Old Log Cabin Whiskey Ads – Feb. 1950

Gee, this is turning out to be a pretty boozy week here on the blog. Oh well, (hic!) let’s get to it.

Back in February 1950, the Lorain Journal was still a drinking man’s newspaper. I’ve mentioned before how the paper back then was full of ads for hard liquor every day.

The brand whose advertising appealed to me the most was Old Log Cabin Whiskey. (I wrote about it before, back here, as well as here.)

The ads were both charming and manly. Here’s one that ran in the Journal on February 3, 1950.

I love the typography, as well as the imagery. The log cabin in the ad is a great symbol, depicting a cozy, comfortable refuge from the cold.

The same feeling is being evoked in this ad (below), which ran in the paper four days later on February 7, 1950. A slightly different layout, but the message is the same.

Seventy years later, today’s whiskey drinkers seem to have gone soft – or elitist. You can buy whiskeys flavored with exotic flavors such as cinnamon, apple, honey, peach and even peanut butter (yuck). (The honey flavor sounds good, though.)

But Old Log Cabin is still around for those flannel-shirt wearing men who smoke pipes, chop their own wood and prefer to drink alone in their woodland refuge.

Courtesy Batch 206 Distillery

Here’s the link to the website for Batch 206 Distillery, the current makers of Old Log Cabin.