LEHIGHTON, Pa. (WLVT) - The smells of cinnamon, citrus, and whiskey are common in a coal cracker's kitchen this time of year.
Boilo, also known as the coal miner's cure, is shared between family and friends during the holidays. Sean Cantwell, who grew up in Shenandoah, Schuylkill County, makes it in his kitchen. He says everyone in Schuylkill County knows about boilo.
“Oh absolutely, and they will either tell you that their recipe is the best, or they will tell you about their cousin Joe’s," says Cantwell.
Everyone has their own recipe, and some guard theirs closely. One ingredient all boilo makers insist on is Four Queens whiskey- it’s 101 proof- and they use it because it’s got the most bang for the buck. Cantwell says that’s what coal miners in the region always valued.
“Those were hard-working middle class Americans, well, lower middle-class Americans back in the day. And they would use cheap whiskey, but it had to be a good, strong whiskey," said Cantwell.
Four Queens is made by Laird and Co. in New Jersey.
“We have this whiskey that’s sort of a vestige of yesteryear," says Tom Alberico, vice president of sales and marketing at the company. "So once upon a time, before the 50s and 60s, just about all whiskeys were high proof. Ninety proof, 86 proof, gins and vodkas were also very high proof. But in that time, the 50s and 60s, the tendency for consumption went away from higher alcohol and very strong spirits to lighter spirits. This whiskey didn’t go through the transformation. It survived."
He says boilo is the only reason the 101-proof alcohol is still sold, and if liquor stores were closed during the holidays this year due to the pandemic, it might never be available again.