• Presidential Drinks - Part 3

    • 09/12/2016
    • ADB
    • 0 Comments

    Part Three of our intrepid trek down memory lane with the president’s drinks. Today we offer numbers 21 through 31.


     

    #21 - Chester A. Arthur

    Preferred Drink: Ale

    In an article by Sam Greenspan for 11points.com, citing John R. Bumgarner's book "The Health of Presidents," Greenspan wrote, "Arthur would drink wine and after-dinner liqueurs pretty much nightly."

    Per foodtimeline.org, however, "His favorite meal was a mutton chop with a glass of ale, or a slice of rare roast beef with hot baked potatoes and fruits."

    And, as Will-Weber wrote, when a representative of the Temperance movement pressured Arthur to consider a no-alcohol policy at the White House, "he thundered: 'Madam, I may be the president of the United States, but what I do with my private life is my own damned business!"

    Let's just say that Arthur enjoyed his alcoholic beverages, and that he would have received a ton of flak on Twitter had it existed in the 1880s.


     

    #22 - Grover Cleveland

    Preferred Drink: Beer

    Grover Cleveland had a strong preference toward beer — drank a lot of it and drank it almost exclusively.

    According to Will-Weber, "[Cleveland] and a fellow politician once took a vow to hold themselves to four beers a day."

    Something tells us limiting oneself to four beers per day isn't the healthiest way to live.

     

    #23 - Benjamin Harrison

    Preferred Drink: Tea

    "Benjamin leaned more toward God than Demon Alcohol," Will-Weber wrote.

    Well, then.

    Unlike many presidents before him, Benjamin Harrison stayed away from booze. According to foodtimeline.org, Harrison's wife's "homy custom [was] to serve hot clear soup at her White House teas and receptions.”

     

    #24 - Grover Cleveland (2nd Term)

    Preferred Drink: Beer

    Cleveland's penchant for beer continued into his second term in office.

     

    #25 - William McKinley

    Preferred Drink: Rye Whiskey

    In addition to having an Alaskan mountain named after him — a polarizing topic in the news last year when President Barack Obama re-named the mountain "Denali" to honor Native-American culture — William McKinley also had alcoholic drinks named after him.

    Per Will-Weber, one such drink (popular at the time of his election) was called McKinley's Delight and consisted of the following ingredients:

    3 oz. rye whiskey

    1 oz. sweet vermouth

    2 dashes of cherry brandy

    1 dash absinthe

    #26 - Theodore Roosevelt

    Preferred Drink: Mint Julep

    Teddy Roosevelt, the man for which Will-Weber's book is named, loved Mint Juleps. He even "used them to entice his cabinet to come play tennis with him at the White House."

    Roosevelt used mint from the White House garden to make the drink, which also comes with a recipe:

    10 to 12 fresh mint leaves muddled with a splash of water and a sugar cube

    2 or 3 oz. of rye whiskey

    1/4 oz. of brandy

    Sprig or two of fresh mint to garnish

     

    #27 - William Howard Taft

    Preferred Drink: Champagne

    Recognized by many for his rotund physical frame (he tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds), President Taft didn't have a drinking prowess equal to his size.

    Though he would drink champagne occasionally for celebratory purposes, Taft did not drink a lot.

     

    #28 - Woodrow Wilson                           

    Preferred Drink: Scotch

    Per Will-Weber, "Wilson loved Scotch. His campaign song — 'Wilson! That's All!' — actually came from a brand of whiskey that was popular early in the 20th century."

    It's quite interesting that presidential campaigns were in some cases actually closely tied to alcohol.

     

    #29 - Warren G. Harding

    Preferred Drink: Whiskey

    Warren G. Harding "habitually stashed a bottle of whiskey in his golf bag and thought nothing of taking a pop before he teed up," according to Will-Weber.

     

    #30 - Calvin Coolidge

    Preferred Drink: Tokay Wine

    Calvin Coolidge was not much of a drinker, "but he was very fond of Tokay wine," per Will-Weber.

    Tokay is a (usually) sweet white wine from the Tokaj district of northeastern Hungary.

     

    #31 - Herbert Hoover

    Preferred Drink: Wine/Martinis

    "Hoover supposedly had a fantastic wine collection," Will-Weber wrote, "but his wife allegedly dumped it down the drain when Prohibition hit."


