Abraham Lincoln's Favorite Drink Was Surprisingly Simple

Abraham Lincoln is one of those historical figures, like George Washington or Napoleon, where you sometimes forget that he was a real person. Yes, of course, Lincoln was obviously real — we didn't just collectively hallucinate our 16th U.S. president who led us through the Civil War and emancipated the slaves — but he looms so large, staring back at us from pennies and $5 bills, that he seems to transcend flesh and blood. But he was human after all, with his fair share of health issues, personal foibles, and favorite foods. Honest Abe had a taste for gingerbread cookies, and regularly partook in his favorite drink: plain water.

Does that make Abraham Lincoln one of the original hydro homies? Maybe so, but his taste for water had less to do with its benefits, and more to do with him preferring it over the alternatives at the time, like wines, hard ciders, and liquors. He wasn't a teetotaler – he had no moral or religious objections to alcohol, and he would enjoy the occasional tipple at social events — but he disliked the effect alcohol had on him. He's quoted in "The Presidents' Cookbook" as saying, "It is unpleasant and always leaves me flabby, undone." (This is, as the kids say, a mood.) Perhaps Lincoln might have enjoyed Coca-Cola (or Lyndon B. Johnson's favorite soda, Fresca) if it had been invented, but since an ice cold Coke was still roughly 20 years away at the time of his death, he had to settle for water.

It might be surprising that Abraham Lincoln, who originally hailed from Kentucky, the bourbon capital of America, never took to liquor. But, while Honest Abe didn't have much of a taste for the stuff, early American spirits certainly ran in his family. His dad worked in distilleries to make extra dough for his cash-strapped family, and when Lincoln grew up, he ended up going into the liquor business, as well — sort of.

Abraham Lincoln is, in fact, the only president to have a bartender's liquor license in his name. Before entering politics, he ran a general store in New Salem, Illinois, with his business partner, William Berry. This store was, reputedly, where Lincoln acquired the nickname "Honest Abe," as he would often be candid about the quality of certain goods, or walk great distances to return change if a customer paid too much. But it was also a place where alcohol was served, which led Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln's political opponent and famed debate partner, to disparage his rival by saying he worked in a "grocery" — which was, at the time, understood to be a euphemism for a tavern. But no matter what drinks Lincoln sold to customers, he always preferred water.