Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) whisky.

1869		S.S. Haldeman Pennsylvania Dutch n.p.: Drudge, another name for raw whiskey, originating in the Eastern States. I doubt whether the word drudge is thirty years old [F&H].
1872		Schele De Vere Americanisms 600: Drudge, another name for raw whiskey, originating in the Eastern States.