A long-standing tradition for whiskey at Christmas-time was carried over to America by the immigrants that settled here. Whether it was mulled with spices, poured over cakes, baked into foods, whiskey was always a part of celebration…along with any other group related activity, if we’re being honest. “Christmas whiskey” became a part of American tradition, and advertisers latched on to its popularity.
This article from 1947 may be a negative take on partaking in whiskey at Christmas, but it alludes to the state of the whiskey industry in the mid-1940s and how it affected the consumer opinion of what American whiskey had become.
(The main image for this post is an ad from 1946 showing some popular brands for sale as “Christmas whiskey”.
It brags about “bonded whiskey” but lists mostly blends.)