Mad Men alco-accuracy

[dhermann1]

This was in today's NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/dining/12don.html?em

 

[Zemke Fan]

Thanks for the link...

But, this is just a little pet peeve of mine. These kinds of threads would be MUCH more interesting/useful if they included a comment about the article. Just a short blurb, or even the first couple of sentences (which pass the fair use test, btw) would be nice.

 

[dhermann1]

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. [huh]
But it's a fun article. Having been a youngster during that period, I find it interesting to see how accurately things like this get portrayed. They're absolutely right about Beefeaters being the preferred gin of the time.

 

[Fletch]

Bell's was still the default blended scotch in England when I was last over there (1999). In the US it's lost out to Dewar's and Johnnie Red/Black long since. (Of the well known blendeds, J&B is my fave.)

I think we were discussing this at the Players a few Fridays back. At my house in the 70s, the 'rents usually had Gordon's or Gilbey's when gin was laid in.

Despite the premium on tradition in spirits marketing, brands don't usually age well (as anyone at Cooper Sterling could tell you). Smirnoff, Beefy, CC et al. have moved down a notch in price and prestige - in fact Canadian in general has lost its cachet.

 

[dhermann1]

The article mentions Teachers Scotch. I polished of a very (like 40 years plus) old bottle recently and was favorably impressed. A blog I found on the subject said Teachers was an extremely good cheap Scotch. Accurate. Anyway, I definitely remember it being popular back in the day. Another Scotch not mentioned that I know was favored by some of the real two fisted Scotch drinkers back then was J&B, also good stuff.
And I also recall Gilbey's gin being popular.
One concoction not focused on was the whisky sour. They were big back then as well.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

In the 1960s did people refer to Stolichnaya as Stoli?

 

[dhermann1]

I wondered about that myself.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I wondered about that myself.

I just spoke to my wife friend (who's Russian) and she said that Stoli is the plural for table in Russian and that she has never heard anyone refer to the vodka as that. (She also corrected my pronunciation) She reckons it more of a western thing. It always reminds me of Ab Fab.

So would there have been a western nickname by then?

 

[MrBern]

But, this is just a little pet peeve of mine. These kinds of threads would be MUCH more interesting/useful if they included a comment about the article. Just a short blurb, or even the first couple of sentences (which pass the fair use test, btw) would be nice.

Gee, Im the opposite. Im happy to read a recommended link online. The title of the post was more than enough for me.

BTW, this reminds me of when Band of Brothers premiered and all the reenactors were crazed to find a bottle of VAT69 at he local liquor store. Then came the pursuit to find an authentic `40s bottle. In the end, most of them didnt care for the drink...

 

[Cigarband]

I don't remember anybody I knew drinking Vodka in the 60s and 70s. Whisky cocktails, Rum cocktails, and Gin cocktails, but not Vodka. Stolichnaya was not imported into the USA before 1972 when PepsiCo made a barter agreement to bottle Pepsi in the USSR in exchange for the rights to market Stoli in the US. "Stolichnaya" is the adjectival form of "stolitsa" ["столица"], meaning "capital"

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Russian Vodka in the US in the early 1960's? Hard to imagine.

In the 1960s did people refer to Stolichnaya as Stoli?

Although I couldn't buy alcohol until the early-to-mid 1970's (depending on the jurisdiction), I do clearly remember the "Cuban missile crisis" from my childhood. It's very hard for me to imagine importers bringing Russian vodka to the U.S. with the vivid image of Nikita Kruschev banging his shoe on the desk at the U.N. and declaring, "We will bury you!" clearly in our memories.

 

[dhermann1]

Pronunciation

So the LEECH should take the accent, right? Sto LEECH na ya. Same rhythm as "I told you so."