{{Short description|Fortified wine brand}}{{Not to be confused with|Cisco Brewers}}{{Infobox beverage | distributor = Canandaigua Wine Company | introduced = 1985 | abv = 20 | proof = 40 | type = Flavored fortified wine | name = Cisco | region = United States }}
'''Cisco''' is an American brand of flavored fortified wine produced by Canandaigua Wine Company. It is produced in a variety of fruit flavors and is known for its high alcohol content.
In 1991, the brand was criticized for allegedly deceptive marketing that presented the 20% alcohol by volume (ABV) wine as being comparable to low-alcohol content beverages like wine coolers (4% ABV by average).<ref name=":2"/> The Canandaigua Wine Company changed Cisco's branding and packaging in 1991 after the Federal Trade Commission launched a complaint against the company.
== Description == Cisco is a dessert wine<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pE8sAQAAMAAJ&q=cisco |title=Wine & Spirit International |date=July 1994 |publisher=Evro Publishing Company |pages=50–55 |language=en}}</ref> fortified with grape brandy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beauchamp |first=Tom L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0EFEAAAAYAAJ&q=cisco+wine |title=Case Studies in Business, Society, and Ethics |date=2004 |publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall |isbn=978-0-13-099435-6 |pages=169–174 |language=en}}</ref> It has been produced in a variety of fruit flavors including "red", "orange", "peach", "berry", "gold",<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Cross |first=Huntley J. |date=1990-11-25 |title=FORTIFIED WINE: FIVE FLAVORS OF DANGER 'LIQUID CRACK' |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1990/11/25/fortified-wine-five-flavors-of-danger-liquid-crack/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Baltimore Sun |language=en-US}}</ref> "black cherry", "blue raspberry" and "strawberry".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Scott C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANm5BgAAQBAJ&dq=cisco+wine+discontinued&pg=PA1404 |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives |date=2014-12-16 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4833-3108-9 |pages=1404 |language=en}}</ref> Journalist Julia Flynn Siler wrote that Cisco was "a syrupy hooch that has been described as tasting like fruit-flavored Robitussin mixed with liquid Jell-O and two-hundred-proof vodka."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Siler |first=Julia Flynn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9nRA4JL3aZQC&dq=cisco+wine&pg=PA332 |title=The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty |date=2007 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-59240-259-5 |pages=332 |language=en}}</ref> A 2015 review of strawberry Cisco by Andy Kryza of ''Thrillist'' described it as having "the consistency of watered-down cough syrup and sugar, but none of the flavor of traditional sizurp."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kryza |first=Andy |date=2014-01-10 |title=Ranking the Top-5 Bum Wines, From Thunderbird to Mad Dog 20/20 |url=https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/bum-wine-comparing-wild-irish-rose-thunderbird-cisco-wine-and-others |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Thrillist |language=en}}</ref>
The wine contained 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). By comparison, wine coolers had only 4% ABV on average.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Ap |date=1991-01-10 |title=Surgeon General Calls Potent Wine a Threat |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/10/us/surgeon-general-calls-potent-wine-a-threat.html |access-date=2023-12-26 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Consumption of Cisco was reported to result in effects such as combative behavior, hallucinations and loss of consciousness.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beauchamp |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vG1sasahUcYC&q=cisco+wine+discontinued |title=Ethical Theory Bus Uni Phoened (a1) |last2=Bowie |date=August 1999 |publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall |isbn=978-0-13-016715-6 |pages=478 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Because of its strength, it was colloquially known as "liquid crack".<ref>{{Cite web |date=1991-01-09 |title=BAN ON CISCO WINE URGED |url=https://greensboro.com/ban-on-cisco-wine-urged/article_8694d3dd-5c21-525b-9098-f0c409d1da9c.html |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Greensboro News and Record |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Walsh-Childers |first=Kim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpeiDQAAQBAJ&dq=cisco+wine&pg=PT336 |title=Mass Media and Health: Examining Media Impact on Individuals and the Health Environment |date=2016-12-01 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-40690-7 |language=en}}</ref>
