Why Fortify Wine: Stability and British Taste

Henry Jeffreys is a drinks writer and historian. On this episode we talk about how deeply the British Empire shaped the way the world drinks. We start with a simple counterfactual: If the British Empire had never existed, which drinks would look completely different today, or perhaps not exist at all.

Henry reflects on his book Empire of Booze, now nearly ten years old, and why the book has had such a long, slow life. From there, the conversation widens into a broad look at how British tastes, trade networks, and commercial priorities influenced everything from port and Madeira to Marsala, Bordeaux, cognac, rum, and Scotch whisky. Not just where these drinks were sold, but how they were made, fortified, blended, and priced.

We talk about early booze marketing, the rise of Bordeaux as a prestige wine deliberately aimed at London, and the way fortified wines evolved as much in response to consumer demand as to the practical realities of long sea voyages. Marsala’s forgotten golden age, Madeira’s strange modern undervaluation, and the loss of clear drinking rituals around these wines all come into play.

Beyond wine, we dig into empire, alcohol, and power. Why the British seemed compelled to make alcohol wherever they went, rather than simply importing it. How rum functioned as currency, medicine, morale booster, and disciplinary tool in the Royal Navy. And how booze sat at the intersection of curiosity, science, commerce, and conquest in a way that feels distinctly British.

We finish by talking about historical drinking habits, Winston Churchill’s often misunderstood relationship with alcohol, and how modern attitudes to daytime drinking differ sharply from those of the past. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about how history, taste, trade, and alcohol are far more entangled than we usually admit.

00:00 Writing and Promoting Empire of Booze

03:15 If the British Empire Never Existed Which Drinks Would Never Have Existed?

05:45 How the English Established Bordeaux Wine

10:30 The Birth of Cognac: Dutch, English

13:00 Why Fortify Wine? Transport & Taste, Thomas Jefferson

16:15 What is Marsala Wine? History, Production, Brands, Comparison to Sherry

24:45 What’s Up with Madeira Wine?

29:15 Did the British Empire Need Booze to Function? Brokering, Producing, Trading

36:10 The British Navy & Rum

40:10 Was Winston Churchill an Alcoholic? Day Drinking, Beer for Recovery

52:45 Drinking with George Washington: Toasting, Rum, Revolution

57:20 Becoming a Writer

59:03 English Wine: Development, People, Quality

1:06:05 Gin - Craft vs. Classics, Cocktails

1:10:20 Favourite Cocktails, Exploring Flavours of the World

1:16:10 Is Cider England’s Wine?

1:20:47 The Invention of ‘Strong Glass Bottles’

1:24:20 John Mytton - Legendary Drinker and Party Animal

1:26:20 Future Project: Wine & Class⁠

Henry on Substack⁠ 

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