THE REAL McCOY While you’re enjoying a glass of Cutty Sark, spare a thought for the poor citizens of 1920’s America who, due to prohibition, were unable to enjoy even a sniff of their favourite tipple without risk of prison. Those who dared flaunt the law could also find themselves reduced to imbibing deadly Wood Alcohol. Manufactured from Saw Dust this dubious drink could cause blindness or even death. And to top it all, it tasted awful. The knowledge that our American cousins were not only risking their lives for the sake of a shot, but also forcibly deprived of a decent whisky must have been a matter of some distress to Berry Brothers and Rudd. In fact one could imagine that, should a consignment of Cutty Sark somehow find it’s way to Nassau in the Bahamas and from there be carried the 175 miles across the Atlantic Ocean into Florida and on to the Speakeasy’s of New York, a blind eye might just be turned. Coincidentally, thanks to a rum runner and soon to be folk hero of Whisky drinkers everywhere, that was exactly what happened. That daring smuggler went by the name of Captain William McCoy. The parched masses of NYC were so overjoyed to be drinking a Whisky that not only wouldn’t kill them but actually tasted pretty darned good, they nick-named Cutty Sark, The Real McCoy. And a phrase was coined.