Presidential Drinking

What was his drink of choice?
President Grant had an interesting relationship with alcohol and rumors about his insatiability for it have abounded since he was still alive. We’ll tackle below just how much he drank, but let’s take a look at what he may have been drinking. Whiskey is the chosen gulp for many a war general, and General Grant definitely seems to have drank some now and again. On the bubblier side of things, he managed to rack up an $1,800 bill for just champagne during his presidency. While there is plenty of disagreement as to how much he liked to drink, historians generally agree that he was drawn to alcohol in general and may have experienced a clinical but controlled alcoholism.

Was he in the booze business?
No. Ulysses knew that alcohol was not a good influence in his life and was a rather reserved and quiet man. He got in the military early on, but did spend time as a failed farmer. In all, his professional life was dominated by his work in the military, work that was nearly ruined by his drinking. He was also president for an unusual amount of time for that era. In fact, when Grant left office after two terms in 1877, he was the first president to serve two full terms since Andrew Jackson left office in 1836. Being a somewhat inept farmer and a very busy statesman are not stellar ingredients for a master distiller.

Did he party?
If you asked the average American which president was the biggest drunk, many would say Ulysses S. Grant. For a century and a half, Grant has had a somewhat undue reputation as a hopeless drunk. The truth is, as president, he had no known incidents of drunken behavior and had a notoriously low tolerance for inebriation. So why the bad rap? 

Grant was drawn to drink and knew it. He stayed away from it as much as he could, especially at any time he was actively commanding soldiers, but would occasionally fall off the wagon and embarrass himself in times of stress. In fact, a drunken stint led to his resignation from the army before the Civil War. By the time he was president, there was enough talk about his drinking that the media of the time was watching for slip ups. He never did. 

Essentially, historians agree that Ulysses S. Grant was incredibly drawn to alcohol, knew that fact, and did everything he could to keep its corruptive influence away from him. He appears to have been what we would recognize today as a recovering alcoholic.

What was his drink of choice?
James Garfield had plenty of similarities with the presidents on either side of his term. Many were born in log cabins, quite a few in Ohio. Also, almost all of them for decades had served in the military in some capacity. However, Garfield does stand out thus far for his love of beer. A friend even said that he “liked beer and drank but little else.” He’s not the first president to drink it, of course, but he’s the first one to profess it as his favorite. 

And what a time to love beer! Right as Garfield was waiting to take office, the big brewers started to really ramp up production and distribution. Just a few years before, Anheuser-Busch was putting out just over 31,000 barrels a year. In the year of Garfield’s presidency, they’d rocketed up to 200,000!

Was he in the booze business?
No. Like many of the presidents before him, Garfield’s time was taken up by his military service and then, after, his political career. Garfield readily enlisted to fight in the Union Army due to his desire to put an end to enslavement. However, it seems to be his last bold career move of his own making. He had to be convinced to run for Congress by friends and then refused to campaign. Then, during the 1880 nomination process, he backed a different Republican who could not get enough support. Garfield was recruited as a compromise candidate. Basically, since nobody ever told him to open a brewery, he didn’t.

Did he party?
It’s hard to tell. We didn’t get a lot of time with President Garfield before he was shot four months into office by a deluded supporter who believed the president owed him a government job. While the wound wasn’t necessarily fatal, the doctors made the mistake of digging for the bullet with unsanitary hands. An infection set in and made James A. Garfield the second president to be assassinated when he succumbed two months later. Still, it’s worth noting that his predecessor, President Hayes, had banned alcohol from the White House and Garfield could have let the prohibition continue. He didn’t. By the time he died, the taps were back on in the People’s House.

What was his drink of choice?
Never picky, Chester Arthur had a little bit of everything from time to time. He enjoyed nightly doses of various liqueurs as well as wine. Apparently, he loved a good whiskey highball, too. His reported favorite meal was some meat and a big glass of ale. After Arthur’s rise to the presidency following the assassination of President Garfield, the question yet again among Temperance crusaders was whether they could get alcohol banned from the White House. 

Garfield and Arthur were from different factions within the Republican Party and they disagreed on plenty. When asked by Temperance advocates if he would ban booze, President Arthur reportedly made his views perfectly clear: “I may be the president of the United States, but what I do with my private life is my own damn business!”

Was he in the booze business?
No. Chester Arthur was very much a lawyer. It’s not that the practice of law is incompatible with alcohol production, but these guys tend to be busy and live in cities. Neither quality is too conducive to distillation. Arthur was a very busy lawyer, too. In New York City, he successfully defended a Black woman who was denied a seat on a bus. His success in the case led to bus desegregation in the city. Some presidents take up hobbies like brewing or distilling post-presidency. Chester Arthur had the second shortest retirement of any president. He died just a year and a half after leaving office.

Did he party?
They don’t call him “Elegant Arthur” for nothing! President Arthur apparently owned 80 pairs of pants and was well-known for his late-night bashes. He entered office as a widower and had plenty of lady suitors chasing after him. His son followed suit and was a constant fixture at his dad’s parties, earning him the nickname “The Prince of Washington.” While he was continually ill throughout his term, he never let it get in the way of a great bash.