Back in 2009 I posted a scan of a liquor permit dating back to 1964 when alcohol was still legal in Kuwait. But a few days ago a friend of mine sent me a photo of a liquor permit which looks to be in really good condition. Kinda makes me want to find one so I could frame it.
One thing I’ve been trying to find for over a decade now is photos of the Gray Mackenzie liquor stores. Supposedly there was one location in Seef and I’m guessing there were other locations like in Ahmadi but I can’t find a single photo of one anywhere!
Anyway, here is a link to an article in TIME magazine dating back to 1965 talking about how alcohol was banned in Kuwait.
Thanks friend, owe you cookies
Update: A reader just sent me the picture below of a Gray Mackenzie liquor store from back in 1958 when alcohol was still legal. Based on the decorations it looks like it was taken during the Christmas season. This photo is also supposedly of the location opposite Seef. I couldn’t find a higher resolution photo but it’s a start!
40 replies on “Photo of a Liquor Permit – 1964”
Woah!! Memories. My dad had one of these. Would often tell us about Gray MacKenzie & point out the shop as we drove by the area. By then, they had stopped the sale of liquor. Been ages ago. Wish that I could remember the area. Thanks Mark for the memories.
I’m amazed to see a document dating back to 1964, look so pristine with the stamp ink and all! (documents stamped last week start looking aged!) It’s definitely something to frame. Btw, doesn’t KOC have any pictures in their photo archives? From what you have posted earlier, they seem to have a pretty good archive library.
My dad used to talk about the illegal ones on the 4th ring road roundabout aka “duwaar al 3itham” as it was known back then and the little pop ups on the beach that sold mostly beer to kuwaitis. My dad said a lot of people were ofc not literate in english so they couldn’t read the english labels on the bottles and since lagers usually had a low alcoholic percentage and you didn’t usually feel a buzz from a single beer, many were confused and believed beer wasn’t even alcoholic lol so they would drink a few and lay on the beach with a slight buzz every day after work thinking they felt good bc it was the end of the day lmao
Loved reading this! Thanks for sharing.
Thank God this stopped
Alcohol was legal for only a slight period of time during Kuwait history
No need to have drunk car accidents everyday
1) Alcohol is permitted in most parts of the world, there are only a few countries where alcohol isn’t allowed and drunk driving isn’t a leading problem for accidents in most of those countries.
2) Kuwait doesn’t have alcohol but yet has more driving accidents and deaths per capita than a lot of countries where alcohol is allowed.
3) Kuwait’s high number of accidents isn’t related to alcohol, it’s due to the lack of enforcement of driving laws and the poor driving tests and skills required to pass those tests.
4) I’m AGAINST legalizing alcohol, not until point number 3 gets sorted.
Sources:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1164010/retrieve
https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/GSRRS2015_data/en/
Yes, Thanks God.
We are against it not only because of any scientific or disadvantages or negative effects like car accidents and so, we are mainly against it because it’s against our religion. This is the main reason it shouldn’t be allowed in our society. So even if it has benefits and no side effects we should be against it only because of God said not to drink. This is the nature of our religion, It’s not a personal matter.
If it’s against your religion, don’t drink it.
Do you even travel, Sam?
So basically you go to another country and try to force your lifestyle/beliefs and way of life on others.
Heres an idea, why don’t you go to parts of India and convince the locals to just dont eat beef but let others kill their cows smh. Its a Muslim country and alcohol is illegal period. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. Next they’ll ask for legalization of weed etc. it doesnt end.
Your example is incredibly stupid because nobody is forcing a belief or lifestyle on you, nobody is telling you that you have to drink alcohol. If you Dont want to drink that’s fine. Legalizing alcohol in a country doesn’t make the country less Islamic nor the people living there less religious. Kuwait didn’t become Islamic only after the ban of the alcohol and MAJORITY of the Islamic countries already have alcohol. Even Saudi has plans to legalize alcohol at least in some places, will that make them less Islamic?
But again as I’ve already made it clear I’m not arguing for the legalization of alcohol since there are other issues that need to get sorted first.
Seems like you’ve thought long and hard about this. You can reach an MP and submit all your recommendations to them. Im just an average Muslim what do I know right? Im sure they’ll take your recommendations very seriously.
I should reach out to an MP and tell him not to legalize alcohol? As that what you’re saying I should do? Did you even read what I wrote?
Lol had a feeling you’d say that. Yeah I read what you wrote and read what you wrote to others as well.
You said you’re against legalizing alcohol until the driving situation is improved. Thats why I told you to submit ALL your recommendations to an MP. So tell them how you would like to improve the driving so that alcohol can be legalized safely.
Maybe stop being so condescending to your readers also?
Just because you’re naive doesn’t mean I’m being condescending.
The picture lol
Very curious about who were the owners/dealer of gray Mackenzie
It’s a Muslim country and in our holy book the Quran the Almighty himself has declared the sale, purchase and consumption of alcohol Haram which means it’s not allowed and hated by our creator. So we have to have it in our law not to sell, consume or purchase it and make it hard for people in the society to get it. Why is it so hard to understand? If you are supposed to get it you can still get it. That’s how illegal lawless people live. Deal with it.
