15 US Presidents And Their Go-To Whiskey

Since the 1700s, many presidents have sat in the White House. At the time of writing, there have been 47 presidencies (and 45 presidents). Each individual has dealt with the stress of the job in different ways. Donald Trump, for example, relies on Diet Coke and fast food, while Barack Obama used to take regular short strolls to clear his mind. But throughout the centuries, perhaps unsurprisingly given the immense stress of the job, many presidents have turned to hard liquor to get through.

James Madison (the fourth president) and Martin Van Buren (eighth) were two huge whiskey drinkers, for example. In fact, some reports suggest that Madison used to drink up to a pint of whiskey every single day, while Buren earned the nickname "Blue Whiskey Van" for his remarkable ability to hold glass after glass of the liquor.

Madison and Buren weren't alone. Several U.S. presidents have loved whiskey, and you can find out more about them and their go-to types below. The only reason Madison and Buren aren't on the list? There isn't much information available about the specific types they enjoyed, or how they enjoyed it, but rest assured, they were hardcore whiskey fans.

In 1797, George Washington wanted to retire. He had spent the previous decades serving in the military, managing a plantation (yes, Washington may have wanted to end slavery, but he also owned hundreds of enslaved people throughout his life), and engaging in politics. Of course, he became the first president of the United States in 1789.

But when Washington arrived back in his home estate of Mount Vernon after leaving the presidency, his plantation manager, James Anderson, had other ideas. Specifically, he wanted to make use of the estate's cover crop, rye, by producing whiskey. Washington reluctantly agreed; he was only an occasional whiskey drinker, but he saw the value in the popular drink. And so he spent the last two years of his life (very successfully) in the whiskey business.

George Washington's Mount Vernon is open and selling whiskey today, although this is more of a tribute to the former president, rather than his original business. Washington's distillery burned down in 1814 and wasn't rebuilt until 2007.

The seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, had more of a soft spot for whiskey than Washington. He was more than an occasional whiskey drinker, and would regularly enjoy a glass of bourbon. It makes sense: This particular type of whiskey, made with mostly maize (more than half), matured in charred oak barrels, and produced in the U.S., was starting to become increasingly popular towards the end of the 1700s and 1800s.

Jackson was president in the 19th century (he was elected in 1828 and retired in 1837), but records suggest he was running his own distillery before this. Most bourbon was produced in Kentucky at first, but Jackson set up his own distillery in the late 1700s in Hunter's Hill, just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

Jackson's original distillery has been lost to history, but you can still buy Old Hickory Bourbon. This Tennessee-produced whiskey company was founded in the late 1860s in Kentucky, but when it relocated across states, it was renamed Old Hickory in honor of Jackson's old military nickname.

James Buchanan, who took office in 1857, was another big drinker. The Pennsylvania-born 15th U.S. president was known for his love of wine, in particular, but he was also partial to a drop (or two) of whiskey. His tipple of choice was Old Monongahela rye, which is a type of whiskey produced in the valley of Virginia and Pennsylvania's Monongahela River.

This particular whiskey was known for its distinct flavor, which may have been due to the different strains of rye, like malted rye and sweet mash, used to produce it. That said, it's tricky to define Old Monongahela rye, as very little record was left from the people who used to produce it. Modern Monongahela rye is made today, but the original blend declined significantly during the Prohibition years.

Still, it must have suited Buchanan's palate, because he couldn't get enough of Old Monongahela rye. In fact, he would order around 10 gallons a week of the stuff, so it's safe to say he was a pretty big fan.

Ulysses S. Grant was another politician who thoroughly enjoyed a drink. Records suggest that the war general and 18th U.S. president loved champagne, but he also wouldn't turn down a glass of whiskey, either. Like Andrew Jackson, Grant was particularly into bourbon. And, like many at the time, he specifically enjoyed Old Crow Bourbon.

This particular Kentucky blend was pioneered by the Scottish immigrant Dr. James C. Crow, a physician who developed a passion for distilling whiskey. He was pretty revolutionary at the time, as he would use modern tools like hydrometers and saccharimeters to check strength, acidity, and sugar levels. He was also a pioneer of the sour mash process, which basically means taking old fermented mash and adding it to a new batch of whiskey. This technique is still used in modern whiskey making, and helps to maintain consistent acidity. 

