These St. Bernards Holding Booze Are Your New Spirit Animals

The general consensus seems to be that 2016 is the worst year of the past few decades. It’s ok. We have photos of St. Bernards that can help.

The fabled St. Bernard with the barrel full of brandy may be more fiction than fact, but there is no denying their high-ABV (adorableness by volume). Alpine monks did indeed breed these very large relatives of English Mastiffs as rescue dogs. Named after the Great St. Bernard Hospice in the alps, the breed proved adept at mountain rescues, and was even rumored to basically train themselves. Sadly, however, there are no documented cases of any of them carrying brandy.

The booze-soaked myth can be traced back to the famous British animal painter Edwin Landseer, who is thought to have first depicted a St. Bernard with a small keg around its neck sometime in the mid-1820s. It’s thought now, however that such kegs likely contained milk, if anything.

But when it comes to drinking, facts have never stopped us before. We still proudly claim the St. Bernard as our spirit animal and choose to believe that one will be along any minute with a bottle of Martell XO, along with a mercy bullet to put in this wounded, dying year. Just look over right there, 2016. This won’t hurt a bit.

Oh and hello 2017! Don’t mind the mess. You like brandy?

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