Heublein pre-mixed bottled cocktails were fairly inexpensive and provided a portable alternative to regular mixed drinks.
During the time Heublein produced Brass Monkey, liquor stores carried mostly beer, wine, and hard alcohol; very few premixed alternatives were available.
Allan Kaufman, who crafted a series of stories about the spy, created the ad campaign using an old photo of his father as Rasske’s image.
Sales and popularity of Heublein's Brass Monkey spirit cocktails increased in the 1980s after the release of the Beastie Boys' song of the same name.
It was widely and incorrectly believed that the Beastie Boys were referring to a different drink made from a 40-ounce container of malt liquor mixed with orange juice ("forty" is mentioned in the lyrics); however, Mike D has publicly confirmed that the premixed Heublein cocktail was their inspiration.