“Which brands would have been available in an ordinary English pub of the 1950s or 1960s, including spirits and wines?” – paraphrased from correspondence
To answer this, let’s pick a year; and let’s make that year 1965 because we’ve got a good reference to hand: James H. Coombs’ Bar Service: careers behind the bar – volume one.
We’ve written about this little volume before. First, there was a post about its advice on beer. Then there was a companion piece with some nuggets on pub life.
The bit we’re going to look at today, though, is arguably the most boring section in which Mr Coombs provides a long list of the types and variety of booze a good pub ought to carry.
Here’s the raw information from those, oof, twelve chapters. We’ve only included items where a brand name was mentioned, plus a couple of example of beers where ‘brewery’s own’ would be the brand.
| Bottled beers | Brand |
| Pale ale (light ale) | Brewery’s own |
| Brown ale | Brewery’s own |
| Double Diamond | Ind Coope |
| John Courage (JC) | Courage |
| Red Barrel | Watney Mann |
| Ben Truman (Ben) | Truman |
| Barley Wine | Brewery’s own |
| IPA | Worthington |
| Colne Spring Ale | Benskins (Ind Coope) |
| White Shield (natural beer’) | Worthington |
| Bass (Red Shield – ‘natural beer’) | Bass |
| Green Shield (pasteurised) | Worthington |
| Bass (Blue Triangle – pasteurised) | Bass |
| Lager | Carlsberg |
| Lager | Tuborg |
| Lager | Holston |
| Lager | Löwenbräu |
| Lager | Oranjeboom |
| Lager | Heineken |
| SKOL | Ind Coope |
| Black Label | Carling |
| Guinness | Harp |
| Mackeson (milk stout) | Mackeson (Whitbread) |
| Guinness Extra Stout | Guinness |
| Russian Stout | Barclay’s (Courage) |
| Draught beers (cask) | Brand |
| Mild ale (XX) | Brewery’s own |
| Bitter | Brewery’s own |
| Bass | Bass |
| E | Worthington |
| Draught beers (keg) | Brand |
| Red Barrel | Watney Mann |
| Red Hand | Ind Coope |
| Toby | Charrington |
| Flowers | Flowers (Whitbread) |
| Tankard | Whitbread |
| Tavern | Courage |
| Bass | Bass |
| E | Worthington |
| Cider | Brand |
| Apple Vintage Wine | Merrydown |
| Babycham (sweet) | Showerings |
| Babycham (dry) | Showerings |
| Baby Bubbly | Goldwell |
| Pink Lady | Goldwell |
| Soft drinks and mixers | Brand |
| Coca-Cola | Coca-Cola |
| Pepsi-Cola | Pepsi |
| 7-Up | 7-Up |
| Perrier Water | Perrier |
| Vichy Water | Various |
| Apollinaris (water) | Apollinaris |
| Hunyadi-Janos (water) | n/a |
| Contrexeville (water) | Perrier |
| Evian (water) | Evian |
| Malvern (water) | Schweppes |
| Buxton (water) | Buxton Mineral Water Co. |
| Springwell (water) | n/a |
| Wines | Brand |
| Tio Pepe (sherry) | González Byass |
| Dry Fly (sherry) | Imported by Findlater Mackie Todd |
| Double Century (sherry) | Pedro Domecq |
| Celebration Cream (sherry) | Pedro Domecq |
| Bristol Cream (sherry) | Harvey’s |
| Bristol Milk (sherry) | Harvey’s |
| Bristol Dry (sherry) | Harvey’s |
| Various sherries | Wiliams and Humbert |
| Carlito (sherry) | Wiliams and Humbert |
| Dry Sack (sherry) | Wiliams and Humbert |
| Canasta Cream (sherry) | Wiliams and Humbert |
| Walnut Brown (sherry) | Wiliams and Humbert |
| Various sherries | Varela |
| Port | Croft, Dow, Fonseca, Cockburn, Sandeman, Warre, Rebello Valente, Taylor, etc. |
| Porto Branco | Sandeman’s |
| Champagne | Ayala, Bollinger, Clicquot, Goulet, Heidsieck, Pol Roger, Moet, etc. |
| Ginger Wine | Stone’s |
| Vermouth | Martini |
| Vermouth | Noilly Prat |
| Vermouth | Cinzano |
| Spirits | Brand |
| “Straw-tinted” gin | Booth’s |
| Gin (Geneva) | Holland’s |
| Gin | Plymouth |
| London Dry Gin | Squires |
| London Dry Gin | Cornhill |
| Fruit cup | Pimm’s |
| Caroni Rum | Tate & Lyle |
| Lemon Hart Rum | United Rum Merchants |
| Lamb’s Navy Rum | United Rum Merchants |
| Daiquiri Rum | United Rum Merchants |
| Ron Bacardi | Bacardi |
| Various brandies | Martell, Hennessy, Otard, Courvoisier, Remy Martin, etc. |
| Bitters and aperitifs | Brand |
| Bitters | Angostura |
| Bitters | Underberg |
| Fernet-Branca | Fratelli Branca |
| Dubonnet | Dubonnet |
| Pernod 45 | Pernod |
| Amer | Picon |
Now, clearly, you wouldn’t find all of these in every pub but, per the original query, if you included these brands as dressing for a film set in 1965, they’d probably look appropriate.
So, that’s the boring list. What about other, sexier sources? Advertising from the period, for example…
…or beer mats…
… or old photos.
In the above pic, also from 1965, we can’t make out many brands but we’ve definitely got Watney’s Red Barrel, Double Diamond and something not on Mr Coombs’s list, Tia Maria.
11 replies on “FAQ: Which brands would have been on sale in a 1960s pub?”
Gold Label was widely available in the barley wine category, Pony (little drink with a big kick) and Cherry B stocked with Babycham. Warninks Advocaat was hated for the mess it made in bottle skips and made glasses difficult to clean. I concur with Tia Maria.
Crown Hotel image also on display; Babycham merch, Haig Dimple, Sandersons Port, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce…. there must be a Warning’s Advocat somewhere?!
I’m fascinated that he’d expect the lager fridge to be so well stocked – they’re all familiar brands now (or else they’ve been familiar in the last 30 years!), but in 1965 almost all of them would be European imports.
Probably worth saying that the suggestion is that you should have a lager or two and those are the popular brands rather than that you should have all of them on offer.
Great sherry list!
As well as Carlsberg Lager I’ve seen Special Brew mentioned more than once as something people used to drink in pubs.
Schweppes Ginger Ale, possibly in both “dry” and “American” varieties?
I would have expected Gordon’s to have been a leading gin brand by the 60s.
Canada Dry, was another popular brand of ginger ale, I remember from the early 1970’s.
I’d expect Jubilee Stout to be around – possibly as an alternative to Mackeson.
Maybe not what you are actually asking for, but as a former tegestologist, with probably every mat in that picture, I have to say am impressed by your tegestological undertakings.
Who was drinking Fernet Branca in UK pubs in the mid-60s, I wonder?
Who is drinking it now? I believe it is supposed to be a”pick me up,” but from experience of trying a very small glass once, it’s not a drink I’d care to sample again.