Back in the day, when these fine fifty nifty states were still mere colonies, Americans drank. And they drank hard. It was a daily practice to head to the local tavern and consume obscene amounts of alcohol (sounds like our kind of routine). Eventually, word got around that this wasn’t the healthiest practice, and it landed us where we are today. But, let’s take a moment to reflect on our well-bred roots and talk about America’s first drinks.
Let’s start with beer, the one thing most Americans can relate to. The first brewery on this fine land was established in 1612 by Adrian Block and Hans Christiansen in New Amsterdam, which is now Manhattan. While these two men were Dutch, they did brew the first official beers on what would become US soil. Cheers, guys.
Wine came along a tad later. The first commercial winery was established through Kentucky legislature in 1799, and was dubbed First Vineyard. How clever. The person in charge—or the viticulturist, if you will—was a man by the name of John James Dufour. Job well done, Johnny.
And last, but certainly not least, we come to the first American cocktail. Still a highly regarded and well-known drink, the Sazerac was birthed in none other than the Big Easy: New Orleans. After a couple alterations were made to the drink, the recipe as it’s known today was created in 1873 by a bartender named Leon Lamothe. Hats off, Leo.
So when you’re sipping on your drink of choice this Independence Day, don’t forget to give a shout out to some of our other founding fathers.