To this day, Grant has a bad reputation when it comes to alcohol. Many think that even though he loved champagne and whiskey, he couldn't handle either and would regularly end up drunk. However, there is actually very little evidence to support this theory. He loved a drink, sure (perhaps a little too much), but a drunk he was not.

In 1881, Chester A. Arthur moved into the White House, becoming the 21st president of the United States. The former lawyer loved to host parties and dinners, and would often indulge in an alcoholic drink. He liked wine, liqueurs, ales, and, you guessed it, whiskey. But unlike some of his predecessors, Arthur didn't seem to enjoy drinking the spirit neat. Instead, he would enjoy whiskey highballs. 

This very simple cocktail is basically just whiskey and ice, with either ginger ale or club soda. Research suggests the name "whiskey highball" wasn't actually used widely until the 1890s, but Arthur could have easily still enjoyed this cocktail unofficially, given that both club soda and ginger ale were invented in the early to mid-1800s. As for what type of whiskey Arthur enjoyed in his highballs, the truth is, it could have been any, as this cocktail can be made with everything from bourbon to rye to Scotch and Irish whiskey.

Chester A. Arthur wasn't the only president that enjoyed a cocktail. Theodore Roosevelt, who took office in 1901, also enjoyed something a little fancier. His go-to beverage was a mint julep, which is, as you may have assumed, is a minty cocktail made with fresh mint, syrup, ice, and whiskey. The cocktail can be made with many different types of whiskey, but Kentucky bourbon is usually the favored choice of bartenders.

The reason we know Roosevelt used to enjoy mint juleps is partly due to a very public court case in 1913 that, ironically, was dedicated to clearing the former president's name over his drinking habits. Roosevelt left the White House in 1909, but in 1912, he ran for the presidency again under the newly formed Progressive Party. During this time, the Iron Ore newspaper printed that Roosevelt was a drunk. Roosevelt sued for libel, and during the court case, various witnesses confirmed that the former president barely touched alcohol, save for the odd glass of wine or champagne, and the occasional mint julep.

As the name suggests, Scotch whisky comes from Scotland. In fact, its production in the country may even date all the way back to the 1400s, long before the U.S. was the U.S. It was in the 1800s that the drink started developing a global following, and Scotch whisky companies started exporting everywhere from Hong Kong to India to the U.S.

Scotch started to build a following in America in the 19th century, and one person who enjoyed this type of whisky was Woodrow Wilson. The scholar, who would go on to become the 28th president of the United States in 1913, wasn't a huge drinker, but he did used to enjoy the odd Scotch and soda.

If you're thinking: But wasn't Wilson the first president to preside over Prohibition? You'd be correct, he was. However, he wasn't in favor of regulating alcohol consumption, and he actually tried to veto the Volstead Act. At the end of his presidency, rumor has it that he even snuck out a cask of Scotch with him.

Surely the second president to preside over Prohibition would be a teetotaler? Nope, wrong again. Warren G. Harding took over from Woodrow Wilson in the White House in 1921, and like his predecessor, he also enjoyed whiskey. In fact, research suggests that Harding used to have secret stashes of both Scotch and bourbon in his private dwellings. He would often break these out when he was playing games of poker or golf with his friends.

In fact, Harding actually had his friends over to drink quite a bit, and many of his (since disgraced) cabinet members, known as the Ohio Gang, were big alcohol lovers. His attorney general, Harry Daugherty, was even charged with selling illegal liquor permits and pardons while in office.

The next two presidents to take office during Prohibition were Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. Neither were big whiskey drinkers, although Hoover did enjoy the odd martini.

After Herbert Hoover came Franklin D. Roosevelt, who also enjoyed martinis, and then there was Harry S. Truman, another whiskey fan. Truman, who took office in 1945, was all about the bourbon.

The 33rd president of the United States would often drink Old Fashioneds, for example, which is a whiskey cocktail usually made with bourbon, water, bitters, and ice. His go-to varieties of whiskey were Wild Turkey and Old Grand-Dad, both of which are Kentucky straight bourbons.

Truman didn't just like the odd glass of whiskey like some of his predecessors. We're not talking about the odd mint julep or sip of Scotch and soda. No, Truman was a hardcore drinker. In fact, he reportedly even used to drink bourbon in the mornings with breakfast. He would then go on to keep drinking throughout the day, until the evening, when he would drink more cocktails while playing poker.

