Pre-War Scotch

Silly question coming.

When Philip Tattaglia offers Luca a scotch, he goes out of his way to mention that it's pre-war. Was pre-war scotch that rare by 1945?

I know Turnbull loves questions about WWII rationing, so I'm sure to get an answer from him .

You know your man, PB.

Luca should have smelled a rat when Philip Tattaglia offered him some Scotch--"prewar." The fact is, the only Scotch available in late 1945 would be from prewar stocks. Scotch, like all brown spirits, gets its color and mellowness from wood ageing. The first Scotch made after the end of WWII wouldn't hit America for at least three to five years, if not more.

He probably said that to Luca to impress him (and FFC tried to impress us). Another little fact: unlike wine, spirits do not improve in the bottle--only in the cask before bottling. Their higher alcohol content stabilizes the maturing process once they're in glass. So, even if Tatt had offered Luca a drink of Scotch from a bottle that his father broght over in 1910, it'd taste the same in '45 as it did in '10.

That's what I assumed, TB. It's like he was trying to show off or something. But common sense would dictate that, even if the aging process was only three or four years, it would STILL be "prewar."

Great answer, by the way .

I think Tatt Jr. got scotch mixed up with co-op apartments, which still carry a "pre-war" cache. Besides, Luca did not drink, so the point is moot.

To me it looks like FFC wanted to incorporate one more thing from his childhood - people talking all the time about the good quality of pre-war stuff. But applying it to scotch is obviously nonsense. I don't think that FFC wanted to use this phrase to make Bruno look foolish. I mean, Bruno ran lots of bars. He must have known how to praise Scotch properly.

Great info on Scotch TB. Thanks.

Sorry to take this thread in a little different direction, but since it's on the subject of this scene, I would like like to express my disappointment of it. This scene has always bothered me.

How does Luca let himself be garroted (is that a word?)by Tattaglia's or Sollozzo's enforcer? I mean, Luca was supposed to be the best/most cunning etc etc hit man. How can Bruno while reaching over the bar, hold down his left arm while Virgil plunges down with a knife through the right, while someone else sneaks behind him with the garrote? I just don't see it happening for real. Come on, my reflexes are better than that. Please give me some opinions on why/how this could have really happened.

He was there for a meeting, not a confrontation. It's all pretty straight forward. Someone grabbed his arm and he was attacked from behind.

Luca was slippin'.

Three guys against one. And Sollozzo was cunning too and known to be good with the knife.
After the pre-war scotch thing he was expecting to be talked into something odd. So, his focus was not to be too obvious. Luca played his part well.

The obvious answer is directoral (and authoral) license--made for a good scene in the film and the novel. But, as others have noted, the element of surprise was the major factor. Plus, Bruno Tattaglia didn't have to hold Luca's hand down in a struggle--just long enough for one of the guys to stick a knife in it. The shock and pain of that prevented Luca from shrugging off the garrote, which he might easily have done otherwise. I found it credible in its own way.

If you look closely: Bruno holds Luca's left hand (with both hands). Sollozzo sticks his knife into the right hand. So Luca didn't have a free hand to fight back, to draw a hidden gun, a knife or do anything unexpected.

It was almost 1946, and since the War ended earlier in the year, there could have been a batch of scotch made after the war that was fermenting during the war. Perhaps because of food shortages or the war effort the quality of ingredients in the newest batch of scotch was inferior.

Scotch, like all brown whiskies, must spend several years in cask to smooth out the roughness from the distillation process and to give it color--otherwise it'd be like "white lightning."

Also, the UK banned distilling during WWII and severely rationed barley--the main grain for making Scotch--betweeen 1945 and 1950. I'm pretty sure it had to be "pre-war."

Pre-war Scotch - it's another neat little tidbit about WWII Puzo put in... just like the wooden bumpers on Clemenza's new automobile.