So much so that, according to legend, Joan Crawford was instrumental in introducing vodka into the American drinking habit. Back when women were only allowed a chaste aperitif of sherry. An alcoholic herself, and self-oppressively “ladylike,” she appreciated how vodka satisfied her addiction without the telltale odor.
Her choice if intake was vodka and Pepsi, served in a Sazarac glass (a shot glass the side of a highball glass)
Typo: “size,” not side
When on vacation in Britain and Ireland I was fascinated by how many spirits over there are aged in used bourbon barrels. Scotch and Irish, every distillery tour mentioned this. Some tequilas and rums are also aged in old bourbon barrels, as are some craft beers. Are bourbon makers just really good at selling their used barrels (which can only be used once for bourbon)?
Hehehe, yeah. I grew up thinking I didn’t like whiskey because all my father and grandfather drank was Canadian Club. Blech!
Ranger Creek had a whiskey that they advertised as “Aged for less than six months under the Texas sun.” I wouldn’t call it a great whiskey, but it had developed tons of caramel flavor in that short aging period.
And if anyone wants to try what I think is the best corn whiskey, Balcones’ Baby Blue is pretty great, the True Blue is even better. Apparently the mash bill of both is 100% blue corn.
Well, since other styles of distillates don’t require new charred oak barrels and anyone wanting to brand their whiskey as bourbon has to use them, there’s always a pool of them to be sold. So the other distillers, brewers and wineries are simply taking advantage of the cheap barrel supply.
You also get some flavor from the used barrels, just like you see liquors aged in sherry or port barrels.
That is true, but I wonder how much of that remains the second time they re-use the barrel.
My understanding is that the original contents are infused into the wood fibers and is drawn out during the second aging.
The salt and pepper mash Tabasco pepper sauce is made from is fermented in old bourbon barrels. Before use though, they’re wire-brushed to remove the char then coated with wax inside so they’re just containers, not adding any of the flavors bourbon makers desire.
After the typical three-year fermentation period the barrels are inspected, repaired if needed, and used again. Their cooper estimates most barrels last 15 or 20 cycles but there are some that double that, around 90 years old.
Baby Blue definitely has notes of corn tortilla in there. I like it, but it’s a different beast than say… Mellow Corn or Platte Valley Corn Whiskey (that stuff in the crockery jug).
Sorry, I was unnecessarily vague there. I was meaning the second time the purchaser of the used barrel re-used it. So, technically the third aging for the barrel, second for that owner. I don’t know of any requirement for them to use the second hand barrels only once, and I’d be surprised if no one had tried using them three or four times. In the case of charred oak barrels, I’d think they’d import less of the original spirit and wood to the flavor, but the charcoal would probably still be able to filter the liquor some.
Hmm, never had either of those. Are they smooth and buttery? That’s what keeps me coming back to Baby Blue.
Not to blatantly hijack, but I am a man and I drink Tequila.
Not sure how recently Tequila became a thing outside of Mexico…
Hehehe, it’s been part of Texas since it was part of Mexico. I prefer añejo/extra añejo tequilas, but I’ve been known to drink any of them. Mezcals can be very nice, too.
Who doesn’t like tequila?
Apparently not me, and not @Cervaise, as per up thread, for very similar reasons. I had my ‘never again’ moment with tequila back in February ‘93.
1988 for me. Here we are 37 years later and I still don’t like the stuff.
Nah. It is specifically asking a sociological question. Not what readers here like (although getting those answers). And in the time periods of the question the markets and marketing were definitely driven by male purchasing choices.
Upon reflection, I think my affection for bourbon (and sometimes rye) stems from my enjoyment of Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe stories, so neither upper-class urban nor Southern Gentlemen. LA gutter?
I’m smiling right now at the memory of reading a Calvin and Hobbes panel in which he’s imagining he’s a stereotypical noir gumshoe in a dark, smoky room. It made me get up and pour myself a couple of fingers at the time, and if it weren’t 6am right now I’d do it again.
Agree. @digs’ dig is misplaced.
Further, I will suggest (with no stats to back it up) that the Americans who drink bourbon and scotch today are still overwhelmingly male. With some exception for the recent fad of bourbon-based very sweet cocktails which seem to be gaining favor with the women too.
As to the cultural message, and especially back in the OP’s 1950s, ISTM scotch was what the middle managers up through country club set drank, and bourbon was for the white t-shirt (or even moreso, the white A shirt) backyard BBQ set. The men on King of the Hill or Family Guy would drink bourbon if they weren’t drinking beer.
Adding in that the impetus of the question was further explained as being from a movie and what the character was possibly considering they were signaling with their choice.