Drinking whiskey for medicinal purposes in old-time, and modern Phoenix

I'm not really a drinking man, but I keep some beer in the 'fridge in case friends stop by, and I keep a bottle of whiskey in the pantry for medicinal purposes, the way that people have done going back many, many generations. To our modern eyes the phrase "for medicinal purposes" seems ridiculous, and there seems to be a "smile and a wink" to the phrase, but it was a real thing, and it still is for some people, like me. It does require a bit of time-traveling to understand, so let's go.

I've set the wayback machine to 1911, when this ad appeared in the Phoenix newspapers. And yes, physicians often did prescribe whiskey. But not in the way that we think of how people drink hard liquor nowadays. If the first thing that springs to mind for you is frat houses slamming shots, or drunks passing out on the sidewalk, I really can't blame you, but whiskey really was something that people used in time of sickness, often to comfort.

Now let's be clear here on what type of whiskey I mean. This would be ordinary, made from corn and aged in oak barrels whiskey, nothing fancy, and definitely not from Scotland (which Americans call "Scotch" anyway). This isn't fancy, expensive stuff served in crystal glasses, this is something that sat on the shelf and was taken as needed, like cod liver oil. 

And while there was no chance of overdosing on cod liver oil, there was (and is) a very good chance of overdosing on whiskey, and people who were using it for medicinal purposes knew that. Getting blind drunk on whiskey wasn't what it was for, it was to comfort you as you waited for the bullet wound in your shoulder to heal, that sort of thing.

So don't be surprised to find a bottle of whiskey among the other medicines that you might find at grandma's house in 1911. Medicinal purposes only!

Thank you for the encouragement! If you want to see daily pics of my adventures on my recumbent trike in suburban Phoenix (just for fun, of course!) you can follow me on buymeacoffee.com/bradhall, and you can buy me a coffee if you'd like to!

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