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Americans And Their Booze
America’s history with booze has always been a study in contrasts.
During the Revolution, alcohol was not merely ubiquitous, but nearly essential. Many of the great early revolutionary meetings were held in taverns. A number of the Founders — George Washington and Sam Adams most famously — brewed or distilled their own stuff, and Thomas Jefferson had one of the best cellars on the continent.
Alcohol continued to be integral during the early Republic. Taverns retained their status as meeting places for political organizations, and respectable statesmen were expected to fete their constituents on election day (James Madison once lost an election to the Virginia House of Delegates because his opponent threw a (much) better party). Moreover, booze was the cause of the first armed rebellions against the Federal Government. More on that another time.
What’s truly astounding is just how much alcohol Americans of the time drank. Due to a combination of a lack if potable water, misunderstandings about the health effects of alcohol, and he general deliciousness of the stuff, the average American “imbibed an average of 34 gallons of beer and cider, five gallons of distilled spirits, and one gallon of wine per person per year in 1790.”
Just 130 years later, of course, Americans completely banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcohol. It wasn’t a close thing, either: after passing the Senate and House, the 18th amendment went on to be ratified by 46 of he 48 states (Rhode Island and Connecticut being the only dissenters).
Though our current alcohol culture is far more moderate on average — Americans ranking in the middle of the pack when it comes to average annual consumption — it’s still relatively easy to find the stuff in most of the country, however absurd local regulations might be. That said a new study finds that “average” is really not a helpful way of looking at it:
Do you drink a glass of wine with dinner every night? That puts you in the top 30 percent of American adults in terms of per-capita alcohol consumption. If you drink two glasses, that would put you in the top 20 percent.
But in order to break into the top 10 percent of American drinkers, you would need to drink more than two bottles of wine with every dinner. And you’d still be below-average among those top 10 percenters.
The top 10 percent of American drinkers – 24 million adults over age 18 – consume, on average, 74 alcoholic drinks per week. That works out to a little more than four-and-a-half 750 ml bottles of Jack Daniels, 18 bottles of wine, or three 24-can cases of beer. In one week.
I don’t know about you, but that left me relieved and horrified. Sure, I’m a lightweight compared to the heaviest drinkers, but does having a glass or two of wine with dinner really put me above the 80th percentile? And nearly a third of American adults don’t drink at all?
Image Credit: Flickr user Kimery Davis.
Published in General
And it’s worth noting that back when there was no clean drinking water, it wasn’t just the adults who drank all the time. Kids might be drinking the 1-2% stuff, but they were drinking.
May I suggest the alcoholic beverage of choice of the early Americans — hard cider. (What, you thought Johnny Appleseed was planting apples for eating?)
Yeah, I drink, but not a glass a night. My friend you works for a beer distributor drinks multi-times a week mulit-beers a day. He put on some weight but it comes with the job.
My brothers are teetotalers and I find it completely obnoxious.
A good drink helps you relax in a way I just can’t say anything else does.
One has to wonder that the top 10% were even able to respond to the survey intelligibly, disabled, as they must be, by either drink or hangover.
I believe you’re correct on all points (though I’m doing some reading on the matter this weekend). Should have a post ready by Monday.
By counting the empties?
Actually, Thinking about it if anyone wan’t to do an impromptu meet up I’m down for a drink! Otherwise, I’ll be drinking with my dumb@$$ liberal friends.
And rum! Before certain Sugar Acts (I think – going off the top of my head), America’s primary domestic spirit was rum.
Sounds like a good argument for drinking alone.
I prefer Shiner Hefe, and you can’t buy it anywhere in my state, even though they carry the Bock. It annoys me.
Eh Shiner is ok. I’m more a dogfish head fan. Also Avery brewing out of colorado is Amazing! Went there when I was out there and they had such a Brewery Only selection.
Yes, excuse my inexactness. Colonial America’s spirit was rum, and our fermented beverage was cider. (Beer wouldn’t become popular until massive German immigration and Midwest grain farming.)
