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Most popular US Whiskey drank by soldiers overseas in WWII?


avigo
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I've always wanted to try vat 69 after watching band of Brothers, it was Lewis Nixon choice if drink. Unfortunately they don't make it anymore.

 

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When did they stop? I have had it, but it was several years ago. It was not bad.

 

 

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BILL THE PATCH

When did they stop? I have had it, but it was several years ago. It was not bad.

 

 

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I've Inquired at local liquor stores and they didn't have any. I thought I also looked it up years ago and could have sworn I read no longer made. Seems I've been mistaken.

 

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Some brands are nearly impossible to get depending on your state. The place i saw it about 3years ago was The Party Source in Newport,Kentucky.

 

Kentucky runs its liquor policies so much better than a lot of other states. Case in point, it's really hard to find Old Fitzgerald or Heaven Hill bonded/100 proof anywhere else. I've seen Heaven Hill 80 here, but it's nowhere near as flavorful or aged. I think Kentucky he's a lot more of a market based system, and other states control it much more rigidly. I was told Ohio basically buys all the liquor and then allows for its distribution through liquor stores. For certain less-popular or rare brands, that means you'll probably never see it on the shelf.

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There was a local French wine that was popular with 29th Division soldiers in their ares of combat in the days following D-Day.....we have a couple of bottles of it at the museum and I will try to snap a pic of one of them when I am on duty next weekend.

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Interesting and different subject. Thought I would post some of my period liquor bottles. All are WWII period. The last photo is a selection of 5 WWII "nips".

post-23999-0-29056700-1516073253.jpgpost-23999-0-71186400-1516073287.jpgpost-23999-0-37226900-1516073295.jpg

 

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I don't know what brand it was, but my step-father traded a Luger for a fifth of whiskey!

 

I was talking to him about the war and asked him if he brought anything back. He said he had a Luger his was going to bring back but ended up trading it to a REMF for a bottle of whiskey. He said that on the front lines he could get another Luger but whiskey was hard to come by for an enlisted man. Sadly, he never got another Luger, or if he did it didn't make it home with him.

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Cobra 6 Actual

As an aside there is an excellent book that lays the foundation for military drinking. It is Nelson's Blood: The Story of Naval Rum (Bluejacket Books, 1996). Still available used for about ten bucks. Also, here is a good quick article on the subject:

 

https://warontherocks.com/2015/06/a-farewell-to-sobriety-part-two-drinking-during-world-war-ii/

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  • 2 weeks later...
Cobra 6 Actual

Here is another book that is directly on point for a discussion of booze in the US military: Cups of Valor, 1968

by N.E. Beveridge (a pseudonym). Still available, used, also for about ten bucks. Has a great jungle juice recipe, too!

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My ship, USS George Washington CVN-73 was involved in that! They painted the Allied stripes on some of the birds..President Clinton was aboard for it..it was a huge deal..visited Brest, France then too.

Hi,

There are stories of soldiers drinking Calvados in Normandy,

a brandy made from apples.

 

I bought two bottles in St. Mere Eglise during the 50th Anniversary

of D-Day, one I drank over there, the other I still have.

 

They do sell it in the US, at some larger liquor stores.

 

It is good stuff !!!!!!

 

Douglas

 

 

 

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Ha! My whiskey buddy collector is a little younger than I am, still in his 20s, and I kid him about carousing and the like. He was over and I handed one to him, figured me might need it!

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  • 1 year later...
Garandomatic

I must say, Calvados Pays d'Auge is interesting. I like to think of it as "the official drink of the Northern France Campaign."

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Bill Mauldin's Book "The Brass Ring" describes how he obtained 2 bottles of Chartruse while in France - I have seen this in some higher end liquor stores

 

Bill

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post-6975-0-10438900-1554864599.jpeg

Just saw thread, daughter brought this to me last summer from Normandy. Somehow most is gone, passed it around to buds at a show, lol. Good stuff.

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