BY ROY BUCHANAN
Captain Birdseye has English ancestry. Whilst out with a Royal hunting party, a page brought down a hawk in flight with an arrow through the bird’s eye. The Queen was so impressed she nick-named him “Birds Eye.” He adopted the name and in 1915 his descendant, Clarence Birdseye, an American businessman, invented a process of freezing food in small packages suitable for retailing. By the end of the 20th century the ancient mariner who appeared in the TV commercials had become a household name, Captain Birdseye.
One of the founders of an American milling company, Henry D Seymour, struggled to find a catchy name for his product. In an encyclopedia he read about a religious group called the Quakers whose principles included purity. He felt this quality was reflected in his product so he named it Quaker Oats. However, others believe that Seymour’s partner, William Heston, chose the name after he saw a picture of William Penn, the English Quaker, who founded the State of Pennsylvania.
Over coffee and liqueurs makes it appropriate for a Scot to discuss a Scottish liqueur. Following the Jacobite Rebellion, Italian-born Bonnie Prince Charlie deserted the Scots returning to Italy where he died in 1788. He rewarded the man who helped him escape, John Mackinnon, by giving him the recipe of his personal liqueur. The family kept the recipe a secret until 1906 when they decided to produce the liqueur commercially and Drambuie was born. Please excuse me whilst I get political. Bonnie Prince Charlie sought personal aggrandisement. When he failed, he ran away leaving the Scottish people to suffer appalling atrocities at the hands of the English, hence I prefer the other Scottish liqueur, Glayva.
Researching the origins of brand names is enjoyable, enlightening but sometimes disturbing.