Favorite Alcoholic Beverages of Presidents and Others

The favorite alcoholic beverages of presidents and others is fascinating subject..

U.S. Presidents

The favorite alcoholic beverages of Presidents  of the U.S. include these.

    • alcoholic beverages of presidentsWhiskey (George Washington)
    • Madiera wine (Thomas Jefferson)
    • Gin and tonic (Gerald Ford)
    • Martini (Herbert Hoover)
    • Champagne (James Madison)
    • Whiskey (Andrew Jackson)
    • Champagne (James K. Polk)
    • Rum and coke; dry martini (Richard Nixon)
    • Scotch or brandy (Franklin Roosevelt)
    • Whiskey (Zachary Taylor)
    • Bourbon (Harry Truman)
    • Hard  cider (William Henry Harrison )
    • Scotch and soda (Lyndon Johnson)
    • Whiskey (Andrew Johnson)
    • alcoholic beverages of presidentsBeer (Barack Obama)
    • Champagne (Ulysse Grant)
    • Wine (James Buchanan)
    • Champagne (James Monroe)
    • Mint juleps (Teddy Roosevelt)
    • Scotch (Woodrow Wilson)
    • Wine (John Quincy Adams)
    • Whiskey (Martin Van Buren)
    • Hard cider (John Adams)
    • alcoholic beverages of presidentsBeer (Grover Cleveland)
    • Scotch (Dwight Eisenhower)
    • Martini (Gerald Ford)
    • Madiera wine (Millard Fillmore)
    • Whiskey (Warren Harding)
    • Beer (Bill Clinton)
    • Champagne ( John Tyler)
    • Beer (James Garfield)
    • Bloody Mary (John Kennedy)
    • Dry martini (Herbert Hoover)
    • Orange blossom cocktail (Ronald Regan)

Also, George Bush and Donald Trump are in the teetotaler camp.

Did You Know?

When adults in the US are away from home, they are more likely to order mixed drinks than any other type of alcoholic beverage. Among those who drank in the previous month at restaurants and other public venue, about 65% ordered mixed drinks, 57% drank domestic beer, and 39% had white wine. And 38% selected imported beer and the same proportion drank red wine.  One third (33%) drank frozen drinks, 29% chose straight liquor, and 18% drank Champagne. 1

Spectators at Indy car races consume more blush wine than the average person. That’s according to interviews of 200,000 adults in the top 75 US markets. The interviews also found that golfers drink domestic beer 64% more often than imported beer. And that attendees of R&B, rap or hip-hop concerts are 94% more likely than the average person to drink champagne. 2

Politicians and Alcohol Trivia.  

Politicians Arrested for Drunk Driving.

Famous People Arrested for Drunk Driving.  

In Europe and North America, lower-status people tend to prefer beer. On the other hand,  upper-status people tend to prefer wine and distilled spirits. (Spirits are whiskey, gin, tequila, vodka, rum, etc.) In Latin American and Africa, lower class people tend to drink homebrew. Middle class people tend to drink bottled beer. And upper class people tend to prefer spirits. 3

Vodka has been the largest selling distilled spirit in the US for decades. Also, one of every four alcohol drinks consumed in the world is vodka or vodka-based. 4 Not surprisingly, the most popular gift in Eastern Europe is a bottle of vodka. 5

Churchill and Hitler

Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s favorite drink was whiskey. His adversary, dictator Adolf Hitler, was a teetotaler who abstained from alcohol. 7

Two of the most famous and  prohibition agents of the 1920s were Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith. After a hard day arresting bartenders they enjoyed their favorite beverages. They were beer and cocktails! 8

Shochu, a beverage distilled from barley, was the favorite beverage of the world’s longest-living man, Shigechiyo Izumi of Japan, who lived for 120 years and 237 days. He was born on June 29, 1865 and died on Feb 21, 1986. 9

Drinking in moderation is linked with better health and longer life. That is, in comparison to either abstaining or abusing alcohol. But it doesn’t matter which alcohol beverage is a person’s favorite. Beer, wine, or spirits all provide the same overall health benefits.

So salud, skoal, a votre sante’, prost, l’chayim, or, in English, “to your health,” but all in moderation! 10

Footnotes: Favorite Alcoholic Beverages of Presidents

1. Technomic finds mixed drinks surpass beer. Technomic press release, July 13, 2015

2. Shlachter, B. Not All Beer Drinkers are Boozin’ Slobs. Sun-Sentinel, Nov 7, 2012. See also Alcohol Trivia

3. McCarthy, E. Champagne for Dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG, 1999, p. 35.

4. Useless Knowledge website

5. Absolute Trivia website

6. Politics and Government Trivia & Useless Facts  website

7. Hoffmann, H. Hitler vie ihn Keiner Kennt. Berlin: Zeitgeschichte Verlag, 1932.

8. Burns, E. The Spirits of America: A Social History of Alcohol. Philadelphia, PA: Temple U Press, 2004

9. Guinness World Records. Enfield, UK: Guinness, 2012.

10. See Alcohol and Health