Ohio actually has an indirect connection for coining the term: "booze" in reference to alcoholic
or distilled beverages. That link is with Ohio's first presidential son, William
Henry Harrison, the
9th President of the United States.
Harrison's presidential campaign in 1840 really introduced many marketing tactics still used in
contemporary political campaigns. If you grew up in Ohio, you probably heard the phrase: "Old
Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too." This was a phrase the William Harrison's campaign staff put together to remind the
public of the importance Harrison played in forming the country. Tyler was Harrison's running mate,
and of course, "Old Tippecanoe" references Harrison and the role he played in defeating Chief Tecumseh at the famed battle of Tippecanoe Creek in 1811.
So this was a first: having a presidential campaign slogan. In fact, Harrison's campaign was the
first massive campaign in America's election history. He used a variety of techniques so people would
remember him on election day. His supporters flooded America with cups,
plates, flags, and sewing boxes with Old Tippecanoe pictured on them. Another one of those techniques
was using buckeyes to
associate himself with the Ohio frontier.
Now for the Booze Connection. Harrison's critics said William Harrison rather than run for president, would be better off sitting on his log cabin's front porch sipping whisky. Rather than try to fight this picture, Harrison actually put it to his advantage. To make sure everyone knew who to vote for come election day, Harrison handed out bottles of whiskey, made in the shape of log-cabin. The glass bottles were made by the
Whitney Glass Company in New Jersey. The distillery that did the bottling was the E. C. Booz distillery.
As you can imagine, handing out free whiskey was quite popular and created a big stir. Thus came
the term we still use today: "booze!" You can thank William Henry Harrison and his log cabin campaign.