Before he was the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, which meant he spent a lot of time in Europe. He played a big role in D-Day, for example, which was the military operation that kickstarted the liberation of Northwestern Europe from the Nazis. 

It was during the planning of D-Day in Britain that Eisenhower apparently got into drinking Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch on the rocks. It makes sense: D-Day was an incredibly complex operation, involving more than 150,000 troops. He probably needed something to steady his nerves.

Eisenhower took his love of Scotch whisky home with him. And when he became president in 1953, he still used to drink the odd glass. However, by this point, he was having serious heart problems, so he couldn't drink too much of his favorite tipple.

Dwight D. Eisenhower left the Oval Office in 1961, and John F. Kennedy (widely known as just JFK) took his place. The 35th president had whiskey in his blood. And no, not because his family were a bunch of bootleggers during prohibition (that's likely a myth), but because his grandfather Patrick Kennedy used to own a saloon, and legally imported liquor into Boston prior to the 1920s.

Despite this familial link to the whiskey business, Kennedy wasn't a big drinker. He did consume alcohol occasionally though, usually in the form of bloody mary cocktails, German beers, and Old Overholt whiskey. Some reports suggest that Grant was also a fan of this particular whiskey, which is one of the oldest varieties of rye whiskey in the United States. The Pennsylvania whiskey company was founded by German immigrant Henrich Oberholzer in the early 1800s, and it's still going today.

Just like Woodrow Wilson before him, Lyndon B. Johnson (commonly known as LBJ), was a big fan of Scotch and soda. Specifically, the 36th president of the United States enjoyed the Cutty Sark brand, which is a light-colored blended whiskey made with 40 different malts.

There are many stories out there about Johnson and his love for Cutty Sark. One documentary about the former president claimed that he used to always take 12 cases of the whiskey with him whenever he traveled, for example. Another story, this time recalled by a former assistant, claims that Johnson used to drink Cutty Sark and soda out of a plastic cup while driving.

One report also claims that Johnson used to deliberately order a weaker Scotch and soda during political meetings, ensuring that the other party had a stronger beverage. Why? So he could always stay one step ahead, of course.

The 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, used to drink quite a lot of wine. Californian wine, to be specific. He also liked vodka cocktails, and the reason why he's on this list, whiskey. According to a few reports, Reagan was a fan of Maker's Mark, a type of Kentucky straight bourbon. It's a little different from other types of bourbon, because it's made with red winter wheat, which softens the flavor. Reagan's enjoyment of Maker's Mark is probably why the whiskey maker was chosen to release a commemorative whiskey in honor of Reagan's election in 1985.

While he likely enjoyed the odd drink, Reagan wasn't a particularly boozy individual. Even back in his movie star days, he didn't get drunk. In fact, Australian actor Errol Flynn apparently once complained that Reagan was dumping bourbon into a spittoon instead of drinking it with him on the set of 1942's "Desperate Journey."

After Ronald Reagan came George H.W. Bush. The 41st president was a particularly big fan of Scotch whisky, and according to one Texan bartender who used to serve him regularly, he would usually take it with a splash of water. His go-to brand was Dewar's, which specializes in blended Scotch made with 30 single malt and grain whiskies.

The same bartender recalls that Bush would regularly signal to him that he wanted a Scotch top up by hiding the glass behind his back and slowly backing up towards him. The bartender would fill up his glass, and he would go back into the crowd to finish schmoozing.

Bush didn't just enjoy Scotch. Reports suggest that he was quite the drinker, and would also often opt for drinks like beer and vodka martinis, too. Former first lady Barbara Bush was also a drinker, and according to reports, she enjoyed her last glass of bourbon the night before she died in 2018.

It seems the Bushes passed on their love of whiskey and alcohol, in general, to their son, George W. Bush. George reportedly loved Jim Beam specifically, which is a Kentucky straight bourbon. In a tell-all book based on interviews with him and his father, released in 2017, he spoke of how he used to be very irresponsible when he was in his teens and twenties, and would drink a lot of whiskey during his college years at Yale.

Bush, of course, would go on to follow in his father's footsteps and become the 43rd president of the United States in 2001. But while he was in office, he didn't actually touch much alcohol at all. That's because the politician gave up drinking after a particularly raucous birthday party in 1986. According to his wife, Laura Bush, he quit alcohol cold turkey after that, and never went back.