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Dear Friends in our Craft Spirits Community:
The National Conference of State Liquor Administrators—a highly energetic, engaging group of state and federal regulators and related industry affiliates—met this month in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to advance effective beverage alcohol policy and regulation by educating its members about these policies and regulations within our communities, states and nation. I appeared on a panel titled “Beer, Wine, and Spirits in the White House: A Historic Perspective,” which was fitting since the meeting was in our nation’s capital. My prep work confirmed what the White House gives us in spades: food and drink connect people across time, space, and cultures, and contain meaning beyond sustenance.
The panel explored the history behind respective bev alc categories and presidents of the United States. Washington started a distillery at Mount Vernon; Jefferson grew and tended vines at Monticello; and Obama homebrewed beer in the cellars at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. It also highlighted timeless reasons for patronizing on-premise establishments, which have evolved from taverns to modern tasting rooms, pubs, bars, and restaurants.
Within our own circles, we know people frequent our distilleries to savor a cool drink, get the latest news, be entertained, share political discourse, and perhaps even conduct a business transaction. The past is indeed present. Check out the latest issue of CRAFT SPIRITS magazine to discover which American bars are particularly worthy of your visit.
At your next cocktail party or summer BBQ, share these tidbits from the above presentation to impress your audience. At the very least, hopefully these make you smile. Did you know:
- John Adams consumed a tankard of hard cider at every breakfast, a habit he picked up while at Harvard to help him “down” school provided meals.
- Warren G. Harding, who loved whiskey, stashed one in his golf bag before each outing.
- Richard Nixon loved expensive wine but ordered staff to serve the inferior wines to guests.
- Andrew Jackson’s inaugural party grew so rowdy that White House staff used a strong rum punch to lure the crowd outside to avoid crushing POTUS. (Might Oxbow Rum Distillery have ambitions to recreate that punch? Hear from its president to see what is on its horizon.)
- Abraham Lincoln held a liquor license as he sold spirits out of his mercantile shop.
- Thomas Jefferson spent over $16,500 on wine during his White House years.
- Barack Obama used honey from his garden combs to brew a Honey Ale and Honey Porter.
What are we doing to make sure our beverage alcohol industry continues to grow and presidents into the next century continue to enjoy our innovation? Get a seat at the table, reminding our elected officials that we matter. See our collective trade group efforts to ensure full transparency and scientific evidence within the dietary guideline debate. Register for our legislative fly-in to help shape policy, and complete the Craft Spirits Data Project to provide us with the data we need to strengthen our case.
While ACSA cannot promise the grandeur of The East Room at The White House, it guarantees excitement, creative cuisine, entertainment and learning as we announce our upcoming annual convention in Tucson, Arizona. At this hallmark event in March 2025, we will reveal and allow you to sample the medalists’ spirits from our awards competition, which recently opened for registration. If you want your spirits to stand out, enter this competition now.
Many presidents drank spirits replete with flaws.There was a lack of access to fine ingredients. Sign up for our gin webinar to see how far the category has come. And, by the way, did you know that President Franklin Roosevelt preferred gin martinis?
In “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,” Bourdain taught many lessons, chief among them how food and beverage from different cuisines can bring people together. Through the STEPUP Foundation program, we team a diverse body of interns with U.S. distilleries and mentors. Want to be a part of this award-winning program? Keep reading to see how you can get involved.
Finally, as of this writing, it is just one week before I bring together two extended families and friends to celebrate—with good food and craft spirits—my daughter Sydney’s wedding. It will be so much more than filling bellies, but will create a joyous event to nurture the soul with heartwarming memories in years to come. This is just another example of connecting people over a shared drink (or two). With signature cocktails of Maisy’s Lavender-Lemon Martini and John’s Reel Old Fashioned (yes, we’re on the Chesapeake Bay), I’ll be toasting to the newlyweds and expressing gratitude for the fruits of your labor!
Cheers,
Margie |
