Yes, I know women drink these too. But I was watching a Clark Gable movie earlier, and I am also a man, so please forgive the gender-specific title.
When I started drinking spirits, I drank scotch. Someone shared a dram of Laphroaig with me at a renaissance faire. Nowadays, I drink bourbon. Completely different drinks. Anyway, going back to the middle of the last century, what socio-economic groups drank scotch, and which drank bourbon?
My impression is that ‘sophisticated upper-class urban-dwellers’ drank scotch, and ‘Southern Gentlemen’ drank bourbon.
For most of the 19th century, not much Scotch whisky was imported into the US; the US market was dominated by domestically-produced rye and bourbon, and by Irish whiskey. Exports of Scotch mostly went to British empire markets.
In 1860, market share was about 60% domestic rye/bourbon, 35% Irish, 5% everything else. Rightly or wrongly, the market perception was that Irish was the premium product; smooth and consistent. Domestic whiskies were seen as a more variable product; cheaper and more plentiful, but some not as good as others, and some raw or poorly aged. So, basically, if you wanted a premium product and were willing to pay for it, you drank Irish whiskey.
It wasn’t until the 1880 that Scottish distillers made a serious push for the US market, and it took them a couple of decades to build up market share, at the expense of both Irish and domestic whiskeys. In 1900 the market shares were about 50% domestic, 30% Irish, 20% Scotch. As standards improved in the distilling industry, the reputation of the domestic product improved, and in the South in particular a good domestic whiskey was seen as being on a par with the imported products. The marketing/branding strategies appealed to patriotic American authenticity on the one hand, cosmopolitan quality on the other. Scotch continued to build up market share, but was still behind Irish when Prohibition collapsed both the Irish and Scotch import markets.
When the market reopened after prohibition the Irish distilling industry was undercapitalised, which meant it lacked resources to rebuild its dominance over Scotch in the US market. A trade war with Britain meant that the Irish industry had poor access to the distribution routes between Europe and North America. Plus, tastes had moved in favour of smoother blended whiskeys rather than single malt product that dominated the Irish industry. The result was that Scotch came to dominate the imported whiskey market. Irish whiskey didn’t start to rebuild market share until the 1980s. Current market share is roughly 40% bourbon/rye; 30% Scotch; 25% Irish.
Bourbon is very much an American drink, and I do tend to associate it with the US south. Personally, I drink neither bourbon nor whisky. Sometime in my late teens, I got very, very drunk at a party on Canadian Club whisky. Very drunk. To the point that I probablydefinitely should have been hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, and it took me literally days to recover. This was closer to a near-death experience that any conventional hangover.
It’s amazing how these subliminal memories linger. To this day I dislike any form of whisky or anything similar. Yes, I can still enjoy a really good scotch, but not too much of it. I’ll take it and enjoy it if offered, but I never buy it for myself.
In terms of hard alcohol, I’ve long held the opposite preference – clear liquors like vodka and occasionally gin, and amber rum which, although it resembles whisky, is an entirely different beast.
Agree. During my college years, I had a head-on collision with a bottle of tequila. The last thing I remember was falling down a flight of stairs, and the next morning I awoke underneath a pool table covered in vomit. I assumed, but could not verify, it was my own.
More than thirty years later, the smell of tequila still makes me nauseous. I can have it mixed into a blended drink, like a weak margarita, but straight? No chance.
Oh, Lordy. That stuff isn’t dangerous, if enjoyed in moderation and cut with ginger ale, but it’s the farthest thing from a good Canadian whisky that you can get. As such, it gives wicked hangovers.
I had the great good fortune years ago to get to know a Scotsman who introduced me to some of the great single-malts of Scotland. And over the last few years, a friend (who has taken the time to study Kentucky bourbons) has been introducing me to those. So, for me, it’s whatever I feel like at any particular time—right now, in the liquor cabinet, I’ve got two single-malt Scotches, a fine Kentucky bourbon, and an exquisite Canadian that makes Canadian Club resemble paint thinner. None require ginger ale or soda; at most, all each needs a single ice cube.
I prefer whisky over other spirits, and bourbon over Scotch or Irish, but for some reason I don’t care for Scotch unless it is extremely smoky and peaty. So I usually only have a sip of Scotch on very special occasions, because that’s usually the ridiculously expensive stuff.
On the other hand, I’m perfectly happy with low end bourbon. I’ve tried to appreciate all the crazy craft bourbons on the market - frequently if I’m in an establishment that promotes super duper bourbons I ask for a flight that covers a wide range of qualities and prices. I can taste the differences, and SOMETIMES experience a preference among them, but that rarely turns out to be one of the exotics. So I continue to enjoy the cheap stuff.
Hijack - In the Star Trek episode “Spectre of the Gun” (the gunfight at the OK corral) Scotty orders scotch – the bartender says "You know all we have is Bourbon – unless you want corn whisk(e)y.
