Raise a glass filled with US beer or wine during this election

At this time we owe it to our US cousins to support them by buying and drinking as much American booze as we can.

Hillary Clinton does her patriotic duty.

Australia has always had a special relationship with the US. In this time of upheaval we owe it to our American cousins to support them by buying and drinking as much American booze as we can. Especially during the next 24 hours or so when, let’s face it, we’re all going to need a drink. Or seven.

But what to imbibe as the country votes?

If beer’s your thing, you’re spoiled for choice. Our better bottle shops are groaning with American beers, from the bland (cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon) to the bizarre (obscure craft brews made by big-bushy-bearded blokes).

Some are more appropriate than others. The brilliantly perfumed and hoppy Liberty Ale ($5.50 a stubby) from San Francisco’s Anchor brewery sounds the right note of American idealism.

The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company from Chico, California, has a few well-themed options, from Celebration Ale (if you’re feeling optimistic; $6.50) to Ruthless Rye (if you’re more inclined to cynicism; $6).

And the name of Rogue brewery in Newport, Oregon, captures the spirit of one of the presidential candidates perfectly: you could even add a splash of irony by tracking down a bottle of Rogue’s Integrity Ale ($24 for a 650ml bottle).

But the best American beer of all for this presidential election is Arrogant Bastard Ale ($18 for 650ml) from Escondido, California: a rich, heady brew that leaves a lingering bitter taste in the mouth. Its makers are aggressively unapologetic about the full-on style of their beer. “We believe,” they write, “that pandering to the lowest common denominator represents the height of tyranny — a virtual form of keeping the consumer barefoot and stupid.”

Sound familiar?

For good craft beer venues and bottle shops around the country, check out craftypint.com.

Americans living and working Down Under may need some jollying along during the next few days, too. And once again, the best way to do that is to buy them a drink (or seven). Or make their day and buy one of their drinks.

Brad Hickey is a Chicago-born ex-sommelier formerly based in New York who moved to McLaren Vale in South Australia almost 10 years ago. He now makes wine under the colourful Brash Higgins label. Hickey produces a wide range of wines in a diversity of styles, from more traditional, full-bodied, voluptuous McLaren Vale shiraz (the 2010 Omensetter, which spends three years in oak before bottling and costs $95) to more adventurous and unusual experimental wines.

This year Hickey released an extraordinary white called Bloom: inspired by the rare vin jaune styles of Jura in eastern France, this was a chardonnay aged for eight years in not-quite-topped-up barrels, with a creamy layer of flor yeast growing on the surface of the wine, protecting it from oxidising completely and contributing a tangy, nutty, bready flavour. It was utterly delicious, managing to combine the generous, sun-kissed stone fruit flavours of a dry white with the savoury, lipsmacking, almost briny refreshment of a dry sherry. It cost about $55 (not bad considering its rarity and quality) and, although it’s sold out from the winery, you may be able to find a bottle in some independent bottle shops and restaurants.

Hickey also has just released a bevy of white wines from the 2016 vintage, including another adventurous style that breaks all the rules. Labelled ZBO ($37 a bottle), it’s made from muscat grapes, grown in the Riverland, wild-fermented and aged on skins in large terracotta amphorae. Cloudy, sweet-smelling but dry-tasting, with lovely richness and savoury satisfaction. Delicious — and deliciously weird.

As Hickey says, these two wines are “reminiscent of something from Alice in Wonderland, where things aren’t always as they seem”. Sounds like a perfect description of the presidential campaign.

More: brashhiggins.com.