Liquor Ads from the New York Times December 23, 1937 Part II

Hey peeps, welcome back to the second part of the Liquor Ads from the New York Times December 23, 1937. In Part I, I looked at a number of different spirits that were being advertised in the NYT edition of December 23, 1937. I kept what I believed was the best one in terms of spirits that are currently available. Here is the ad:

Jameson Irish Whiskey is arguably one of the most popular and well known Irish whiskys in New York City, if not the whole world. I honestly can't say that I have walked into a bar that didn't carry John Jameson and his Sons' whiskey. This whiskey is especially popular among the frat boy and the "dude bro" demographic who just love to call it "Jamo" 😖 Ugh. Back to the ad.

Here is how the ad describes this particular uisge beatha:

Sportsmen all over the world seem to prefer John Jameson. It's hearty, robust, mellow - a man's drink. A sportsman friend would enjoy it. So would you. 

Well I guess frat boys and dude bros could fall in the category of being a "sportsman" 😁

Thank you to everyone out there in the interwebs that have supported me this year both on this blog page and on my personal Instagram page. Also much love to everyone who has made the trek down to Prospect Heights to have a couple of beers and shots at Finns Corner this past year. You've made the transition back to the bar full time easier and much more pleasurable. I look forward to continuing to pour more and more delicious beverages for you in the upciming 2019 and hopefully beyond.

Sláinte to you all and Happy New Year 2019.

Until Then Keep Drinking,
#SiscoVanilla
#SiscoVanillaisStepping
#SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks
#SiscoVanillaAtTheMovies 

Liquor Ads from the New York Times December 23, 1937 Part I

I was recently checking out the New York Times archive website known as The Times Machine. If you've followed me for a while, you'll know that I research old newspapers to see what spirits are being advertised. For me, doing so offers me a glimpse at which spirits were popular at the time the newspaper was printed.  Here are the booze ads that were in the New York Times for December 23, 1937:

A couple of ads standout to me. There's an ad for Benedictine, Martini and Rossi and Cinzano. All three brands are still readily available today. Seagram's is also a relevant brand name though I don't think its as popular today as it was back then. Though to be honest, I did pour a couple of Seagram's 7 and 7's a few nights ago. Also, the ads are for such spirits as Scotch Whiskey and fortified and aromatic wines such as Vermouth and Dubonnet. Absent are ads for Vodka. Vodka wouldn't become popular in the United States for another couple of years with the rise of Smirnoff and the creation of the Moscow Mule in the early 1940s. There is one other thing that stands out.

Here is a close up of the ad in the top right corner:

The ad is for the Hiram Walker line of spirits which includes Canadian Club Rare Whiskey, Stodart's Rare Highland Blended Scotch Whiskey, Hiram Walker's Private Cellar Blended Whiskey and Hiram Walker's Distilled London Dry Gin. The last one stands out to me: Hiram Walker's Ten High Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Why does this stand out to me? Well, simply put, this is our well Bourbon at Finn's Corner. 

This is how the ad describes the Ten High Straight Bourbon Whiskey:

Double your enjoyment with Hiram Walker's national favorite Ten High - the superb straight bourbon whiskey that has "No Rough Edges" because it is aged both in winter and summer for 2 whole years! 90 proof.

As per the label, the Ten High that we carry was established in 1879 but isn't as strong as the one from 1937. It now clocks in at 40% ALC/VOL 80 proof. 

Well that's enough for now. There are a few other booze ads that stand out to me from the December 23, 1937 issue of the New York Times. The next post will highlight a spirit that at the time was marketed to sportsmen as being "The Sportsmen Whisky" and now is a favorite shooter for frat boys. Keep an eye out for it. 

Until Then Keep Drinking, 

#SiscoVanilla 

#SiscoVanillaisStepping 

#SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

#SiscoVanillaAtTheMovies   

Westworld (1973)

Its been a while since I've done one of these SiscoVanilla at the Movies posts. I wanted to do a quick one on one of my favorite bar sequences in a movie. In this version of Westworld (which inspired the HBO series of the same name) written and directed by Michael Crichton, for $1000 a day, vacationers can go to the amusement park known as Delos where they can spend time at one of three themed parks of Romanworld, Medievalworld and Westworld.

The scene has friends John (James Brolin) and Peter (Richard Benjamin) rolling up to the bar in Westworld. Westworld is based on the American west of 1880 where lawlessness rules and anything goes. Now if any of you have watched a Western, you know that the spirit of choice is good old fashioned Whiskey. John, who has been to Westworld before knows what to order:

Peter, who is having troubles getting into character, orders himself the following drink:

Yeah, not very American west of him but pretty damn funny. After whiskey is served to both cowboys, what follows next is what us bartenders like to say "it was a little strong but good:"

I really found the interaction to be funny since I've seen it happen many times while behind the bar. Especially with the face that Peter gives after doing the shot of whiskey.

The other parks really dont have anything to report past the guests possibly drinking wine at Romanworld or Mead at Medievalworld. 

Well that's it for now. I hope you get a chance to watch the original Westworld before catching any of the HBO series. 

Until Then Keep Drinking, 

#SiscoVanilla 

#SiscoVanillaisStepping 

#SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

#SiscoVanillaAtTheMovies