Babe Ruth's Liquor Of Choice Was A Bottle Of Scotch

By any measure, baseball superstar Babe Ruth was a man of prodigious appetites, whether it was chewing up pitchers on the field with his home run hitting or a diet that included dinners of two porterhouse steaks, a double-order of cottage-fried potatoes, two heads of lettuce, and two apple pies a la mode. 

These were accompanied by equal portions of cigars — contributing to his death at 53 from throat cancer — and whisky, thanks to a robust network of bootleggers throughout the country happy to supply him during Prohibition. It was Scotch whisky that he loved best — especially Dewar's — and made a regular part of his day, so much so that opposing players were sometimes sent to keep him up late and drinking it the night before games.

The result of one effort by Washington Senators players Al Schacht and Goose Goslin before a playoff game? Ruth hit a three-run homer at his first at-bat, so the legend goes. Even after he retired, the passion continued. As his daughter noted, a golf outing started with two or three Scotches to accompany lunch before heading out, a few more at the halfway point, and at least one more at the end to celebrate success on the green.

Babe Ruth remains an American icon, making him an ideal pitch man for whisky distillers like Remus Bourbon, named for famed Prohibition bootlegger George Remus. In June 2024, the company partnered with the Ruth estate on Remus Babe Ruth Reserve, a blend of three aged high-rye bourbons, in tribute to the "3" he wore on the ball field. In July, 10,624 Art Deco-style bottles went on sale — one for every time Ruth went to the plate in his career — with a QR code on each bottle telling you what happened during that at-bat.

Remus is not the only brand using the Babe to sell whisky. In 2019, Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City released "The Bambino" cocktail experience for a mere $40,000, making it one of the most expensive cocktails in the world. The price included a bottle of 1940 Macallan scotch, a vintage victrola, and a mint condition $100 check signed by Ruth. Another company put out whisky glasses etched with a quote from Ruth: "It's hard to beat a person who never gives up." Even the Babe Ruth Museum sells shot glasses and encourages buyers to raise a toast to the Babe. 

What would Ruth have thought of all this? While he might have approved of the whiskies using his name, he wasn't always on board with every product exploiting it, as evidenced by the famous dispute between Babe Ruth and Baby Ruth candy.