George Washington’s Expensive Bar Tab
Public DomainAfter writing the U.S. Constitution, George Washington and other delegates racked up a $20,000 bar tab.
In September 1787, after months of grueling debates in Philadelphia, delegates of the Constitutional Convention had finally completed their work drafting the U.S. Constitution. To celebrate, they gathered for a farewell dinner at the City Tavern — and spared no expense on their drinks.
The bill survived and eventually made the rounds on social media, with some scrutinizing the posts and questioning the validity of the claim. As USA Today reported in 2022, though, it was true: Washington and his peers had certainly partied hard once the work was done.
Independence Hall ArchivesThe tab for the evening.
In total, they drank 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of claret, eight bottles of whiskey, 22 bottles of porter, eight bottles of hard cider, 12 bottles of beer, and seven large bowls of alcoholic punch. Even before the punch, that was roughly two bottles of wine, a few cups of beer, and several shots for every guest.
The tab totaled 89 pounds, four shillings, two pence, which would be around $20,000 today, though that price did also include dinner for all 55 guests, fees for broken wine glasses, and drinks for musicians and waiters.
It’s not clear if Washington partook in the drinking, though. He was certainly fond of booze and later ran his own distillery at Mount Vernon, but according to Alexis Coe, who authored a biography on the president, he “really did not want to be there.”
“He was happy to provide the stable unifying presence that the founders and framers needed in order to sign the Constitution… but he was exhausted, he was without his wife — who he really liked to be with — and he knew there was no way she would join him.”
