The Scotch Babe Ruth Reached For When He Wanted A Drink

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Babe Ruth was as legendary for his pitching as he was for his hitting, becoming one of the "First Five" baseball players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Ruth's notoriety extended off the field as well, where he was known for excessive drinking and partying. Those aren't unique interests for professional athletes these days, but Ruth's career spanned from 1914 to 1935 — Prohibition in the United States was in effect from 1920 to 1934. The 18th Amendment was no match for the Bambino, however. In the book "The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth," biographer Leigh Montville wrote, "Beer and Scotch and hot dogs were his nutritional supplement of choice" (via The Washington Post). His Scotch of choice was Dewar's.

In 1992, Ruth's former Yankees teammate Charlie Devens recounted how Ruth downed a whole quart of whisky while traveling by train between Boston and New York (via Los Angeles Times). Although Ruth reportedly started drinking beer as a child, Scotch was his go-to drink throughout much of his life. His daughter Dorothy recalled that he "would drink a highball, smoke a cigar and chew tobacco—all at the same time" in her book, "My Dad, the Babe." In a 2014 interview with CBS News, Ruth's daughter Julia specified that Dewar's was his favorite. Dewar's invented the highball in 1892, and Ruth undoubtedly had history with the brand, seeing as he worked at his father's saloon for a time at the beginning of his baseball career.

Dewar's relationship with American sports didn't start or end with Babe Ruth. Sir Thomas Dewar, the son of Dewar's founder, was a huge soccer fan and donated the original trophy for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open, America's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The trophy still bears his name — The Dewar Cup. In 2021, Dewar's became the official Scotch of the U.S. Open golf championship. The latter connection feels particularly appropriate for Ruth, who was an avid golfer and outdoorsman in addition to being a prolific baseball player.

While Dewar's was Ruth's favorite Scotch, his name has found its way onto another liquor brand's bottle nearly a century after his playing days. In 2024, Remus Bourbon partnered with Ruth's family to create Babe Ruth Reserve, a limited-edition whiskey that combined three separate bourbon mash bills — a nod to Ruth's No.3 Yankees jersey. Babe Ruth Reserve had an initial release of 10,624 bottles, corresponding to Ruth's plate appearances. A subsequent release of 8,399 bottles in 2025 represented his career at-bats.

Funnily enough, Remus Bourbon is named for George Remus, known as "The King of Bootleggers," for his Prohibition-era sales of illegal liquor. It's a fitting connection to Ruth's legacy. Nearly a century later, the Bambino is still readily associated with the booze-soaked world of Prohibition when, whiskey was still America's drink of choice.