Whiskey for Troops™️
The Fingers x Wars of Future Past Veterans Day guide to militarized brown liquor
Editor’s note: This special joint post from Fingers x Wars of Future Past was originally published Veterans Day 2023, but I think it still holds up.—Dave.
If Grunt Style and Black Rifle Coffee Co. opened a distillery, what would it make? Unfortunately, we don’t have to speculate, because this Veterans Day, the militarization of brown liquor is fully upon us.
This edition of Fingers is a collaboration with
, a longtime military-technology journalist and publisher of the independent newsletter . Kelsey and I have both been amused and/or appalled by the proliferation in recent years of liquor brands—typical whiskey—that pander to military-affiliated and/or -obsessed drinkers with overwrought names, corny slogans, and deeply cliché designs.A society’s relationship to the horrors of war is a complex thing, and all the more so for active-duty service members and veterans. You don’t have to make a moral judgment on the commercialization of that dynamic to recognize that it’s much different and more complicated than simply “supporting the troops.” Especially given that nearly three quarters of veterans report struggling with alcohol use, according to a 2020 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services. But hey, camo bottles!
Together, Kelsey and I weeded through a thicket of pitches to select a half dozen liquor brands targeting troops with cheap gimmicks, bellicose branding, and unctuous rhetoric for Veterans Day 2023. You’ll find those below, along with our notes. In no particular order, and without further ado, it’s the Fingers x Wars of Future Past Whiskey for Troops™️ Veterans Day guide to militarized brown liquor!