Unraveling the politics behind our rides
"As time passes, his nickname changes from 'Big Steve' to 'Uncle Jumbo.' It's almost as if a new generation of bar-goers arrive and no longer is Cleveland a peer but the old, wise man at the bar," said Brian Abrams, author of 'Party Like a President: True Tales of Inebriation, Lechery and Mischief from the Oval Office' (2015).
"The entire staff, as well as most of Grant's division and corps commanders, was well aware of his drinking problem," explained Grant biographer Geoffrey Perret.
Grover Cleveland was president twice, but he had a lifelong love affair with beer. It is said that during his first ever campaign, when he ran for district attorney, Cleveland "only" drank a gallon (3.78 l) of beer per night—and that's after he'd cut back drinking.
The president suffered the consequences of alcohol abuse, developing neuralgia and chronic gastritis. Franklin Pierce passed away from cirrhosis of the liver in 1869.
Franklin Pierce partied hard and drank harder. He did get briefly involved with the Temperance Movement in the 1840s, but the presidency led him to pick up the bottle again.
Ulysses S. Grant was such a heavy drinker that in 1854 he was forced to resign from the army as a result. It's believed that Grant struggled with alcohol during the Civil War.
Buchanan could drink a lot, and often did. Forney went on to say that the president could hold his booze pretty well, even when drinking multiple bottles. Later in life, James Buchanan developed gout and dysentery.
While FDR is believed not to have drunk excessively, he did imbibe every day. The president was a big fan of cocktails.
James "Old Buck" Buchanan was a heavy drinker. Newspaper mogul John Forney, a friend of the president, once remarked that "the Madeira and sherry that he has consumed would fill more than one old cellar..."
The first American president loved his Madeira wine, but was also a big fan of beer (he even brewed his own). But it seems like George Washington wanted more, because he also opened his own whiskey distillery at Mount Vernon.
So much so that Roosevelt is credited with the invention of a cocktail of his own, the "Haitian Libation." It consists of dark rum, orange juice, egg white, and brown sugar.
In 1787, Washington and 55 others threw a party, and a total of 45 gallons of alcohol was consumed. The tab included 60 bottles of claret, 54 bottles of Madeira, 22 bottles of porter (stout), and 12 bottles of beer, not to mention ciders and bowls of punch.
The president liked to do so in his ranch while taking others for a spin. "He'd drive reporters around the ranch, and he would stop and stick his Styrofoam cup out of the window whenever he needed a refill from the portable scotch bar in the trailing Secret Service vehicle," author Brian Abrams revealed.
Thomas Jefferson was a wine connoisseur and collector, but also happened to drink a lot of it.
The 36th US president liked to drink…and drive. Joseph A. Califano Jr., who served in Johnson's administration, wrote in his book that the president liked to go for a drive while he sipped on a cup filled with scotch and soda.
Declassified FBI reports mention that the president was drunk on whiskey during an Oval Office meeting with railroad leaders during a strike negotiation in 1922.
It's estimated that during his presidency, Thomas Jefferson acquired around 20,000 bottles of wine. The president even tried to grow various vines at his Monticello estate (pictured).
"No rumor could have exceeded the truth.... [T]rays with bottles containing every imaginable brand of whiskey stood about," said Alice Roosevelt Longworth, who would play poker with Harding.
However the Founding Father not consider himself a heavy drinker. "…you are not to conclude I am a drinker. My measure is a perfectly sober one of 3 or 4 glasses at dinner, and not a drop at any other time. But as to those 3 or 4 glasses I am very fond," he claimed.
George W. Bush was involved in a number of drunken incidents, including insulting a Wall Street Journal reporter in public and being arrested for DUI.
President George W. Bush struggled with booze for many years. The former president revisits those days in his memoir: "I do know that I have a habitual personality. I was drinking too much, and it was starting to create problems."
His wife, Laura Bush, told Oprah Winfrey how her husband quit drinking in 1986. "We had the wild drunken weekend and it was no different from any other weekend. George just woke up and he knew he wanted to quit," she said. "And he stopped and he was able to stop. A lot of people can't. A lot of people need help to stop. He just stopped cold turkey."
Sources: (History) (Grunge) (ABC News) (Fox News) (HistoryNet) (Huff Post) (Historic America) (Thrillist) (Medium)
See also: Famous figures who died of alcoholism
The final blow came during the 1840 presidential election when William Henry Harrison's campaign portrayed Van Buren as a drunk, a slur that contributed to Van Buren's defeat.
Martin Van Buren did, however, get away with it as according to reports, he could handle his booze and rarely appeared to be drunk. Despite his high tolerance for alcohol, the president ended up suffering the effects of prolonged heavy drinking, and developed gout later in life.
The eighth US president was also a big drinker. So much so that his love for booze earned him the nickname "Blue Whiskey Van."
The second president of the United States was a big fan of hard cider, a drink he described as "refreshing and salubrious."
But Adams didn't just have the occasional drink; he'd drink hard cider everyday before breakfast! During a 1777 trip to Philadelphia, the president wrote to his wife lamenting "[I] would give three guineas for a barrel of your cider [...] I am getting nothing that I can drink, and I believe I shall be sick from this cause alone."
John Adams wrote about his love for cider in letters to his friend, Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse of Harvard. In one letter, Adams credits the good health of Harvard students to beef and mutton pies and "the free use of cider and the very moderate use of wine and ardent spirits."
Warren G. Harding's presidency was not exactly smooth sailing, and perhaps the booze didn't help either. While prohibition was the law, Harding continued to drink and serve alcohol to his guests at the White House.
Alcohol has been around for millennia, and many of us like a drink every now and again. In fact some of us do so on a regular basis, but limit ourselves in terms of quantity. Unfortunately not everyone is able to control their drinking, and this includes many great men who have led the United States. Indeed, the boozy history of America has some of its most famous presidents right at the center of it.
In this gallery we look at the drinking habits of some US presidents. Click on and get to know them.
These US presidents were all heavy drinkers
Who really could throw them back?
LIFESTYLE American history
Alcohol has been around for millennia, and many of us like a drink every now and again. In fact some of us do so on a regular basis, but limit ourselves in terms of quantity. Unfortunately not everyone is able to control their drinking, and this includes many great men who have led the United States. Indeed, the boozy history of America has some of its most famous presidents right at the center of it.
In this gallery we look at the drinking habits of some US presidents. Click on and get to know them.