== Marketing == Canandaigua used the slogan "Takes you by surprise!" for Cisco, and it was primarily marketed towards low-income communities and African-American consumers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Cross |first=Huntley J. |date=1991-01-06 |title=CISCO WINE IS FULL OF SURPRISES, ALCOHOL OFFICIALS SAYS |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/01/06/cisco-wine-is-full-of-surprises-alcohol-officials-says/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Baltimore Sun |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xXxNAQAAIAAJ&q=cisco+wine+rap |title=African-American law & policy report |date=1997 |pages=298 |language=en}}</ref> Despite its strength, 12oz/ 375ml bottles of Cisco were marketed to consumers as single serving beverages prior to 1991.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The maker of Cisco, a flavored wine product with... - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/03/12/The-maker-of-Cisco-a-flavored-wine-product-with/7934668754000/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> Bottles of Cisco were also commonly stocked next to low alcohol content wine coolers in stores.<ref>{{Cite news |title=CISCO WINE TO GET NEW PACKAGING |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/02/09/cisco-wine-to-get-new-packaging/1647bfaf-e3ba-44ff-af08-b02aeeeabfd5/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> A 1995 survey found that 36% of high school students were unsure whether Cisco contained alcohol, and more than half did not realize it contained more alcohol than beer or malt liquor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Company |first=DIANE Publishing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KegIvmAOCXUC&dq=cisco+wine&pg=PA29 |title=Youth and Alcohol: A National Survey, Drinking Habits, Access, Attitudes, and Knowledge |date=1995 |publisher=DIANE Publishing |isbn=978-0-7881-2412-9 |pages=1–14 |language=en}}</ref>
== History == Cisco was introduced in 1985,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sun |first=Baltimore |date=1990-12-30 |title=LET'S SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON CISCO WINE |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1990/12/30/lets-set-the-record-straight-on-cisco-wine/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Baltimore Sun |language=en-US}}</ref> and the brand was acquired by the Canandaigua Wine Company in 1988.<ref name=":1" /> The drink was popular among teenagers due to its inexpensiveness<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jurkiewicz |first1=Carole L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glbBW4bN-P0C&dq=cisco+wine+discontinued&pg=PA129 |title=Social and Economic Control of Alcohol: The 21st Amendment in the 21st Century |last2=Painter |first2=Murphy J. |date=2007-11-14 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4200-5464-4 |pages=129 |language=en}}</ref> and selection of flavors.<ref name=":5" /> A 375-milliliter bottle cost $1.50 in 1990, while a 750-milliliter bottle cost $2.50.<ref name=":4" />
In 1991, Cisco consumption was linked to multiple cases of alcohol poisoning in teenagers, with the Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C. reporting that 10 out of the 15 cases of adolescent alcoholism treated there had involved Cisco. Cisco consumption was also partly blamed by the media for an incident in which teenagers threw rocks from an overpass on the Capital Beltway onto traffic below.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Albright |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=krgkAQAAMAAJ&q=cisco |title=The Divided Highway: Transportation Equity and Violence |date=1996 |publisher=Alliance for Transportation Research |pages=37 |language=en}}</ref>
A public campaign was launched to make retailers stop stocking the wine, and to pressure the company to cease selling Cisco.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Gladwell |first=Malcolm |date=January 10, 1991 |title=SURGEON GENERAL DENOUNCES MARKETING OF POTENT WINE |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/01/10/surgeon-general-denounces-marketing-of-potent-wine/dcc00d22-a3ab-4f42-9007-a4860eff8f93/ |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> Multiple organizations, including the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, the Center for Science in the Public Interest,<ref>{{Cite web |date=1990-09-14 |title=WINE DRINK'S PACKAGING A TRICK, GROUPS WARN |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-09-14-9003170095-story.html |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> the National Alcoholism Council and Mothers Against Drunk Driving were involved in the campaign.<ref>{{Cite web |last=RAEKE |first=CAROLYN RAEKE AND MICHAEL BEEBE, CHARLES ANZALONE AND MICHAEL BEEBE, DAN HERBECK AND MICHAEL BEEBE, GENE WARNER AND MICHAEL BEEBE, JANE KWIATKOWSKI AND MICHAEL BEEBE, JIMMY THOMPSON AND MICHAEL BEEBE, JON R. SORENSEN AND MICHAEL BEEBE, JUAN FORERO AND MICHAEL BEEBE, Michael Beebe, MICHAEL BEEBE AND CAROLYN |date=1991-01-20 |title=DISPUTE FERMENTS OVER ABUSE OF CISCO WINE; CRITICS SAY CANANDAIGUA PRODUCT IS DECEPTIVE, DANGEROUS TO YOUNG |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/dispute-ferments-over-abuse-of-cisco-wine-critics-say-canandaigua-product-is-deceptive-dangerous-to/article_ef02a9b5-5e7d-58b2-8630-c268f72331d3.html |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Buffalo News |language=en}}</ref> In response to the campaign, the convenience store chain 7-Eleven stopped selling Cisco.<ref name=":3" />
