FOOD NEWS
What Did The Founding Fathers Drink At George Washington's Farewell Party?
BY MIKE DUNPHY
In 1787, the Founding Fathers convened at City Tavern in Philly to celebrate George Washington, drinking an astonishing amount that tallied up to $15,000 in today’s money.
Rediscovered by a professor at Pepperdine University, the bill includes 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of claret, and eight bottles of whiskey — and that's only half.
The receipt goes on to include 22 bottles of porter, eight of hard cider, 12 of beer, and seven bowls of alcoholic punch all enjoyed by the party’s 55 attendees.
The sheer amount of alcohol may seem astonishing, but Americans drank significantly more back then because alcohol was safer to drink than water at the time.
At the time, Americans consumed about 5.8 gallons of absolute alcohol — meaning 99% pure alcohol — while Americans today average about 2.3 gallons per year.