Spoken like someone who would have never been invited for ‘after work’ beers at Gray Mackenzie 😒 (and they allowed actual babies to chill in there)
Not sure who you’re talking to but I’m not gonna agree to disagree with you but I will just state some facts:
There are a total of 57 Islamic countries.
The only countries in the whole world where alcohol is banned is in: Libya, Kuwait, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
That’s only 7 countries and I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes 6 very soon (cough cough Saudi cough cough).
So 50 Islamic countries allow the sale of alcohol, 7 don’t.
Dumb argument. There could be 100 ‘Islamic’ countries and 99 could be serving alcohol, that still wouldn’t change the rules of the religion. Islamic law isn’t based on how the countries of a specific time apply it.
Also while there 57 that are somewhat based on Islam, there is actually no country that actually follows the Islamic model of a state as it should be. Not referencing alcohol here, but more the treatment of people, distribution of wealth, implementation of justice, etc. – In a true Islamic country, all of those would be radically different.
All that to say is that point to what most ‘Islamic’ countries do today is not a great example of pointing out what Islamic teaching requires.
What argument?
That 70 countries to 7 one. Your not very good at this losing an argument thing are you Mark. Lol
PS: Like I said people who want something illegal get it anyways but much more expensive and with alot of stress.
50 Islamic countries that allow alcohol to 7 that don’t. Good thing I wasn’t arguing here or else I would have won the argument, I’m just stating facts 🙏🏻
50/7 got it. Nah I’m still not buying it. Most Kuwaitis are hard to understand sober ad it is so keep booze away from them as much as possible. For expats like I said you can get it just harder to get it straight up. There are some rocks and rough riding along the way. Lol
Is it written in the book that alcohol shops should be forbidden? How can you be sure if you are actually faithful as you locked yourself in sterile box? Allowing sale of alcohol will only prove that some of you are actually following teachings and some were pushed to follow.
I was going to exactly write the same. Non Muslim think that Islam is like their religion. IT’S DIFFERENT. No ultimate freedom in Islam nor in a Muslim society. Again, No ultimate freedom. even in your personal level. if you want to make harams make it with your own and don’t let anyone to see it or know about it. And you always have the option to live in a non-Muslim society. argument and choices can be there if the rule is not mentioned directly and clearly in Quraan or Sunna. But since it’s mentioned then there is no even discussion.
between the cud and blood, pure refreshing milk for those who drink it.
between the home brew and the Jacksen, Johnnie Walker for those that drink it.
My two cents:
This case is just similar to now allowing non-muslims to eat during the day of Ramadan. God had put these self-discipline practices in his holy books for people to practice ultimate self-discipline and control. our BRIGHT legislators decided to take the easy route and just ban it altogether.
The outcome: countries infested [Kuwait, Iran, Yemen, Saudi Etc.] with sky-high abuse of drugs and all other types of alternatives to get high.
What a good time to have been in Kuwait! Am sure life would have been so different and no, its not only coz of alcohol.
Related to the topic:
https://q8-2009.blogspot.com/2012/12/blog-post_23.html
thanks!
One has only to look at the recent pictures of the flood of vehicles pouring in from Saudia Arabia over into Bahrain and getting stuck on the causeway to understand how desperate people are to go over to a country where booze is legal just so that they can legally get a drink.
Gray Mackenzie name changed to KMMC (Kuwait maritime and mercantile co) at the same location opp Seef palace
What a steal, Mark? The liquor permit is a treasure- if prohibition in Kuwait lasts for another 50 yrs which I am sure it will, this permit can auction at Sotheby’s for a very handsome price. I regret not having visited Al Hubara club even though I had the chance to. My mum’s uncle who was passing through Kuwait in the late 1950s en route to the Czech republic has many good things to say about the clubbing scene in Kuwait which was rather sophosticated. I believe it was the Hunting & Equesterian Club which used to be very happening back in the day with free flowing liquor and all.
Too bad we did not get to enjoy this phase of a pre prohibition Kuwait. All we could do is to make our own wine at home after Kuwait went suddenly dry in 1964.
Thank God it is illegal now 🤗
Why?
Alhamdolillah that alcohol is forbidden in Kuwait. There are plenty of countries nearby (I.e Bahrain, Qatar, UAE to name a few) for those people not satisfied with brewing their own, but would rather purchase alcohol.
Its better there is no alchohol in kuwait.
I love drinking and the moment i exit kuwait my aim is to buy as many bottles i can. But the reason i love this place is that it makes me live a bit longer . Else i would have died long back with liver cirrhosis and no savings in hand.
i feel even smoking should be banned as it harms the body more than drinking and this is not for an arguement sake but its a fact.
The day kuwait legalise booze, run for your life. Things will get out of control. Without alchol itself its hard to control some around so imagine if its legal.
Not everybody is an alcoholic like you.
You should probably leave the responsible drinking to the adults
Ban smoking and ban alcohol just for you? I’d rather ban people like you.
Dave : Alchohol is already banned, then why not Smoking too ?Iam not harmful so i can be avoided from being banned for sure.
Mo : Dream on , its a MOO point.