American folk culture: Street wine

As the economic downturn lingers on, people use a variety of strategies to save money wherever possible. From clipping coupons to “staycations”, frugality is the order of the day. Street wines, born of the Great Depression, are an integral part of American folk culture, appearing in many songs, movies and television shows. These beverages, popularly known as hooch, are inexpensive fortified wines that usually include added sugar, colorings and flavorings among their ingredients. They typically contain from 15-20% alcohol by volume, which is a lot of bang for the buck. Let’s take a look at these cultural curiosities. There are five dominant brands in the U.S. market.

Thunderbird, popularly called T-Bird, is a product of EJ Gallo in Modesto, California. The lyrics to a 1950s radio jingle for the brand were: “What’s the word?/ Thunderbird/ How’s it sold?/ Good and cold/ What’s the jive?/ Bird’s alive/ What’s the price?/ Thirty twice”. Another EJ Gallo entry in this market is Night Train Express, usually called simply Night Train. It was Jake Blue’s favorite beverage in the movie The Blues Brothers.

Constellation Brands, one of the largest beverage companies in the world and owners of the Robert Mondavi brand, weighs in with two labels in the street wine market, both of them produced under their subsidiary Centerra Wine Company. Richards Wild Irish Rose, often called Wild I among the cognoscenti, has been on the market since 1954. “Gimme a pint of rosie with a skirt” is a way of ordering the product in a brown paper bag. Cisco, Centerra’s second street brand, initially employed the tag line “Takes you by surprise”. The Federal Trade Commission banned the use of the phrase in 1991.

Another well known product is MD 20/20, frequently referred to as Mad Dog. It’s produced by Mogen David of Westfield, New York, better known for their kosher wines. One of the latest MD 20/20 flavors is Blue Raspberry. Sounds intriguing.

There are other products available in the street wine segment, all of them competitively priced. Buckfast Tonic Wine is produced in Devon, England by Benedictine monks. Bright’s Pale Dry Sherry is popular in Canada. And who can forget the dearly departed Ripple? When all is said and done, however, my personal favorite is Jepson’s Malört, only available in the Chicago market. A quote from their marketing materials says it all:

"Most first-time drinkers of Jeppson Malort reject our liquor. Its strong, sharp taste is not for everyone. Our liquor is rugged and unrelenting (even brutal) to the palate. During almost 60 years of American distribution, we found only 1 out of 49 men will drink Jeppson Malort. During the lifetime of our founder, Carl Jeppson was apt to say, 'My Malort is produced for that unique group of drinkers who disdain light flavor or neutral spirits.'
It is not possible to forget our two-fisted liquor. The taste just lingers and lasts - seemingly forever. The first shot is hard to swallow! PERSERVERE [sic]. Make it past two 'shock-glasses' and with the third you could be ours...forever”.

Now that the weather has warmed up a bit, it just might be time for that road trip to Chicago I’ve been thinking about.