Who exactly is 'The Real McCoy'?

After sipping a chilled, bubbly glass of champagne from the Champagne region in France, one might exclaim, 'Ah, now this is the real McCoy.' Any sparkling wine from elsewhere is technically just sparkling wine.

The expression 'the real McCoy,' often used to describe the genuine version of something, has multiple possible origins. While none of the stories involve champagne, a few include other types of alcohol.

According to HowStuffWorks, the first known recorded use of the phrase appeared in 1856, referring to whisky in the Scottish National Dictionary: 'A drappie [drop] o' the real MacKay.' By 1870, two whisky distillers named McKay began using the slogan 'the real McKay' for their products. The theory suggests the phrase crossed the Atlantic, eventually morphing into the American 'McCoy.'

One theory proposes that 'the real McCoy' originated in the United States during Prohibition. In 1920, Florida-based rum runner Bill McCoy became the first to load a ship with alcohol in the Caribbean, sail to New York, and anchor at least three miles offshore, where he could legally sell his goods in what was considered international waters. Since McCoy didn’t dilute his alcohol with substances like prune juice, wood alcohol, or turpentine, customers began referring to his high-quality product as 'the real McCoy.' While there's no concrete evidence supporting this origin, The Real McCoy rum distillery was founded based on this idea.

Other leading theories that don't involve alcohol suggest different origins. In 1872, inventor Elijah McCoy patented a self-regulating machine that lubricated steam engine parts without the need for manual maintenance, enabling trains to run for longer distances. According to Snopes, the success of McCoy's invention led to numerous low-quality imitations, prompting railroad workers to refer to his machines as 'the real McCoy.'

Elijah McCoy's invention revolutionized transportation, but he wasn’t the only notable McCoy in the 19th century. Another was welterweight champion Norman Selby, better known as Kid McCoy. One story recounts how McCoy knocked out a drunken bar patron to prove he was the famous boxer, earning the nickname 'the real McCoy.' In another tale, his alleged habit of throwing fights led the press to dub him 'the real McCoy' when he was actually trying to win. Yet another version suggests that Selby’s fame led to so many impostors that he had to assert himself as 'the real McCoy.'

So, which 'the real McCoy' origin story holds true? The 1856 Scottish reference to 'the real MacKay' predates Elijah McCoy's railroad invention, Kid McCoy’s boxing career, and Bill McCoy’s rum-running exploits. It's possible that the phrase gained traction in different contexts at different times.