    Interestingly, Herbert Hoover called prohibition "The Noble Experiment" during his time as a politician, but asked for "a good, dry martini" while suffering from pneumonia at age 80.

 

Recent

Presidential Drinks - Part 3

Part Three of our intrepid trek down memory lane with the president’s drinks. Today we offer numbers 21 through 31.


 

#21 - Chester A. Arthur

Preferred Drink: Ale

In an article by Sam Greenspan for 11points.com, citing John R. Bumgarner's book "The Health of Presidents," Greenspan wrote, "Arthur would drink wine and after-dinner liqueurs pretty much nightly."

Per foodtimeline.org, however, "His favorite meal was a mutton chop with a glass of ale, or a slice of rare roast beef with hot baked potatoes and fruits."

And, as Will-Weber wrote, when a representative of the Temperance movement pressured Arthur to consider a no-alcohol policy at the White House, "he thundered: 'Madam, I may be the president of the United States, but what I do with my private life is my own damned business!"

Let's just say that Arthur enjoyed his alcoholic beverages, and that he would have received a ton of flak on Twitter had it existed in the 1880s.


 

#22 - Grover Cleveland

Preferred Drink: Beer

Grover Cleveland had a strong preference toward beer — drank a lot of it and drank it almost exclusively.

According to Will-Weber, "[Cleveland] and a fellow politician once took a vow to hold themselves to four beers a day."

Something tells us limiting oneself to four beers per day isn't the healthiest way to live.

 

#23 - Benjamin Harrison

Preferred Drink: Tea

"Benjamin leaned more toward God than Demon Alcohol," Will-Weber wrote.

Well, then.

Unlike many presidents before him, Benjamin Harrison stayed away from booze. According to foodtimeline.org, Harrison's wife's "homy custom [was] to serve hot clear soup at her White House teas and receptions.”

 

#24 - Grover Cleveland (2nd Term)

Preferred Drink: Beer

Cleveland's penchant for beer continued into his second term in office.

 

#25 - William McKinley

Preferred Drink: Rye Whiskey

In addition to having an Alaskan mountain named after him — a polarizing topic in the news last year when President Barack Obama re-named the mountain "Denali" to honor Native-American culture — William McKinley also had alcoholic drinks named after him.

Per Will-Weber, one such drink (popular at the time of his election) was called McKinley's Delight and consisted of the following ingredients:

3 oz. rye whiskey

1 oz. sweet vermouth

2 dashes of cherry brandy

1 dash absinthe

#26 - Theodore Roosevelt

Preferred Drink: Mint Julep

Teddy Roosevelt, the man for which Will-Weber's book is named, loved Mint Juleps. He even "used them to entice his cabinet to come play tennis with him at the White House."

Roosevelt used mint from the White House garden to make the drink, which also comes with a recipe:

10 to 12 fresh mint leaves muddled with a splash of water and a sugar cube

2 or 3 oz. of rye whiskey

1/4 oz. of brandy

Sprig or two of fresh mint to garnish

 

#27 - William Howard Taft

Preferred Drink: Champagne

Recognized by many for his rotund physical frame (he tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds), President Taft didn't have a drinking prowess equal to his size.

Though he would drink champagne occasionally for celebratory purposes, Taft did not drink a lot.

 

#28 - Woodrow Wilson                           

Preferred Drink: Scotch

Per Will-Weber, "Wilson loved Scotch. His campaign song — 'Wilson! That's All!' — actually came from a brand of whiskey that was popular early in the 20th century."

It's quite interesting that presidential campaigns were in some cases actually closely tied to alcohol.

 

#29 - Warren G. Harding

Preferred Drink: Whiskey

Warren G. Harding "habitually stashed a bottle of whiskey in his golf bag and thought nothing of taking a pop before he teed up," according to Will-Weber.

 

#30 - Calvin Coolidge

Preferred Drink: Tokay Wine

Calvin Coolidge was not much of a drinker, "but he was very fond of Tokay wine," per Will-Weber.

Tokay is a (usually) sweet white wine from the Tokaj district of northeastern Hungary.

 

#31 - Herbert Hoover

Preferred Drink: Wine/Martinis

"Hoover supposedly had a fantastic wine collection," Will-Weber wrote, "but his wife allegedly dumped it down the drain when Prohibition hit."


Interestingly, Herbert Hoover called prohibition "The Noble Experiment" during his time as a politician, but asked for "a good, dry martini" while suffering from pneumonia at age 80.

0