Has anybody ever heard why they have the XXX on bottles of moonshine and the like? Such as in cartoons, etc. I have read a couple different things (one at Lightgift’s Runes) which are claiming that the practice goes back to the Norse rune, gebo, which looks like an X, which stands most generally for “gift”. The story goes that the rune can be used to protect against harmful gifts, and that it can render a poisoned drink harmless. So, they are saying, that this is why alcohols will sometimes traditionally bear the triple x symbol.

Anybody heard any other origins of that XXX symbol to refute this one?

Also, from this cached page on Google:

This rune represents the act of exchange. It is the gifts from the Gods to humans, the sacrifices from humans to the Gods, and the giving and taking from one human to another. It represents the relationship between two lovers, and the relationship between Gods and men. This rune can also protect against foul gifts. There is a story in one of the many sagas, of Egil Skallagrimsson, who at a feast was passed a poisoned horn. He suspected something was wrong. He carved runes upon the horn, stabbed his hand, and wiped his blood onto the horn, which instantly shattered. Even now, there is a cliche of XXX being on kegs of beer and ale.

This other website is saying differently…

Brewer’s has this to offer on the origin of XXX: “X on beer casks formerly indicated beer which had paid the old 10s. duty, and hence came to mean beer of a given quality. Two or three crosses are mere trademarks intended to convey an impression of its extra strength.”

I, however, am of course willing to accept both explanations.