"Wargamer's Wine?" Topic

I came across a nice Italian Barbera d'Asti red wine in the local Total Wine Store. The label features a soldier in the uniform of the Asti Battalion from 1800. It's also reasonably priced, and quite good with pasta or pizza. The link below will show the label. It got me thinking: are there other military-themed wines or spirits, e.g. Beefeaters Gin, that could add to the atmosphere of tabletop historical wargaming?

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There was a Canadian(?) ale that came in a bottle and the label had a French soldier from the late 17th century. Even had the name of the regiment on the label (regiment that served in Canada). Made me want to collect some figures for the unit and game them. For the life of me I can't remember what it was called tho…

I'm not sure this is quite responsive to the OP, but there is a brand of rum, Pusser's, that is ostensibly formulated in precisely the same manner as the rum produced for the Royal Navy as far back as Nelson's day.

Beer has been hijacked by lager drinkers.

I drink more Ales these days. Look out for …
Bombadier
Broadside
Spitfire

and keep searching ;-)

There's a Finnish beer named after the Napoleonic general Johan August Sandels.
In Spain they sell a red wine called Tinto de Batalla 1808 Baylen.

Admiral Nelson!

Shame his depiction is nothing like his real visage.

One of the best-known Australian wine areas is the Barossa Valley, which was named by an early settler to the region. He was a veteran of the Battle of Barrosa in 1811, but the local authorities misspelled the name on maps, and the error became official.
None of the Barossa wineries produce fancy labels featuring military uniforms, to the best of my knowledge.

Have a bottle of Jarhead Red around someplace.

Mad dog 20 was the drink of choice in the late 70's.
A cheap high alcohol content wine. Does that count?

I'm a Methodist, so this is outside my range.
Dewar's, which used to use a Highlander?
Courvoisier, "the Brandy of Napoleon?"

Both of them used to use military figures regularly in ads, anyway.

White Horse Whiskey used wargames in at least one advert from the 1970s….

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That must be one heck of a wargames room to fit a horse in as well :-)

Oh, right!

I thought you meant Wargamers Whine!

Essential drinking for WW2 air wargaming

Captain Morgan rum.

Not Spirits or wine but many of the Breweries in the US have beers/ale that would inspire.

Shipyard Chamberlain Pale Ale, Great Lakes Commodore Perry, Grant's IPA come to mind.

Speaks for itself. Landwehr Brau link

Chambertin
"It is for these, my children, that we fight" or some such words, claimed to have been spoken by Napoleon as he passed by his favorite vineyards in 1814.

Single malt Scotch whisky!

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Workhorse Brewery in King of Prussia

Prussian Imperial Stout
and
Queen of Prussia IPA

In some parts of Catalonia and Aragon, long before Coca-cola first irrupted in Spain, there was a refreshing drink called "zuavo" (that is, 'zouave'). Just as nowadays' cola drinks, it was some sort of flavored soda, that contained coffee as main ingredient.

This is what their bottles label looked like:

Such beverage has been reborn not long ago, albeit with a transliterated name, that now reads as "suau" (catalan word meaning 'smooth', instead of the proper "zuau" that would stand for 'zouave')

More about this subject on this spanish language newspaper article: El suau, la Coca-cola de nuestros abuelos.

Cheers,
Lluís

14bore, I actually just drank last of a four pack yesterday. It's an excellent Russian Imperial Stout.

There are some whiskeys that would fit the ACW:
Rebel, Rebel Yell, Confederate, Southern Dew

Have tried both, definitely getting the Prussian Imperial again

Rum is a must for anything having to do with pirates, colonial America, Age of a Sail navies, and obviously, gangsters and rum runners. Captain Morgan even has his own brand. The notorious buccaneer famously died from overindulgence in rum. Calico Jack and his crew were too drunk to put up a fight, the only ones sober enough were Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Bartholomew Roberts' crew was also caught off guard in a drunken stupor, and so was Blackbeard. British officers in the West Indies were served planter's punch and soldiers were given a small ration, since it was believed it would protect against tropical fevers. No wonder their effectiveness was always in question. The American Founding Fathers planned their rebellion while imbibing contraband Jamaican rum in Philadelphia taverns. And finally, it was the British Navy and Sir George Vernon who finally immortalized the famous daily ration of grog that kept the British sailors in fighting trim through the age of Nelson and beyond. "0ne of bitters, two of sweet, three of strong, and four of weak." There have you the makings of a good libation of grog.

It doesn't have a military themed label, but can't go wrong with Laird's Applejack for a Rev War game — the drink of the Continental Army, and George himself used the recipe with permission from the Laird family!
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There are an awful lot of brandies (and cognacs, and armagnacs) with "Napoleon" in the name. One of them is a permanent resident of my liquor cabinet:

I've never seen one with a picture, but I haven't seen them all. This suggests a rather tasty research project…

Also not a wine, but "Sink the Bismarck" is a quadruple IPA with an unbelievable 41% ABV ( which is 82 proof!).

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"unbelievable 41% ABV", what I find unbelievable is that you can ferment to that value. I spent many years growing yeast trying not to make alcohol because too high a concentration will kill the yeast. I believe 20% is about the limit so this IPA has to have been fortified, or is made made with a very strange GMO yeast.

41% is way to high, would need to be fortified I think to get up there. The Prussian Stout I posted is %9.6

Sink the Bismarck is acknowledged as the worlds highest alcohol content "beer". Not really sure what you would call it at this point. This is the result of a German and British brewery getting into a healthy competition.

Glen Moray single malt Scotch whisky used to have a series of "Famous Scottish Regiments" tins featuring vintage prints and contained a bottle of their whisky. Those are great if you ever come across any.

Apart from that, Courvoisier is a must for me, as is retsina for ancient Greeks (yes, it's not period authentic, but who cares?) and anything Italian for the Romans. I'm going to look up this Barbera d'Asti in my local Total Wine!

Plymouth naval gin… I'd like to try Lambs naval rum if I could ever find any … and years ago there was a Russian vodka sold as "Red Army Vodka" in a bottle shaped like an artillery shell or giant bullet cartridge. I still have some empty bottles of that as keepsakes and display items, and one bottle still untapped.

Traquhair Jacobite Ale for those clan battles against German Geordie's redcoats!

Skullsplitter Ale from the Orkneys is fun for Viking-theme games.

Robert the Bruce Scotch Ale is available in the upper Midwest -- great brew and nice bottle art!

There have been times when a big Axis & Allies game was scheduled and I'd stock beers /wines / spirits from all the active countries so players could get caught up in the atmosphere. Good times, even if I can't remember who won the games!

Claret for Jacobites or other Highland clan officers!

Now if you were a Lace Wars player and had a French army you'd have regiments called Alsace, Beaujolais, Burgundy, Alsace, Champagne, Provence, Medoc, Languedoc, Touraine, Rousillon…..

Cheers!

How did I miss this thread?

Firstly, never mind the grog content, value the foil around the top. Decent aluminium has so many uses in modelling. My Shermans all have aerial recognition banners from such

Then comes the brass wire cage on a decent Chianti for example. Many a 28mm Imperial Guard wore aiguillettes from such, in my hands.

The cork can hold rider figures for spraying and painting, before mounting on a steed.

and if the day has gone badly and the varnish has whitened, just drink the contents (of the wine bottle, not the varnish)

I believe sink the Bismark, like some of the high content German beers, remove the water to get it that high. I think by freezing it the lifting out the ice, but could be conmfusing it with something else.

They also make tactical nuclear Penguin I believe. Or did.

Well, simply "Waterloo beer" is the best when fighting a Napoleonic battle