September 1787: That Time Our Founding Fathers Ran Up An Epic Bar Tab

June 27, 2017

Independence Day.

Along with celebrating the birth of the United States, some of us look back at our youth and remember this as one of the few days when dad did the cooking while he and his friends seemingly forgot how to walk and talk normally. As you got older, you realized this was due to the miraculous combination of celebration and alcohol. However, if you thought it was just your dad that partied a little too hard in honor of America’s independence, you would be wrong.

Not only do many fathers do this, but so did our Founding Fathers.

In fact, there was one legendary bar tab racked up by none other than George Washington himself. This happened right as the Founding Fathers were finishing up the writing of a little document called the United States Constitution. So while it may not have been the 4th of July, this seems like as good a time as any to reflect back on our epic forefathers.

By doing just a small amount of research, you can easily find out how hard many of our early Patriot Pops liked to party down. Benjamin Franklin was notorious for loving the ladies. Thomas Jefferson was one of America’s earliest foodies. And Washington spent approximately $200 on ice cream alone in one summer…and that’s $200 in “back then” money.

Flash forward a few years from that summer season and George would be at it again, but this time, the stakes would be higher and the party would be so much more than a mere ice cream social gone wild.

The date was September 15, 1787 and the place was City Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now while the Tavern does still exist today, it will probably never have a more epic binge drinking night than the one Washington had.

Serious talks to draft the Constitution of the United States had been discussed since May of that year. However, it was finally time to get down to business. Washington was off as the delegate of Virginia. Before he was elected as President of the United States, he would serve as the Constitution Convention President for the upcoming draft. Days before the official drafting, Washington’s loyal troops wanted to throw him a farewell party and they did so…in style.

A little over 50 guests attended this soiree, including friends, troops, musicians and of course Washington himself. Between them, they put away enough booze to put any college frat party to shame. Here is the list:

7 large bowls of spiked punch
8 bottles of hard cider
8 bottles of Old Stock (a form of Colonial-era whiskey)
12 bottles of beer
22 bottles of porter
54 bottles of Madeira
60 bottles of Claret

The estimated cost of the bar tab? In today’s dollars, around $16,000.

So this Independence Day, if you decide to get hammered while you’re watching fireworks, just remember…it’s what the Father of Our Country would have done. After all, they drank $16,000 worth of booze two days before finishing the greatest legal document the world has ever seen.