LIFE - Xmas 1956 <Hiccup!>

As a gift for my brother, I found a LIFE Magazine from the day he was born, December 17, 1956. Leafing through it, I found history: Woodrow Wilson's final days as President, a firsthand account of Pearl Harbor; and current events: the Hungarian Uprising and the Middle East conflict, as well as a reverent essay on the meaning of Christian sacraments. The most arresting pages were devoted not to these weighty matters, but to that perennial problem, Which Whiskey to Give for Christmas. I thought it would be fun to share the pics and some of the ad strategies. (Sorry for the blurry shots!)

For Him :

4 Roses 3 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

For Her:

Four Roses 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

For The Unattached:

4 Roses 4 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

For the Elegant:

Schenley 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Four Roses 2 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

For the Important:

Seagrams 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

For the Discriminating:

Canadian Club 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Ancient Age 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

And my two favorites (a tossup!)

For the Ultra-Hip (bottle designed by none other than Raymond Loewy!):

Old Forester 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

and the Sentimental:

Old Crow - Tradition? by Josephine2004, on Flickr

Say, isn't that Betty Draper?

Betty Draper 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

And what is Don doing here with Roger Sterling and Pete Campbell? They must be deep into the Early Times. . .

Early Times 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

maybe they're pitching the Alka Seltzer account?

Plop plop fizz fizz 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

Fascinating stuff, thank you!

As I scrolled along I was thinking to myself "those were the days" and "do they still make that?" It turns out they mostly do. Some comments & info I found, to help others with their holiday gift giving decisions:

Four Roses - 2011 American Distiller of the Year, Whisky Magazine They make a lot of different varieties, the small batch/ltd. edition ones seem to be quite well thought of.

Ancient Age - 9.1 out of 10, sourmashmanifesto.com

Old Forester (Signature) - "At its price point it is one of the greatest values in the world of whisky" cocktails.about.com

Old Crow - [in a side-by-side test:] "I preferred Wild Turkey by .00001 percent" drinks.seriouseats.com

Early Times - "surprisingly drinkable for the money" spiritsreview.com

Josephine wrote:For the Ultra-Hip (Bottle Designed by none other than Raymond Loewy!):

Great ads! I think Raymond Loewy designed a special Old Forester holiday bottle every year during the mid-1950s. My favorite might be this pedestal decanter. It would look great on a holiday table next to a pickle tree, don't you think?

Roger Ramjet wrote:Fascinating stuff, thank you!

You're most welcome! Glad you enjoy this stuff.

Roger Ramjet wrote:Early Times - "surprisingly drinkable for the money" spiritsreview.com

Reminds me of that Schaefer jingle from the '80's: "Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one."

Rene G wrote: My favorite might be this pedestal decanter.

That is a lovely decanter. I can see why someone held onto it. How much was it going for?

Rene G wrote: It would look great on a holiday table next to a pickle tree, don't you think?

Thanks for the setup, Rene G. You are a great straight man. Here it is:

Pickle Tree 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

(I think you should also let readers in on your recent pickle tree discovery. Who knows, they might be "pickle hungry.")

Don't exclude those who might prefer a brew to a shot:


Hamm's 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

And don't forget the butts!

Lucky Strike Xmas by Josephine2004, on Flickr

Watch Santa and the Mrs. light up!


Zippo 1956 by Josephine2004, on Flickr

Love it. Those old ads are really classics.

I miss those Hamm's " from the sky blue waters" TV ad and bar lighted signs!

My understanding is that the Four Roses name had been sold, the quality of the whiskey went way down, and now the owners are working to establish it as a viable drink again.

Enjoyed the Betty Draper with neighborhood boy shot (I saw that episode).

David Hammond wrote:My understanding is that the Four Roses name had been sold, the quality of the whiskey went way down, and now the owners are working to establish it as a viable drink again.

Enjoyed the Betty Draper with neighborhood boy shot (I saw that episode).

Wouldn't be surprised, there's been lots of merging & acquiring in the spirits biz since those days. But 4R apparently has recovered as of 2011, going by the accolade from Whisky Magazine (whose existence I had not been aware of).

Speaking of Mad Men days, I remember a long-ago bit in Mad magazine about how popular brand names came about. One sequence had a group of ad men sitting around the cocktail table chez one of them, getting sloshed while brainstorming a name for a new whiskey:

"Tastes as smooth as a rose?"
"Smooth as two roses ..."
"Three rosesh!"
"ShevenTEEN Roshesh!!!"
Finally the wife has had enough & throws them all out, leading to the plot twist punch line ...


"Why, she's just a mean old crow! ... Shaaay ..."


(accuracy of dialog reconstruction not guaranteed)

Great pics Josephine.

As to Four Roses thanks should be given to Kirin for the rescue of it that took 60 years. Four Roses was the top selling straight bourbon when Seagrams bought it in 1943. They quickly discontinued it for domestic purchase as a straight bourbon and turned it into whiskey flavored vodka...a blend, and a bad one, a "B" blend at 65% grain neutral spirit that came known as true rotgut. They continued to export the straight bourbon to Japan where it continued as the leading straight bourbon. Seagrams eventually imploded in the 90's when they went into the movie business and Kirin finally acquired it from Diageo in February 2002. Jim Rutledge, master distiller, was allowed to recall all the rotgut from shelves and start up the slow process of reintroducing the staight bourbon to America...first Kentucky in 2007, then Chicago and now most of the country. If your still chasing Pappy you ought to stay ahead of the curve, start learning about and chasing Four Roses. Many of the experts put the limited edition 2012 small batch release as the best whiskey of this year.

Also here is an excellent video of another famous designer, Walter Landor and his work on Old Fitzgerald/Stitzel Weller decanters in the '60s. http://vimeo.com/12861872