alcohol

The Daiquiri is the History of American Empire in a Cocktail

by Ian Seavey

"The daiquiri rose to prominence as a direct result of the American imperial project in the Caribbean during the burgeoning classic cocktail age from 1860 to 1920."

Ken Burns Got "Prohibition" Wrong

by Mark Lawrence Schrad

Burns largely accepts an individualistic and libertarian narrative of prohibition as a misbegotten campaign of moral scolds, missing the reformist, egalitarian, and humane demands of the movement and the exploitative nature of the "liquor traffic" it sought to disrupt. 

On Beer, or, Why Chicks Rock

by Eleanor Janega

The history of brewing in medieval Europe reflects on the present in interesting ways from the inside of the pub. 

The History of Saloons Helps Understand the Social Harm of the Pandemic

"In the century and a half after the founding, saloons continued to be a key social institution, places of business, leisure, and community for many men—until Prohibition wiped them out, destroying in one fell stroke the cultural and economic infrastructure they had long provided."

Outrage over Boris Johnson's Parties is Part of a Long Tradition

Since aristocratic 1920s Brits adopted the cocktail culture of Prohibition-era America, the idea of a hard-partying elite living by their own rules has been a source of popular outrage, with the Prime Minister only the latest case. 

The Truth About Prohibition

by Mark Lawrence Schrad

American historians have often identified Prohibition with a coalition of social reformers, nativists and religious fundamentalists. Looking at the international temperance and prohibition movement tells a different story of a fight against exploitation of workers and minority groups through addiction.

How the Great War Helped the Drive for Prohibition

by Kathryn Smith

Hatred of Germans (and their beer) was essential to dry propaganda.

Manhood, Madness, and Moonshine

by Dillon Carroll

Today's concern for "deaths of despair" among white Americans isn't unprecedented; a wave of alcoholism and temperance advocacy after the Civil War highlighted the relationship between social unsettlement, substance abuse and social reformism.

The Hard Seltzer Trend Echoes the 19th Century Craze for Lager

"Lagers were introduced by a wave of German immigrants pouring in from Europe. To uninitiated Americans, lager was simply weird. But for Germans-turned-German-Americans, the beer was inseparable from the culture of its consumption."

America Has a Drinking Problem

The shifting social setting of American alcohol consumption, as much as its volume, is cause for concern. 

Cocktail of the Week: The Versatile Mule

by Kathryn Smith

Enjoy a variation of the Moscow Mule as a summer cocktail (alcohol optional) with a history lesson on the cocktail's creation. 

Women Used to Dominate the Beer Industry – Until the Witch Accusations Started Pouring In

by Laken Brooks

Male brewers seized on the conservative ideas of the Reformation to push women out of the brewing trade through accusations of witchery. Today's craft beer culture, unlike the home brewing of old, is male-dominated.

From Fish House Punch to Bud Light: America’s Long, Complicated Relationship with Alcohol (Web Event, 12/17)

To mark the centennial of Prohibition, please join AEI’s Kevin R. Kosar for a conversation exploring how alcohol has influenced America’s economy, politics, and culture.

Mr. DeMille, I’m Ready for Your Booze Stash

A look inside the subculture of "dusty hunters," collectors of old-stock liquor. Usually this means finding discontinued brands in the back of a liquor store, but sometimes it means buying a legendary film director's supply. 

Let Us Drink in Public

Many modern open container laws derive from previous “public drunkenness” and “vagrancy” ordinances that criminalized not just alcoholism, but also poverty and homelessness.

The Many Faces of the ‘Wine Mom’

Historian Lisa Jacobson explains that the "Wine Mom" meme is rooted in gender and middle class norms regulating women's obligations to their children (and women's desire for freedom from them).

In Memoriam: William Rorabaugh

William Rorabaugh, known to his colleagues as Bill, was a popular teacher and prolific scholar whose legacy will be felt for many years to come.

Prohibition Was a Failed Experiment in Moral Governance

by Annika Neklason

A repealed amendment and generations of Supreme Court rulings have left the constitutional regulation of private behavior in the past. Will it stay there?

A Bloody Mary Bar and a Barroom Full of Fun

by Bruce Chadwick

The story includes the history of the Bloody Mary, Irish Coffee. Champagne and the Bellini, brunch drinks, told in spirited, light hearted songs presented by a seasoned and a deliciously giddy cast.

How To Drink Like A President

The drinking habits of presidents past and present.