Liquor Ads From the New York Times April 28, 1959 Part I

For those of you who have followed this blog for some time now know that I like to look through old issues of the New York Times using their TimesMachine website. The website allows me (as a subscriber) to access Volume 1, Issue 1 from 1859 up to 2002. That's amazing. So aside from using it for my Historical research, I use to look for old school liquor ads.

The website gave me the date of April 26, 1959 at random. It was the Sunday edition on that day and it was hundreds of pages deep. Way too much searching. So I went to days ahead to April 28, 1959 and I hit the motherlode of liquor ads.

A total of 18 different liquor ads graced the pages of the New York Times that day and only 2 of them weren't a scotch, whiskey or a bourbon. For today's post I am going to focus on one of the two non scotch, whiskey or bourbon ads: the "Ancient Bottle Distilled Dry Gin" Seagrams Golden Gin.

According to the Seagrams Gin website, Seagrams with Samuel Bronfman at the head of the company debuted its flagship Seagram's Gin, dubbed the "Ancient Bottle,” in 1939. The gin was advertised as being 94 proof which makes for a pretty potent gin.

Now I'm not sure if Seagrams discontinued the Golden Gin when they debuted the Seagrams Extra Dry Gin in the 1950's or repackaged it as the Extra Dry Gin since the Extra Dry is advertised as being a lower 80 proof. Regardless if its different or one in the same, the ads that came out for the Ancient Bottle were in my opinion pretty awesome. I especially like the imagery evoked by the following ad:

Makes me want to sit on the beach sipping G&T's. And here's this collection of four ads:

Being a gin that is distilled in the United States, the ad of the 49er with his rifle evokes that feeling of 'Murica!!!! LOL. For those of you who might be curious as to how much a cocktail with the Seagrams Golden Gin would have cost you in 1960, look no further to the menu of Sweets Restaurant that was located at 2 and 4 Fulton Street, NYC.

The menu, which can be found at the New York Public Library's Whats on the Menu website, is dated November 22, 1960 and the price for a straight up shot of the Seagrams Golden Gin was only 0.75.

When converted to today's dollars, it would cost you roughly $6.00 for the same shot. its actually quite economical. No? Sweets Restaurant, which as per their menu was established in 1845, was founded by Abraham M. Sweet. It was billed as New York City's oldest seafood restaurant and survived until 1992 when it was destroyed by the December Nor'easter known as the Great Nor’easter of December 1992. So there's a little bonus NYC history for you gals and guys.

Maybe I'll dip to my local liquor store and pick up a small bottle of the Extra Dry and see if I can recreate that feeling of being on a beach drinking G&T's. Or maybe not. LOL.

I have quite a few more ads to profile in the next few weeks. 

Until Then Happy Drinking,
SiscoVanilla

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