Alcohol Consumption
2 articles
Eat & Drink
Ninety Bottles of Whiskey a Year: How Much Early Americans Really Drank
Around 1830, the average American consumed an estimated 7.1 gallons of pure alcohol annually, equivalent to about 90 bottles of whiskey, driven by unsafe water, diet, and economic factors. This high consumption, woven into daily life, later shifted to a moral concern with the rise of temperance movements.
Javier Rodriguez·July 6, 2026
Eat & Drink
What Americans Ate and Drank in 1776: A Diet Shaped by Unsafe Water, Cultural Fusion, and Class
In 1776, American diets were shaped by the necessity of drinking alcohol due to unsafe water, a fusion of European, Indigenous, and African food traditions, and significant disparities in food access based on social class.
Javier Rodriguez·July 5, 2026