Christmas in the Sixties and Seventies meant drinks iny parents house. Lots of festive drinks.
As a kid I stuck to my usual beverages: Tizer, dandelion and burdock, sarsaparilla and lemonade float. Some cola too, preferably Pepsi even though Santa seemed to promote Coke.
The adults, my parents and their friends, on the other hand, imbibed in all things Yule. This was the great generation who fought World War Two. They'd lost their youth over those dark five years and needed to party.
Beer was served from small metal barrels with taps hammered in. Watneys Party Four was a favourite. Bottled beers too, with scre in tops, in wooden crates: Mackison, Pale Ale, bitter, Newcastle Brown and Guinness. I don't recall lager back then.
For the ladies was a whole bar full of bottled delights: Sandemans Sherry for the daytime tipples, Cherry B and Babycham ( in labelled glasses) for the early evening and then came the snowballs.
Snowballs were either mixed by hand using Warnings advocat and lemonade or straight from a small green bottle. I think we had labelled Snowball glasses too for the occasion. It's a festive treat I like myself nowadays.
Hard liquor like Bells Whisky, Gordons Gin and Brandy came out later. Mixers where Canada Dry and Schweppes Tonic Water in small bottles. I adored Canada Dry and grabbed a bottle off the drinks table whenever I could!
I don't recall wine being drunk at all but that maybe just my memory playing up. There must have been wine in the UK in the Sixties.
Whatever the case, for my folks, having just turned 40, Christmas 1960 onwards was a decade for making merry. Everyone had a job, the kids were OK, the big family was round and Santa's sack was bulging.
What more could you want.
Which festive drinks do you recall readers?
Sherry - usually Emva Cream (cheaper than Harvey's BC presumably)
ReplyDeleteThe hard stuff - Martells brandy, Bells Whisky
No wine until the 1970's that I recall (in the early 70's Lutomer Laski Riesling, then later Blue Nun)
For us kids-Corona lemonade/cherryade (we did get to drink some of the Canada Dry too!)
I'm trying to remember which beer/lager we had (shandies for us kids, slurp), but maybe that was 1970's too.
Emva cream, don't remember that. I recall Sandemans, whatever that was. Martell, yes, it always makes me think of log fires and mistletoe, don't know why - could be old Xmas card illustrations! I must have had Corona too, I just don't recall the brand. God, cherryade, yep and my number one ade, American Cream Soda. I could have bathed in the stuff!
DeleteMy dad used to own a tavern during the War Years and our house always had beer and booze! My dad wasn't a big drinker but he kept a well-stocked pantry for guests. I s'pose the adults had their special drinks (screwdrivers, Old Fashions, martini's maybe) but - being a kid - I wasn't allowed to partake. However, for the holidays he ALWAYS bought a bottle of Mogen-David red wine and even us kids were allowed to have a small glass - sitting at our own table set-up away from the main table where the grown-ups ate.
ReplyDeleteA great and poignant memory Ed. Thanks. You have a great memory too!
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