Well, for the record, I’m effectively a teetotaler. Three reasons. First , I have no palate for the stuff, unless it’s in some sort of fruity drink like a daiquiri or margarita or something, and in that case why not cut out the alcohol? Beer, wine, etc: Ugh. I just think it tastes terrible. No thanks.
Second, I just don’t want to spend that kind of money on the stuff. It gets expensive, it adds up. I got better uses for my dough.
Third, and this is the big one, I can’t stand the idea of deliberately impairing my faculties. I have a tendency to overindulge, and I would eventually wind up in a place I’d regret.
You walked right into that one!
Good ‘ol dipsomania, I know it well.
Alcoholics need booze to function daily. Dipsomaniacs don’t drink regularly but once they start they have trouble stopping until … hey … why am I passed out on a traffic island?
I was so excited when I found out that had a real, official, honest-to-goodness label.
Is it ever really okay to drink water when everyone around you is drinking alcohol? Or is that like wearing a swimsuit around a bunch of skinny-dippers?
It simply means more booze for everybody else!
One of my best friends is a teetotaler. Alcohol has been a source of trouble in his family, so rather than risk anything, he just avoids it altogether and gets along fine. We all go out sometimes. He’ll drink water or soda, we’ll drink booze, everyone’s happy.
Remember, if someone in your drinking group is taking water, it just means the keg will last longer.
I function just fine and answered ever question intelligibly. I “binge” every day and haven’t had a hangover since I was seventeen.
The illustration owes a debt to Ernie Kovacs.
Your skinny-dipping friends, if they are truly tolerant people, won’t mind much if you’re too shy to bare it all. At least mine didn’t.
It may be Texas, or the south, but in many parts of the country we have no shortage of pubs. We just call them “bars” or “corner bars.” I grew up in Wisconsin and it seemed like every other retail establishment was a bar: bar, drug store, bar, hardware store, bar, wedding shop, bar, diner, bar.
Shiner Hefeweizen was discontinued. Their new wheat ale is called Shiner White Wing.
Portland’s distilleries love to experiment.
At the farmer’s market, one distillery had bourbon aged in a barrel used for port and a rum aged in a bourbon barrel. Of course the flavors soaked in the barrels infused the new batches.
To which I noted to their rep: Whiskey that tastes like port, rum that tastes like whiskey – what kind of upside down world do we live in?
I didn’t get an answer, but I won’t complain about a good drink.
On the other hand, sober people might have more foresight regarding the value of cameras for blackmail purposes, and therefore might not be as welcome at a skinny-dipping party.
As such, you might want to think about hiding your water in a vodka bottle.
Oh, wait, that wasn’t really the question, was it? My bad …
According to your stats, I guess that leaves me in the 20% bracket, but hey ! Winston Churchill’s daily alcoholic intake included two bottles of brandy, 4 bottles of champagne, 1 bottle of claret and copious amounts of wine and scotch. He also started this ‘regime’ first thing in the morning.
I’ve always enjoyed the stories of Churchill’s visits to the White House where he insisted on a fully stocked bar in the Lincoln Bedroom. His habits drove teetotaler Eleanor Roosevelt positively insane, but then she wasn’t responsible for helping to save the Free World now, was she?
Not that unusual, ackshully. Not a lot of forests in Scotland, you may have noticed. As such, they get their barrels used from America, the Caribbean, and Portugal, which lends itself to the distinctive flavours of Scotch.
For example:
http://www.thebalvenie.com/our-range/doublewood-aged-17-years
In America, there’s lotsa trees, which is one reason why in order to qualify as “bourbon” it must be aged in new barrels.
74 drinks a week? I used to think myself a pretty heavy drinker but I’m struggling with 74/week. I wonder how that’s measured?
If a man looks at you in a way you find uncomfortable, the researchers count it as “one drink”.
A club soda with lime is a bit more festive Aaron and then you can pretend you’re drinking a vodka and soda.
I’m a huge fan of Glenmorangie’ extra-matured line:
Lord….just looking at Quinta Ruban makes me thirsty.