Isn’t bourbon whisk(e)y made with corn?
Yes, it is, but not all whiskeys made from corn are bourbon. Bourbon must be made in the US; it must be made from a mash that is at least 51% corn; it must be aged in new, charred oak barrels, and there are further requirements about the minimum and maximum permitted alcohol content at variosu points in the distillation, aging and bottling process.
Well, given the (imaginary) time, it was probably made in the US, and probably mostly corn.
I’m guessing chief differentiator is the "corn whisk(e)y isn’t aged – so possibly not a goof. (whether the writers would know that is another question)
Those requirements for bourbon weren’t codified until the 1960s. Not sure of the state of play in late 1800s, but bourbon then probably meant “corn whiskey aged in charred oak barrels - possibly from Bourbon County, KY, but probably not”.
Corn Whiskey is a distinct thing. It doesn’t add sugar to the mash like moonshine. It’s not aged in specially charred barrels either they use new uncharred or used barrels so it tends to be clear or very pale. It’s also aged quickly - almost always less than a year and often much, much shorter than that.
I remember watching a ‘70s sit-com. I think it was Alice. Not sure, but let’s say it was. Alice is sitting with a cowboy next to a campfire. It’s the cowboy’s idea of a date. Be brags about the steaks (I think Alice liked hers, but I don’t remember) and says they’re so good ‘because we age them for weeks.’ Then he gives her some whiskey, which she sprays out immediately. I don’t remember what they cowboy said about the whiskey, but Alice answers, ‘Because you age it for weeks?
Was it Boom Town? Gable and Spencer Tracy are former oil roughnecks now rich, at a hoity-toity party where they’re served Scotch. Tracy says let’s get out of here: I’ve got a jug of good red liquor (meaning bourbon) back at my office!
Teacher’s Pet (1958). Gable is a self-educated newspaper man, and the other guy is a well-educated psychologist (Gig Young) who is co-authoring journalism teacher Doris Day’s book. They meet up at a nightclub. As a ‘big city newspaper editor’ I figured he would drink anything, and is no stranger to scotch. But there was ‘something’ in the way Gable ordered the scotch that made it sound (to my ears) almost as if he was seeking approval. It may have been nothing, but something pinged the thought.
What happened to the blur spoiler?
Summary
I also learned how Gig Young died IRL, but I’m not going to hijack the thread.
It now resides (on my phone anyway) in the drop down menu accessed by the + in a black circle at the right end of the toolbar in the editor. Blur spoiler is the last item in the menu.
My stepfather (and mother) typically drank Scotch back in the ‘70s when I was young (mixed with water or seltzer over ice). So I always thought that it was a sophisticated spirit and tried it numerous times over the years. I really wanted to like it.
Unfortunately, my impression of virtually all Scotch whiskeys was that they were vile, especially the blended ones. Eventually I figured out that I detest the smoky, peaty Scotches, and the blends almost always include some of this.
I have had some single-malt Scotches that are not smoky or peaty, and they were ok. Still not great, but drinkable at least.
Then I discovered bourbon in my 30s. I much prefer a good bourbon over any
Scotch. I typically drink it neat, or with a drop of water, or with a bit of ice.
I will drink Irish whiskey too. Not as good as bourbon, but better than Scotch.
It is, but corn whiskey isn’t aged the same, if at all.
Legal requirements
Corn whiskey is made from a mash of at least 80 percent corn and distilled to a maximum strength of 160 proof (80% alcohol by volume).[2][3]
Unlike other American whiskey styles, corn whiskey is not required to be aged in wood.[2] If aged, it must be in either uncharred or previously used oak barrels and must be barreled at lower than 125 proof (62.5% abv). In contrast, a whiskey distilled from a mash consisting of at least 80% corn in a charred new oak barrel would be considered bourbon.[4][2] Aging is usually brief – six months or less – during which time the whiskey absorbs color and flavor from the barrel while the off-flavors and fusel alcohols are reduced. A variant called straight corn whiskey is also produced, in which the whiskey is stored in used or uncharred new oak containers for two years or more. Whiskeys produced in this manner and aged for at least four years can be designated bottled in bond if they meet additional requirements.
It is distinct from moonshine in that the latter commonly has sugar added to the mash while the former does not.
And speaking of Westerns, when the rugged cowpoke says, “Whiskey, and leave the bottle,” and the barkeep plunks down an unlabeled bottle in front of him, I have to wonder at the quality,
Why? It’s just such a casually-sexist thread title… and needlessly so.
Anyhow, my wife (a female, who drinks scotch but is not posting in this thread) and I switched our drinking habits during the Covid lockdown. I made a proclamation that “From now on, I’m only drinking stuff I like!”
So I gave up trying to appreciate peaty, mossy Scotches (sorry, McAlpine clan ancestors). And stocked up on Kentucky bourbons (and one from Wisconsin… who knew?).
I do appreciate everyone’s tastes here, and the historical perspective … thanks!