Cross Bones Whiskey Black Label Vintage T-Shirt

Not available in stores

Our Cross Bones Whiskey t-shirt is pirate all the way. But pirates do rum, you say,  how did this whiskey tee get in here? Pour your favorite juice and we shall tell you the tale.

Have you heard of Jean Lafitte? Eagle-eyed folks at Disneyland will spot the name  Lafitte placed throughout New Orleans Square: Inside the Pirates of the Caribbean, Laffite's Landing (different spelling) is the name of the loading dock for the ride; there is Lafitte's Tavern (different spelling) on Tom Sawyer's Island; and Lafitte's Anchor, "said to be from the pirate ship commanded by Jean Lafitte in the Battle of New Orleans January 8, 1815."

But he's not a Disney character. He was a real person, a pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 1800s. By 1810 he and his brother had established a port on an island in the Barataria Bay, Louisiana. In 1814, the US Navy captured most of his fleet. He arranged a pardon for helping General Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans. He was however at heart a pirate and stole and smuggled millions based on Galveston Island.

It is said that Lafitte met with General Jackson at the Old Absinthe House, at the corner of Bourbon and Bienville Streets. The building remains today, in the French Quarter. Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain, and so many others, including of course pirates, have drank a few at the bar inside, now over 200 years old. It is the oldest bar in New Orleans.

As you might imagine, absinthe is on the menu. Absinthe, La Fee Verte (The Green Lady) was banned in the US in 1912, as the green liquor was said to be hallucinogenic. when Prohibition was repealed, Absinthe was stilled banned. The ban was lifted in 2007, although with some conditions. 

"Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy, and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of a man, a martyr of a woman, and a degenerate of the infant."

-- Temperance petition dated 1907 

New Orleans of course has always quenched its thirst with America's whiskey, bourbon. The House of Bourbon is a French dynasty, part of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings ruled France as early as the 16th century. New Orleans has a rich French history, and the name "bourbon" is scattered throughout U.S. geography (Bourbon County, Kentucky), an homage to France for helping America during the War of Independence.

So now you know that Lafitte was a real person, and that Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean and New Orleans Square is not entirely fictional. But if want want a good whiskey, you'll probably need to go to the real New Orleans, the French Quarter, where real pirates dwelled.

 The Vintage Look

The shirt has a unique distressed, vintage look; cool, subtle, like washed in a creek. Like maybe it's seen a few things. The fabric remains the highest quality (see below).

The T-shirt

Our tees are the highest quality you will find. 100% combed and ring-spun cotton by Bella Canvas, a USA-based company. Feels soft and lightweight, with the right amount of stretch. It's comfortable and very flattering for both men and women.

Free Shipping -- Please allow from 7 to 14 days for shipping.

• 100% combed and ring-spun cotton (Heather colors contain polyester)
• Ash color is 99% combed and ring-spun cotton, 1% polyester
• Heather colors are 52% combed and ring-spun cotton, 48% polyester
• Athletic and Black Heather are 90% combed and ring-spun cotton, 10% polyester
• Heather Prism colors are 99% combed and ring-spun cotton, 1% polyester
• Fabric weight: 4.2 oz (142 g/m2)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Side-seamed construction
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping

Size guide