Also in 1991, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a complaint against the Canandaigua Wine Company, alleging that the flavor varieties, packaging, and branding of Cisco deceptively resembled low alcohol beverages which could be safely consumed as a single serving.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1991-03-12 |title=CANANDAIGUA WINE CO. AGREES TO ADVERTISING, PACKAGING CHANGES FOR CISCO FORTIFIED WINE TO SETTLE FTC CHARGES |url=http://ftc.gov/opa/predawn/F93/cisco.txt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018104014/http://ftc.gov/opa/predawn/F93/cisco.txt |archive-date=2007-10-18 |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=ftc.gov}}</ref> The chairman of the House Select Committee on Youth<ref>{{Cite web |last=Turner |first=Douglas |date=1991-01-29 |title=HOUSE PANEL CHIEF ASSAILS CANANDAIGUA'S CISCO WINE |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/house-panel-chief-assails-canandaiguas-cisco-wine/article_5070fa34-6a93-5602-92b1-44a137343ba4.html |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Buffalo News |language=en}}</ref> and the Surgeon General of the United States, Antonia Novello, also urged the company to change the marketing and packaging of the wine. The company reached a consent agreement with the FTC that involved them changing the branding of Cisco and no longer marketing it as a single-serving beverage.<ref name=":0" />
=== Drug culture === Cisco has been noted to be popular among some communities of drug users.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Inciardi |first1=James A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=15S7omc91_wC&q=cisco |title=The American Drug Scene |last2=McElrath |first2=Karen |date=2001 |publisher=Roxbury |isbn=978-1-891487-36-1 |pages=108 |language=en}}</ref> A study of homeless intravenous drug users in San Francisco between 1994 and 2006 found that daily alcohol consumption was common among participants, "primarily inexpensive, twelve-ounce bottles of Cisco Berry fortified wine".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Adler |first1=Patricia A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_s_9tfNlfGkC&q=cisco |title=Drugs and the American Dream: An Anthology |last2=Adler |first2=Peter |last3=O'Brien |first3=Patrick K. |date=2012-02-28 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-67027-9 |pages=81 |language=en}}</ref> A 2006 study of ethnic differences between heroin users found that white heroin users tended to supplement their psychoactive substance use with Cisco Berry wine, while African-American heroin users tended to prefer crack cocaine.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barrack |first=Samuel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XdDye1fIyMC&dq=cisco+wine+african+american&pg=PA75 |title=Social Medicine in the 21st Century: Thematic Collection |date=2011 |publisher=iMedPub |isbn=978-1-4610-9613-9 |pages=102 |language=en}}</ref>
== In popular culture == Cisco has been described as being a component of rap culture.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Kenan |first=Randall |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7oF-PkuHQkC&dq=cisco+liquor+rap&pg=PA481 |title=Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century |date=2000-02-22 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-679-73788-9 |pages=481 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Eric |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pl6QYKfy2YAC&dq=cisco+liquor+rap&pg=PA51 |title=Next: Young American Writers on the New Generation |date=1994 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-31191-4 |pages=51 |language=en}}</ref> The drink was frequently referenced in rap lyrics,<ref name=":4" /> and was described by Ice Cube as one of his favorite drinks.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Reynolds |first1=David S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ShkXAQAAMAAJ&q=cisco+wine+rap |title=The Serpent in the Cup: Temperance in American Literature |last2=Rosenthal |first2=Debra J. |date=1997 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |isbn=978-1-55849-081-9 |pages=213 |language=en}}</ref> Uncle Luke's debut solo album ''I Got Shit on My Mind'' (1992) includes the track "Cisco".<ref>{{Citation |title=Luke - I Got S--t on My Mind Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/i-got-s-t-on-my-mind-mw0000273876 |access-date=2024-01-26 |language=en}}</ref>
Paul Beatty noted Cisco's popularity among "white college hepsters at the University of Mercury" and "Aspen-ski-vacation, company car drivin'" black men who wanted to imitate rap culture.<ref name=":7" /> Randall Kenan, in his book ''Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century'', criticized the marketing of Cisco and other alcohol brands towards Black youth as part of rap culture. Kenan wrote that it was "the worst rotgut you could get" and described it as "not like any other liquor".<ref name=":6" />
In his memoir, ''The Blues Man'', Melvyn "Deacon" Jones wrote that the difference between rock and roll musicians and jazz musicians was that "jazz aficionados drink cognac and we drink Cisco wine."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Melvyn "Deacon" |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0r7uKMMFBUEC&dq=cisco+wine&pg=PA13 |title=The Blues Man: 40 Years with the Blues Legends |last2=Jones |first2=Melvyn |date=2008 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=978-1-4343-7571-1 |pages=13 |language=en}}</ref>
== References == <references /> Category:Fortified wine Category:Alcopops Category:Products introduced in 1985