Can anybody here describe what the scent of the truly vintage Aqua Velva was like? I've seen the ads that show the amber juice--did it smell anything like the current version?
Vintage Williams Aqua Velva: What's it like?
- Thread starter The Nid Hog
- Start date
Hopefully someone can answer this, as I have pondered this also.
I hear it was a great mouthwash and, in a pinch, a great cocktail.
It's been described as a lighter, citrus scent, IIRC.
I can't find the article that claimed this, but Clubman Rob says the the old and new are similar...
I can't find the article that claimed this, but Clubman Rob says the the old and new are similar...
In a nutshell...
Aqua Velva was introduced in 1929 as a mouthwash/hair tonic/aftershave, and a couple of years later it was marketed strictly as an aftershave. The original formula was a brownish/amber colored liquid and from what I can tell, it smells almost exactly like the Ice Blue we have today, give or take a couple of off notes. Williams got the contract to supply the US government with AV during WWII where it found its way into most soldiers Dopp kits. Because it was the only form of alcohol readily available to most of the boys in the trenches, it was pretty popular as a spirit.
To discourage this behavior, Uncle Sam pressured Williams into mixing the formula into something a little less desirable as a drink, so Williams added a bittering agent and changed the color to something similar to the Blue we have now. Rumors that the new batch was poisonous were spread in order to discourage drinking by our armed forces.
In the mid 50's Williams tired of manufacturing two different blends of AV- one for civilians and one for soldiers- so it was decided that they would trim their production to the "blue" AV. Instead of explaining this to the consumers of the day, (cue Don Draper) it was decided that a new ad campaign triumphing the Ice Blue as a new product would make more sense. So, in '55 or '56 the Ice Blue was in and the Brown was out. Soon AV was available in all types of different flavors, including Sport and Musk which are still manufactured today.
It's stayed pretty remarkably true to its roots for the most part. In the late eighties, amid slagging sales, Williams decided to stop making the original formula Ice Blue and to try marketing their Euro blend (which was cheaper to make) and it damn near put them into bankruptcy. The Original came back with a warm welcome.
Not much to add, except for that embarrassing lapse in judgment earlier this year where they were considering putting Aqua Velva in plastic bottles, until we here at B&B flooded their offices with complaints and hate mail. I think that's a moment in AV history that Williams/Combe would rather forget, though.
At the Safeway stores here in So. Oregon, AV is in plastic bottles.
That's a more recent development than what is covered in Rob's post, which he made back last summer or early fall. The switch to plastic only happened within the last month or so. Basically, AV was going to move to plastic, there was a backlash, and they reconsidered - then they went ahead and did it anyway.
Ingredients:
1 oz vodka
1 oz gin
1 oz Blue Curacao
topped with sprite and ice.
Mix together and serve with an umbrella.
1 oz vodka
1 oz gin
1 oz Blue Curacao
topped with sprite and ice.
Mix together and serve with an umbrella.
