Magic Whiskey
The only time I saw hard liquor in the house when I was growing up was at Christmastime. There were no bars that sold mixed drinks in my hometown in the early 1950s. Only Honkytonks that served beer. You couldn't even buy hard liquor or wine in my hometown. Anyone wanting any had to go to a small town about fifteen miles away. About two weeks before Christmas, we'd all get in the car and head to the liquor store. They were called "package stores" back then. Dad would go in and get three or 4 fifths of whiskey, usually "Old Crow" and a big bottle of Mogen David wine. The wine was for my Mom. It was always Mogen David. I guess that was the only wine my Mom knew, or maybe the only brand the store had. This would be the base of Christmas "cheer". And this would become the grownups little "sin" None of my relatives drank hard liquor during the rest of the year, but at Christmastime, they got "off the wagon". My Dad owned a small grocery store and knew all his customers, so a bottle of "Old Crow" went with him to the store the week before Christmas. This was the era of six ounce soft drinks. Perfect for a little "cheer". When a customer would come in in the afternoon or early evening and my Dad knew which ones they were, he'd ask them if they'd like a little Christmas cheer. The customers knew what he meant and would go to the soft drink box and get either a Coke or 7-Up. On the way back to the meat market where my Dad worked, they'd take one or two sips out of the drink. Then, they'd hand it to Dad and he'd take it back behind the market and top it off with whiskey. The customer would turn it upside down a couple of times to mix it. It got really funny for us kids at the family Christmas party. An aunt or uncle would come in and Dad asked they wanted a little Christmas cheer. They'd get a silly grin on their face and say yes and go to the kitchen with Dad. Even though it was in our house, it was never poured in a glass! Always in the drink bottle. If they wanted eggnog, they were asked if they wanted a little "nogg" in it. "Nogg" was a bit of Old Crow. After a while, the grownups would get a little silly,,grinning and nudging each other,,and talking loud. We kids could have eggnog and at the time, there was so much vanilla extract in it that we got a little buzz. My Mom had a little tradition. She would drink the wine while she was making Christmas dinner. Outside of the beer that was always in the house, it was the only alcohol she drank.
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