Whiskey, as well as alcohol in general, being used for its medicinal properties is nothing new. In fact, alcohol was believed to help heal various ailments and diseases of the body for millennia. And even now there is a lot of medical research studies confirming multiple and various health benefits of moderate whiskey/alcohol consumption. However, what exactly is “medicinal whiskey?”
To understand where this term originated, we have to go back to 1919. This was the year the Volstead Act was passed, clearing the way for Prohibition. Starting in 1920, the 18th Amendment made it illegal for anyone to produce, distribute or sell alcohol. Everyone, except certain medical providers. Doctors, dentists, and even veterinarians, could write patients a prescription (from a federal government issued pad) for whiskey-alcohol to help a number of illnesses. Just like today, the patient took the prescription to the pharmacy where the pharmacist would then fill it and dispense the whiskey-alcohol as the doctor ordered. So, during Prohibition, the only way a person could acquire whiskey-alcohol was from their physician, thus the term – “medicinal whiskey.”