Five Tidbits of Presidential Hard Cider History

February 15, 2017
Presidents Day

Today is President’s Day.  So why not grab a cider and brush up on your history?  Falling between the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln, it now represents the day when you can get a really great deal on a new car.  That said, there is something that connects our generation to that of the Founding Fathers: Hard cider.  Looking back at some of our earliest Commander-in-Chiefs, it seems that hard cider was the drink of choice!  Here are five presidents and their connection to cider:

George Washington

In 1789, he was unanimously elected into the Presidency by the Electoral College.  To rally his loyal supporters before election day he bought them 144 gallons of hard cider.

William Henry Harrison

In the 1840 election, Harrison dubbed himself the “Log Cabin and Hard Cider Candidate”.  The campaign hoped it would create an image that he was in touch with the common man, unlike his competitor and sitting president, Martin Van Buren.  With log cabins and hard cider plastered across banners and posters and Harrison giving free cider away to his supporters, he won with 234 electoral votes to his opponent’s 60 votes.

John Adams

Adams lived to be 90 years old making him the third longest living president. What was his secret? Adams drank a tankard of cider every morning. He believed it promoted good health, and would cure him of his ailments.

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson was famous for his passion of studying plants and trees.  On his Monticello Estate in the hills Charlottesville, Virginia he grew beautiful apple orchards.  Using those apples he was an earlier pioneer in the production of hard cider.

Benjamin Franklin

Okay, he wasn’t a president.  But he was a Founding Father with a plethora of famous quotes about hard cider.  We’ll take it.  Here are three:

  • “He that drinks his cider alone, let him catch his horse alone.”
  • “It’s indeed bad to eat apples, it’s better to turn them all into cider.”
  • “Give me yesterdays bread, this day’s flesh, and last year’s cider.”

So there you have it.  A history lesson on the day we honor our presidents.  Cheers!

 

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