Reader Digest Version Global
Jan 17, 2013 01:08 PM EDT

Tipplers-in-Chief: A Surprising History of Presidential Drinking

by Andy Simmons

Seven beers later, the prez was heard to mutter, “I love ya, man!”

President Obama is known to toss back the occasional beer, and who can blame him? Wars, see-sawing economy, political battles … If I were president, the Oval Office would be located in the first booth at the local Blarney Stone. Luckily, I’m just a regular, old citizen. And just as luckily, most presidents don’t appear to have been lushes. But most of them did enjoy a tipple or two on occasion.

Jim Hewes, a Washington bartender, has concocted a list of what all 44 presidents drank, or might have imbibed—in some cases there are no records. See how well you know your Presidents and the times in which they served. Mix and match their favorite drinks—the answers are below:

1. George Washington

2. Andrew Johnson

3. Grover Cleveland

4. Harry S. Truman

5. Franklin D. Roosevelt

6. William Howard Taft

7. James A. Garfield

8. Martin Van Buren


A) Hennessey Martini

B) Brandy Toddy

C) Manhattan

D) Moet Chandon Champagne

E) Dewars Scotch

F) Maker’s Mark and soda

G) Plymouth Gin Martini

H) Madeira Wine

Answers: 1-H; 2-B; 3-D; 4-F; 5-G; 6-C; 7-E; 8-A

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