
Presidential Drinking
Part 9: Ford to Bush
The story of Prohibition is very much the story of America’s relationship with alcohol throughout our history. It has shaped our politics, our culture, and our economy. Changing American tastes and values had enormous influence over just how present alcohol, and what types of it, has been in our society. A fascinating gauge of those changing tastes is looking at how our presidents from the Founding Fathers all the way up to the incumbent have interacted, or not interacted, with beer, wine and spirits.
In this series, Presidential Drinking, we’ve dug deep into what place alcohol had in each president’s life from their favorite drinks to whether it contributed to their business practices throughout their lives to whether they… well… imbibed a little too much from time to time.

President Gerald Ford, served 1974 to 1977
What was his drink of choice?
President Ford was known to enjoy martinis, especially when he was in the House of Representatives. Even as early as lunch, Ford liked to nurse a double martini. But it wasn’t just martinis! He also liked a good G&T (Gin and Tonic.) It seems he liked his drinks stiff and clear!
Was he in the booze business?
For this section, we’d like to give credit to First Lady Betty Ford. The Fords weren’t in the alcohol business, but the flipside to that industry is the hard work people do to make a difference in the lives of those for which alcohol is not a simple recreational refreshment, but an addictive and harmful substance. Betty Ford became the first First Lady to share her own battle with alcoholism and drug addiction. After getting sober, Betty continually raised awareness in the public and worked to decrease the stigma surrounding addiction. About a decade after leaving the White House, she established the Betty Ford Center in California for treatment of chemical dependency.
Did he party?
Gerald Ford had an unlikely journey to the presidency. At the beginning of October of 1973, he was serving in the House as Minority Leader. Ten days into the month, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned the vice presidency to face corruption and bribery charges and Ford was plucked out of the House to replace him. Ford remarked to his wife that the job would be “nice conclusion” to his political life.
Not so, Gerald Ford! Just over a week later, President Nixon fired the special prosecutor investigating Watergate, setting into motion the impeachment proceedings that would force Nixon to resign and make Ford president. And that’s how Gerald Ford became the only person to become president without being elected by the people to the executive branch.
That’s all to say, there was a lot of baggage heaped on President Ford when he assumed the office in August of 1974. One of the suggestions that Ford followed was cutting back on his onslaught of martinis to keep his reputation as squeaky clean as possible. He kicked the habit, but still drank a bit here and there. After his presidency, Ford quit drinking altogether a year after Betty quit. He said he got tired of drinking alone.
there was a lot of baggage heaped on President Ford when he assumed the office in August of 1974.

President Jimmy Carter, served 1977 to 1981
What was his drink of choice?
Not much of anything! The Carter White House was one of the drier ones in recent memory. President Carter would occasionally sip on some white wine to fill the obligatory duties of a toast. In his personal life, he has consumed a little more, almost exclusively wine. However, he’s a prolific traveler and said that when he visits countries with “abominable” wine, he opts for local beers instead.
Before we move on, it’s also worth noting that Carter was our first (of just two!) presidents born during Prohibition. He and his beloved wife, Rosalynn, were born in 1924 and 1927, respectively.
Was he in the booze business?
Is the guy who sipped an occasional glass of white wine just to be polite in the booze business? Why, yes! He is! Winemaking is actually a Carter family tradition with a recipe that goes back generations using local Scuppernong and Muscadine grapes. President Carter believes the recipe to be unnecessarily sweet and has studied winemaking books to adjust and perfect his wines. When he was interviewed about his winemaking in 2005, he talked about inviting his children and grandchildren to help pick 50 gallons of grapes to make wine. The resulting wines were given as gifts to friends, family, and for auctions at the Carter Center. But that’s not even the only spirited pursuit of the Carter family! When Jimmy was in office, his brother, Billy, had his own brand of beer called “Billy Beer.”
Here in Savannah, we’re particularly fond of talking about Jimmy’s relationship with bars. Born and raised in Georgia, Carter had plenty of reasons to visit our fine city. One of his favorite local watering holes was Pinkie Masters and its owner, Pinkie himself, was an early supporter of Carter’s political career. The famous dive still has a plaque commemorating the time Jimmy stood on their bar to speak to a crowd.
Did he party?
Not really. Carter’s White House was decidedly drier than the administrations of all the ones surrounding his. He banned the serving of hard liquor in the building. However, evidence shows that this wasn’t necessarily about alcohol itself.
President Carter saw liquor bills as unnecessary spending and touted his liquor ban as saving a million dollars a year on meal expenses in the White House. In the same vein, he also targeted the “three-martini lunch,” the age-old practice of businessmen writing off cocktail-soaked lunches as business expenses on their taxes. He painted it as a matter of the working men and women of the country having modest sandwiches for lunch while the fancy imbibing of the upper class let them live the high life.
President Carter saw liquor bills as unnecessary spending and touted his liquor ban as saving a million dollars a year on meal expenses in the White House.

