Drinks from the past

[CrowsInMyGarden]

When I was growing up my parents hardly drank. My aunt and uncle would come over to our house 3-4 times a year to play cards and would bring a bottle of wine. It would be Blue Nun or Black Tower. My sister who is 9 years older than me brought home a Mateus Rose in the oval bottle, I thought she was so sophisticated.

If there was a special occasion and something fizzy was required then it would be Cava. When did Cava stop being the replacement champagne and Prosecco take over? I think I preferred Cava.

At Christmas there would be a bottle of Martini and a bottle of Cinzano, maybe a Sherry. There would still be half a bottle of each left by the next Christmas. Wouldn't happen in my home now.

I can remember going out with friends in the 80s. My friend used to drink "Bezique, Lime and Soda with ice" I think Bezique was a kind of offshoot of Bacardi that isn't made any more.

Are there other drinks that aren't around anymore that people have fond memories of? I know Cinzano and Martini are still available but back in the day they were THE drinks and have now just faded into the background.

For the non drinkers there was TaB, the first diet coke style drink. Were there any others like this?

We called it a Purple Nasty!

Great memories of the late 80s in the Marine Bar at the American Embassy drinking Peach Wine Coolers. Can you still get them or were they just an American thing?

I used to like cans of Lowenbrau lager when I was a student - I haven't seen that around for ages.

I remember the eight pints in a can. My dad used to buy them when mom and dad used to gave New Year’s Eve parties in the 70’s. We would either be given Cherry B or a glass of woodpecker cider to drink whilst we were in bed. We were only kids at the time and I always thought cider was pop until I got bladdered on it at 17. Other drinks I got drunk on were half lager with lime, babychams, rum and black, Bacardi and coke. I also fondly remember Croft original, I got a bit pissed on that one Christmas at work. Snowballs were another retro drink. My drink in the 80s was vodka and orange. Happy days!😀

Bezique was so easy to drink then bang out of it..cue the reappearance.

I used to drink martini and lemonade in my teens, and thought I was so sophisticated.

i used to drink Malibu and pineapple juice, I know it’s still around but it sounds like something DelBoy would drink!

my dad used to drink light and lager, half light and half lager.

remember snakebite? Half cider and half lager, sometimes with blackcurrant. Was deadly!!!!

I prefer Cava to Prosecco! I also like a cream sherry at Christmas or when the Sunday roast is cooking.

I'm going back to the 60's and 70's. Port and lemon was the drink of choice for many women back then (just ruby port and lemonade with a slice of lemon). It is actually very moreish. Brandy and Babycham was another one, but only if someone else was paying. Cider and black (cider and blackcurrant) was the preferred choice for teenagers, in Bristol anyway. Then there was Cherry B that came in dinky little bottles and was supposed to be a "ladies" drink but was more often used as a chaser to cider or lager by the youf of the day (me included). Likewise Pony (the little drink with the big kick). No Christmas was complete without a snowball (advocaat and lemonade) and if you were really lucky it was topped with a maraschino cherry. Likewise Cinzano and lemonade with ice and lemon was obligatory over the festive season.

Xmas was always Eggnog with a cherry, babysham with a cherry
parents would drink Liebfraumilch on Sunday lunch time. This then changed to Black Tower and Blue Nun

Ah nostalgia

Malibu and Coke
Diamond White
Castaway
Archers and Lemonade
Taboo (so sickly)

Quosh
Dandelion & Burdock
Top Deck

Cava is still easily available

Dandelion and burdock - in Yorkshire mostly

Oh and Liebfraumilch wine!

Earlyish 70s, when I went dancing with my friends at the local discos, we started off with Pony and Cherry B. As we got older it became Cinzano and lemonade, Port and Lemon and I always had either Martini and lemonade or my favourite, Bacardi and Coke.

I still have a Bacardi and Coke if I'm feeling nostalgic as it takes me back to the fab times me and my friends had in the 70s.

At home we had lots of drinks, Southern Comfort being my mum's favourite plus the usual suspects, gin, whisky, brandy and rum, Advocate and wine was Blue Nun or a Piesporter. I didn't really like wine then so didn't drink it.

2 of the drinks you mention are my go to drinks. I'll always choose Cava over Prosecco and I absolutely love Vermouth so always have either Martini & Rossi or Cinzano in!

Rum and Aniseed was a drink me and my Mum used to love at Xmas time.

I used to love Metz when I was in my 20's. It was a fruity schnapps mix.

I also miss TaB soft drink. I swear TaB clear had an aniseedly flavour. Lovely.

Two dogs
Hooch
Both the same kind of lemony alcopop I used to drink as a teen
Moscow mule (schmirnoff and ginger beer) do they still make this?

Also variants of really strong cider with lemon or orange flavour. Gge cider was diamond white and the lemon one was diamond zest. Got me absolutely plastered when I was 17.

I also remember a strong cider called TNT. 2 of those and I was shit faced.

Anyone else remember 20/20?

Must’ve been a local name (up north) as your description is one I’ve heard more. It really was sick making. Needless to say after the age of 19 I’d learned my lesson!

Southern Comfort and lemonade, in Ritzy of Dunstable. A very classy joint

We had a drinks 'trolley' in the dining room with a variety of things on it. My father drank gin and lime (ugh) and my mother drank gin and French (Noilly Prat). At Christmas she used to make real Champagne cocktails - brandy, angostura bitters on a sugar lump and Champagne.

I also remember a variety of wines - Hirondelle, Chianti, Mateus Rose and good old Muscadet, which is still one of my favourites! I remember it being 55p a bottle from Peter Dominic!

Have we had Bols Parfait Amour yet? I remember the bar at uni used to do promos on it, because no one ever drunk the stuff if it wasn't on promo. Floral purple poison. Blue bols was also toxic but slightly less gross than the purple stuff.

Very fond memories of Diamond White! Drunk through a straw for an extra kick. That stuff was rocket fuel and no Friday night was complete without it. Oooooh, I do sometimes wish I was young again and out on a wild Friday night, where anything could & usually would happen, that started with Diamond White through a straw.

I had a very snazzy 80s promotional t-shirt from Volari. No idea what that stuff was, but the t-shirt was definitely over-selling the drink.

@TheDogsMother I remember the little brown bottle of evil barley liquid. I couldn't stand it myself but had a friend who loved it. Makes me shudder recalling it 30 odd years later.

Blimey...yes a few have mentioned Diamond White.
How the hell i used to drink 6 plus bottles not that on a night out in my youth ill never know. It was vile. Like neat vinegar.
I think if I was given a bottle of Diamond White in one hand and a bottle of Sarsons Malt Vinegar in the other today , I'd be more tempted by the Sarsons.

Taboo
Peach Concorde
Lambrini
Diamond White

Bacardi also used to do a nice spiced rum, it was a little sweeter and had a vanilla taste to it, my younger taste buds preferred it to Captain Morgan's. They discontinued it at some point.

Another one has come back to me- Midori! Melon flavoured. One bar I worked in had Midori lollipops for sale that nobody ever wanted.

People used to drink vodka and lime - vodka with lime cordial, Vodka and orange was vodka and orange cordial. Awful

Whisky Mac

Lager and Lime

My parents drank Freezomint Creme de Menthe occasionally. The bottle lasted from about 1970 until they died 5 years ago, so very occasionally, which as it tasted like liquid toothpaste was perhaps not surprising

I remember when Mad Dog 20:20 first came out. Most of us students eyed it with deep suspicion!