How Much Cowboys Paid For A Shot Of Whiskey In The Old West

Whiskey has long been associated with the Old West. It was used as a currency to barter with Native Americans as explorers and settlers pushed west, it livened up frontier festivities, and it was the drink of choice in many saloons and brothels; everyone from pioneers to cowboys to ladies of leisure regularly enjoyed a shot or two of whiskey. How much did a drink set someone back in those days? Probably no more than $0.25, and often less.

Legend has it that when cowboys sauntered into the nearest saloon to rest their spurs on a stool and imbibe but they couldn't pony up cash for a tipple of whiskey they'd trade a bullet from their gun for one instead. This was believed to be the origin of the term "shot" as a single order of liquor. Both the cartridge and the whiskey were said to be worth the same amount of money, so it would have been an even trade.

The legend is great, but it has since been disproven. The price of a bullet was closer to $0.02, which means a cowboy would have needed to trade several bullets to pay for one libation. And anyway, most saloon owners would have demanded payment in money, not bullets. So, as it turns out, a shot probably has very little to do with cowboys and their guns in the Old West. In terms of purchasing power, $0.25 in the late 1800s would be equivalent to about $8 today, so apparently not much has changed.

The life of a cowboy was hard. He worked long hours saddling broncos, wranglin' stock, and herding steer; all for the measly wage of $1 per day. Even back then, a single dollar didn't go far. If a cowboy was the drinking type or had a lady friend to buy a drink for, he'd have enough for just four shots of whiskey daily if he was willing to spend his entire paycheck.

But cowboys had to eat if they wanted to keep up their energy for all that wrangling and riding. The cost of a meal hinged on who was in charge of the chuckwagon and what he was cooking — not every cowboy was content with subsisting on dry, tooth-breaking hardtack alone. In those days, butter would go for $0.15 a pound, cheese and rice were each $0.05 a pound, and a dozen oranges went for $0.50.

The cows which cowboys herded had a value of about $26 each, while a calf was worth $2.50. The cowboy's trusty steed cost between $150 and $200 depending on how good of a horse it was, and the saddle alone was worth two months of a cowpoke's salary at $60. Of course, good cowboys wore blue jeans, and back then denim cost $1 for seven yards. How much he paid for his home-on-the-range varied according to its extravagance, from $25 for a one-room shanty up to $700 for a posh, four-room house.