The Refreshing Drink Abraham Lincoln Preferred Over All Others

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An uncomfortable truth about American history is that many United States presidents did the job while sauced. Grover Cleveland was known to down up to a gallon of beer a day, and Richard Nixon spent his final weeks in office drinking his feelings away over the Watergate scandal. Andrew Johnson actually showed up intoxicated to Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration, where Johnson was being sworn in as vice president. However, Lincoln, by comparison, was among presidents who hardly drank alcohol. In fact, his drink of choice while in the White House was as tame as it comes: water.

Abraham Lincoln's reputation as an abstemious person is somewhat surprising considering he grew up in the Las Vegas of its time: Kentucky. The area was known for a culture of drinking and gambling, and Lincoln's family even worked in the liquor business. While two of Lincoln's uncles were known to overindulge, Lincoln's father was not a big drinker, apparently setting an example for his son.

During his presidency, Lincoln rarely drank alcohol, something often assumed to stem from deep-seated moral values. However, this misconception may come from a speech Lincoln made in 1842 to a temperance society in Springfield, Illinois. While Lincoln compared alcohol abstinence to the American Revolution, most scholars feel the comparison was facetious, meant to critique religiously motivated moral reform movements. In reality, Lincoln rarely drank simply because he disliked alcohol, stating once it made him feel "flabby and undone." Instead, Lincoln preferred to stick to old-fashioned H2O.

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The favorite drinks of the U.S. presidents range from libations like hard cider and beer to alcohol-free choices like Diet Coke and tea. Lincoln, however, drank water every single day during his time in the White House. His tastes in food were about as chaste as his preferred drink — the president's diet was bland, if irregular. Lincoln often consumed eggs, toast, and biscuits, but he was known to skip meals on occasion to make time for guests or important meetings. While he sometimes had a glass of milk with his food, Lincoln mostly stuck to water.

Despite the fact Lincoln was likely among the most hydrated presidents due to his preference for good old-fashioned water, he did indulge in more adult beverages on occasion. Lincoln did not want to appear boring to guests, so he often drank at official White House functions as well as parties thrown by his wife. His drink of choice during such occasions was wine or champagne.