Monday, January 13, 2025

Old West Treatment For Colds & Flu -- Rock & Rye Whiskey


So, let's talk about my Grandfather. He was a great believer in whiskey as a remedy for Colds and the Flu. He was especially a fan of Rock & Rye Whiskey for what ails you. He used to say that you should only buy the Rock & Rye Whiskey that had the piece of orange in the bottle. 

So what is Rock & Rye Whiskey? It is a blend of rye whiskey and rock candy (crystallized sugar) with added citrus. It's all very medicinal -- at least that's what people have been saying for more than 150 years. 

According to a website that professes to know everything about Rock & Rye Whiskey, Everything You Need to Know About Rock and Rye, they report:

Oddly enough, rock and rye's first role was as medicine. By the late 1870s, virtually every pharmacy in the nation was stocking their shelves with some proprietary recipe, often promoted as a sort of cough syrup. As a medicine, rock and rye was taxed at a lower rate than liquor, adding to the potential profit. In 1883, the drink was finally reclassified as a distilled spirit. According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau definition, rock and rye has a minimum 25.5% alcohol by volume, must be made with rye, straight rye, or whiskey distilled from a rye mash, and contain either rock candy or sugar syrup. The addition of fruit, fruit juices, or other natural flavoring is allowed, but optional.

Even after it became classified as a distilled spirit, rock and rye's pursuit of pharmacopeia persisted. An 1891 advertisement for Tolu rock and rye in Chicago promoted its use "for coughs, colds, sore throat, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, consumption and all diseases of the throat, chest and lungs." In some cases, "women's issues" and cancer were added for good measure. To prop up such outlandish proclamations, a cornucopia of exotic ingredients made its way into rock and ryes at the turn of the century. Additives like cloves, balsam, and horehound were meant to evoke medicinal properties. While its medicinal claims were dubious at best, the sweet and potent amalgamation earned devotees.

So, was my Grandpa right? Well, there's no doubt that my Grandpa's attitude about Rock & Rye Whiskey being the cure-all for what ails you may have been a holdover from years past. But, I have to tell you that it wasn't just his opinion back in the day. 

Yes, I, myself, witnessed several men visiting my Grandpa's bar and taking a shot or two of Rock & Rye Whiskey to kill the Cold and Flu bug. I remember them walking out feeling better than they walked in. Of course, some had to take a little more of the cure than others. But really, that goes along with anything.

Did it work? Well, none of them died. So yes, I gather it must have.

Tom Correa



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