President Ronald Reagan, served 1981 to 1989
What was his drink of choice?
Although a native of Illinois, President Reagan quickly learned to enjoy California wines when he moved there to pursue his career in Hollywood. During a visit from Mikhail Gorbachev, Reagan served the Soviet President wines from California’s Russian River region. Ronald Reagan, of course, had plenty of highly important meetings with Soviet officials which meant he was exposed to plenty of vodka. Luckily, one of Reagan’s chosen cocktails was a modified version of the Prohibition Era Orange Blossom: vodka, some sweetener (grenadine or sweet vermouth), and orange juice. The original cocktail uses gin instead of vodka.
Was he in the booze business?
We were all ready to say no to this one. And it’d be techincally true. Reagan didn’t sell or make the stuff. However, we did uncover his supposed link to the last Scottish bootlegger to operate on the peninsula of Kintyre. This illicit distiller, Johnnie Blue, is said to be Reagan’s first cousin, four times removed. When the Keepers of the Quaich, a society of scotch enthusiasts, sprang the information on the then-former president, he had no idea of the supposed family connection.
Did he party?
It doesn’t seem so. Most of his drinking exploits seem to center around doing business, making toasts, and social obligations. He drank vodka with the Soviets in the name of diplomacy and wined and dined through his Hollywood days and beyond. Even stories of his hard-partying are punctuated by an exhibition of control. Reagan apparently drew the ire of his costar Errol Flynn while they were working on the film Desperate Journey (1942). The future president apparently had been dumping shots of bourbon into the spittoon rather than keeping up with the famously thirsty Flynn and the rest of the cast.
President Reagan, when it comes to alcohol, is most noted for signing the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984 which set the national drinking age at its current age of 21 years.
Although a native of Illinois, President Reagan quickly learned to enjoy California wines when he moved there to pursue his career in Hollywood.

President George H.W. Bush, served 1989 - 1993
What was his drink of choice?
The first President Bush didn’t seem to be all that picky about what he drank. A beer here, some wine there. The only specific cocktail mentioned in reference to Bush 41 is the vodka martini.
Was he in the booze business?
The day after his 18th birthday, Bush enlisted in the Navy to fight in World War II. Fresh out of college, he moved his family to Texas to get into the oil business. From there, he got into politics and the rest is, literally, history.
But if you go a little farther back in the Bush family line, there is some notable participation in cocktail history! Bush’s grandfather, George Herbert Walker, wrote the introduction to The Ideal Bartender, a pre-Prohibition cocktail recipe book written by the pioneering Black bartender, Tom Bullock. That same Tom Bullock was mentioned in the libel case brought on by President Theodore Roosevelt when a paper accused him of drinking too much.
While President Roosevelt attempted to downplay his enjoyment of Bullock’s cocktails, the grandfather of George H.W. Bush showed no such restraint. His introduction raved about Tom Bullock and boldly claimed that Walker doubted whether “he has erred in even one of his concoctions.”
Did he party?
While George H.W. Bush was the president of his fraternity at Yale and likely attended his fair share of parties, he never really garnered a reputation as a party animal. However, there is one story of Bush getting “ill” at a party, but it’s got nothing to do with alcohol. While attending a state dinner held by the Prime Minister of Japan, Bush… got sick… right into the lap of his own host and fellow statesman.
We wouldn’t broadcast this embarrassing moment in recent presidential history if President Bush himself didn’t have a sense of humor about it. As he was lowered to the floor at the dinner, he joked with his doctor, “Roll me under the table until the dinner’s over.” It’s that quintessential Bush family self-deprecating wit.
While George H.W. Bush was the president of his fraternity at Yale and likely attended his fair share of parties, he never really garnered a reputation as a party animal.