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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
I’m with Cato on this one. I’m a so-called “recovering alcoholic” and rare was the week I reached 74 even at my worst.
Wow. There must be a lot of alcoholics that drive that number. I tend to have a glass or two of wine or a beer on most nights of the week, with an occaisional hard liquor drink. There are times I don’t have any alcohol, especially when I fast from it. I probably average six or seven alcoholoic drinks a week. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.
My brother-in-law gave me a bottle and I have the same reaction. I prefer a traditional single malt Scotch. I acquired a taste for Highland Park when I was in Scotland and have stuck to it. With a good Scotch, I never drink it on the rocks, but I do with Macallan’s.
That Girl Drink Drunk video in comment 44 was hilarious! I got tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the 74 “drinks” was based on drinks being one standard unit of alcohol, which in the United States is only 10 millilitres. The average drink contains about three units.