Category Archives: Cocktails

With a motto of “No Sipping. No Swirling.” a new Canadian red wine by Treasury Wine Estates called Sledgehammer is hoping to win over the scores of Canadian men out there who like wine but worry about its reputation as a “woman’s drink.” Earnest about cementing its reputation as a manly wine, the wine label even had Leger Marketing conduct a survey to find out about perceptions surrounding men and wine.

First, it helps if the wine label is manly. No pictures of chatueax or cute Aussie animals, please.

The bottle means business. Courtesy, Sledgehammer.

 But the real meat of the survey revealed that 76 per cent of Canadian men like drinking wine, as compared with 73 per cent of women.  Also, nearly four in 10 men agree there is a stereotype that wine is a woman’s drink. What’s more, 76 per cent of men believe that “some men fake their wine knowledge” (you know who you are), and nearly 60 per cent of men admit to feeling pressure to drink a “manly” drink when they “come of age.”

The arrival of Sledgehammer on the Canadian wine scene is also welcome news for fledling bromances as the survey found men would be more likely to give a “fella” a bottle of wine if they knew it was “made for guys” (no more awkward moments when your pal removes the bottle from the gift bag because — finally! — something other than pink Zinfandel).

As interesting as all this may be, I have some alternate solutions. First, you could just show up with a six-pack of Guinness. Most people agree that’s a beer for dudes. Second, try ordering an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan, two very masculine classic cocktails (the Don Draper character from Mad Men prefers an Old Fashioned, if that helps). Finally, if it must be wine, check out Sinister Hand, a red blend from the Owen Roe Winery in Oregon. No one would dispute its label is “manly.”

Sweet, a bloody severed hand! How masculine is that? Courtesy, Owen Roe.