--- title: "17 Vintage Beer and Whiskey Ads from the Golden Age of Hunting and Fishing" description: "These iconic advertisements for beer and whiskey filled the pages of Outdoor Life magazine and captured the imagination of sportsmen." date: "2026-09-16" modified: "2026-09-16" authors: - name: "Natalie Krebs" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/natalie-krebs.md" url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/vintage-beer-whiskey-ads/" categories: - "Adventure" - "Camping" - "Fishing" tags: - "Evergreen" - "News" --- # 17 Vintage Beer and Whiskey Ads from the Golden Age of Hunting and Fishing ![A collection of Outdoor Life beer and booze ads.]() *\Photo illustration by Outdoor Life\  * Every time I dip into the *Outdoor Life* magazine archives to dig up an old adventure story or Jack O'Connor column, I can't help getting sidetracked by the art. That includes everything from our [illustrated covers]() to [iconic gun advertisements](). Print magazines were one of the key ways manufacturers reached their customers in 20th-century America, and our past issues were crammed with all kinds of [strange and wonderful marketing ploys](). This time, I couldn't resist airing out some of our old alcohol ads. I pulled these pages from a range of decades, starting in the late 1940s (when color images in the magazine became more common). Though the following selection does not reflect an exhaustive search of the archives, I didn't run across any ads for wine or spirits besides whiskey. You'll notice that roughly half of this collection is ads for Miller High Life. That's because Miller's full-page color advertisements for "the Champagne of Bottle Beer" were frequent and specific to OL readers. Unlike other generic alcohol ads that could have appeared in the pages of any men's interest publication, all of Miller's ads and those from the following brands feature hunting, fishing, or related outdoor content. Enjoy. ![A Miller High Life ad showing a man boating a sailfsih.]() *This particular Miller High Life ad appeared in the September 1946 issue. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing a duck dog in an advertisement for Old Thompson whiskey.]() *Old Thompson is now owned by Sazerac, but when this full-page ad — featuring a black Lab and a greenhead — ran in the November 1946 issue of *Outdoor Life*, it was still owned by the Glenmore Distillery Company, which was owned by the Thompson family for most of the 20th century. The poem on duck hunting appears to have been specifically written for this ad campaign. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing Hunter whiskey.]() *This November 1948 advertisement for Hunter whiskey mostly just capitalizes on its name and the season. The strutter in the ad is a nod to Thanksgiving rather than turkey season, and the red-jacketed rider recalls European fox hunts instead of American hunters, but the name held its own appeal for OL readers. Hunter ran ads in Outdoor Life throughout the decades. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing fishing rods and advertising Miller beer.]() *Miller really stepped up its *Outdoor Life* advertising game in the 1950s, a decade that saw a High Life ad in most every issue. This March 1951 advertisement capitalized on a simple association with fishing. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing a jumping big game fish.]() *This August 1951 campaign leveraged outdoor legend Zane Grey to market Pleasant Moments whiskey, which was popular from the 1940s to the 1960s but is no longer produced. (You can still find the occasional bottle, which [sells for upwards of $430]() given its scarcity.) Zane Grey wrote a handful of stories for *Outdoor Life*, including a piece in the November 1930 issue ("Giant of the South Seas") that tells the full tale of the catch for the Tahitian marlin referenced in this ad. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing Miller High Life alongside hanging rabbits and pheasants]() *This iconic High Life ad ran in the September 1951 issue of OL. This ad must be going for broad appeal, since it's quite the mixed bag. Hanging on the cabin wall are a single ruffed grouse, quail, woodcock, pheasant, cottontail, and drake pintail, and the cabin's owner and his setter can be seen beyond walking a fence row beyond the window. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing an ad for Blatz beer.]() *While Miller High Life has become ubiquitous outside its hometown of Milwaukee, Blatz beer remains relatively regional to this day. It's now owned by Pabst and only found in certain Midwestern states. Perhaps that's because the brand didn't corner the sportsmen's market as effectively as competitors; this ad depicts a boat ride on Lake Arrowhead — without fishing rods. Compare it to the Miller ad below. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A fisherman drinks a Miller in this vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life.]() *This May 1952 ad for Miller continued to pursue OL's target audience with references to muskie, bass, and a beer break while fishing a worm under a bobber. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing a duck hunter back by the fire beside his duck dog while drinking a miller.]() *This Miller ad from the September 1952 issue depicts an ecstatic duck hunter back from the marsh, with his waders and feet drying in front of the fire and a cold High Life in hand. In an era when most hunting dogs lived outside, it's nice to see this (admittedly fictional) retriever getting to warm up, too. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing Cabin Still.]() *This February 1954 ad may have gotten slightly less billing since it only spanned two-thirds of a page, but it gets the nod for the cool bass art. While Old Cabin Still was [originally bottled by Pappy Van Winkle himself]() and remains in production today, it's less premium than it used to be and runs about $15 bottle. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing a fisherman holding up a can of Schlitz beer.]() *Schlitz beer had a good run, with parent company Pabst putting it on "hiatus" just this spring. When this April 1954 ad appeared in Outdoor Life, it was still owned by Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. in — you guessed it — Milwaukee. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life celebrating 100 years of Miller High Life]() *Here's one key explanation for the run of killer Miller High Life ads in the 1950s: the celebration of its 100-year anniversary. Miller Brewing Company was founded in 1855, and this ad ran in the October 1955 issue of *Outdoor Life.* *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage 2-page magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing a cowboy holding a barrel of Hamms beer.]() *This two-page Hamm's beer ad ran in the September 1970 issue. Hamm's marketing team leaned into its frontiersman's history (back when the Minnesota North Woods were the frontier) and *Outdoor Life*'s own heritage. [Hamm's]() is still brewed today, though production has moved from Minnesota to Wisconsin. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage black and white magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing a can of Olympia beer.]() *U.S. production of Olympia beer has been paused, but you can still find this classic in Western Canada. This black-and-white ad appealing to West Coast waterfowlers ran in the October 1971 issue of OL. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing a fisherman and a bottle of Kessler.]() *This ad for Kessler blended whiskey appeared in the February 1972 issue of OL. Kessler remains in production and, given its price tag, highly popular in the U.S. *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A vintage magazine ad from Outdoor Life showing the Lord Calvert wood duck bottle.]() *This November 1978 ad for Lord Calvert Canadian whisky was one of a series featuring different waterfowl species, the molds of which were hand carved in a riff on wooden duck-decoys. That $35 price tag in 1978 would cost the equivalent of $174 today. (By the same token, a plain old handle of Lord Calvert costs about $23 today.) *Outdoor Life Archive** ![A Wild Turkey bourbon ad from Outdoor Life magazine.]() *Last but not least, this Wild Turkey ad ran in the October 1983 issue. This bourbon is still going strong at turkey and deer camps across America. *Outdoor Life Archive** **Read Next:** [27 Vintage Gun Ads That Introduced Some of America’s Most Iconic Firearms]() ## Author Natalie Krebs is the Executive Editor of *Outdoor Life*, where she tackles everything from reporting digital features to producing podcast episodes. Originally from Missouri, she currently lives in northwest Arkansas with her bird dog, Hatchet. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [LinkedIn]()