine. Here is a ramble of how, why, and insights derived from “Zinger’s Magic Bottle” over 25 years performing it almost every show.