The 1960s Malt Alcohol Everyone Remembers For Its Fruity Notes

Long before the boom of flavored malt drinks like Smirnoff Ice, Zima, and Mike's Hard Lemonade started in the mid-to-late 1990s, the National Brewing Company was leading the way with Malt Duck. The brewery behind the infamous Colt 45 malt liquor added red grape flavoring to its brew in the 1960s to make a beverage that was popular at parties through the '70s and '80s. They even expanded to other flavors like white grape and apple.

People loved it for its low price point, its potency, and its sweet flavor. It was described as tasting like grape juice or grape-flavored Bubble Yum. The drink eventually was relegated to cult status as its fan base grew smaller but more passionate, and production of the drink wrapped up in the early 1990s with the trademark expiring in 1992. Since then, Facebook posts and groups have lamented its demise, sharing the good times people had involving Malt Duck. If you want to try it now, you can make a grape radler by mixing a malty beer with some grape juice. It won't be exact, as the original is a flavored malt beverage and not a malt and juice mix, but it will be close!

Malt Duck's story doesn't end in the '90s, however. Remember how the trademark lapsed in 1992? Well, Sprecher Brewery took notice. The brewery and maker of excellent craft sodas felt like a natural fit. It picked up the abandoned trademark and briefly made the malt beverage in 2016. It's largely Gen X fanbase rejoiced!

The new version, realizing its fans were now grown-ups, avoided added sugar. It used concord grapes, and the resulting beverage started off sweet and finished dry. Drinkers said it shared tastes with both wine and beer. Its 5.9% ABV was even at a responsible level. Focus groups enjoyed it, but the public didn't buy it. People reported their liquor stores sending it back to the distributors due to lack of sales, and pretty soon, Sprecher ceased making the drink. So, while the brewers enjoyed making it, Sprecher is unlikely to bring back Malt Duck again.

Now, fans are left with trying to make their own. One Facebook user suggests mixing wine and beer. "In a pinch, you can make a reasonable facsimile of Duck using a relatively bland light beer, such as Miller Lite, and mixing in some dry but grapey red wine. I'd say about 2-1 or 3-1 proportions." If you were a fan, sadly, this may be the best you can get now.