Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking

Cheers! How Presidents Handle Their Liquor--or Not Discover the secret ingredient in American presidential history. From the whiskey distilled by George Washington to Prohibition-era cocktail parties at the White House to the little-known role of drink in nuclear weapons negotiations, alcohol has been at the center of the American presidency for more than two hundred years. Now journalist Mark Will-Weber weighs in with a thorough and fascinating exploration of the fraught relationships American presidents have had with their liquor. In Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt , you'll learn: How Honest Abe inclined toward temperance--but the slurred speech of his vice president helped spark America's first impeachment crisis Which American president (an Ivy League professor, no less) had his own namesake whiskey The teetotalers vs. the car-totallers among U.S. presidents The preferred presidential stemware: snifter or stein? Why Ike made gin in a bathtub Which president's expensive tastes in alcohol led him into bankruptcy The 4 Cs: Cointreau, claret, Campari, and cocktails Who in the White House abstained, imbibed, or overindulged during Prohibition Recipes from throughout presidential history--favorites including FDR's Bermuda Rum Swizzle, the Missouri Mule (invented for Harry Truman), and Obama's White House Honey Ale Grab your own favorite adult beverage and turn the pages for a unique peek into the White House liquor cabinets of yesteryear and today.