The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1891-11-19
HARR1soN's SCOTCH WHISKY
Recalls Some Noted White House Drinks
and Drinkers.
(From the Plttsburg Dispatch.

(From the Plttsburg Dlspatch.)
The cask of Scotch whisky which the
millionaire, Carnegie, sent to President
Harrison has caused hot, smoky thrill
of Indignation among the Prohibition
people of the United States, writes
Frank G. Carpenter to The Dispatch.
1t recalls the brandy which General
Henry NJ. Naglee, the noted vineyard
owner on the Pacific coast, sent to
Cleveland. General Nagee was great
admirer of President Cleveland, and he
had barrel made with silver hoops,
which he filled with the finest of grape
brandy worth at least $50 gallon. He
expressed this to the late William Dor
sheimer, of New York, and asked him
to present it to Cleveland. Dorsheimer
promised to do this, and the brandy
was shipped from California to New
York, and from thence it probably
came to the White House.
President Arthur had some very
choice wine which was given him by
the famous lobbyist, Sam Ward, and
which he brought out only on the
most important occasions. President
Johnson had fine article of pale
sherry, and he was fond of some Soup
pernong wine sent him by his friends
in North Carolina. Thomas Jefferson
spent the most for wines Of all our Pres
idents, and his account book shows that
he gave over $4,000 for sherries, bran
dies, Maderias and champagnes while
he was in the White House. He Or
dered his wines by the hundreds of bot
ties, and in the first year of his Presi-
dency he spent 80, 800 on liquors. Pres
ident Washington, though he was a
temperate drinker himself, had good
wines on his table, and he always took
two glasses of Madeira at dinner. Dur
ing his first campaign for the House of
Burgesses in Virginia, find barrel of
whiskey for the treatment Of voters set
down in the items of his account book,
and he always served wines at his state
dinners.
John Tyler, the son of the President,
once told me that his fathers brandy
cost him four dollars gallon, and that
he imported his own Madeira, sending
shelled Indian corn from his Virginia
plantation over to MADEIRA TO be ex-
changed for it. Buchanan always had
good wines and so had Grant and
Cleveland. Hayes is the only Pres
ident in history who has not served
wines at his State dinner, and as for
Andrew Jackson, he always had good
liquors on tap and plenty of them.
The night after his inauguration the
carpets in the East Room of the
White House we're ruined by the orange
punch, which was brought into the
room in buckets. There were barrels
of this punch and when the walters en-
tered with the buckets, the guests !
rushed for it and in the scramble that |
ensued, glasses were broken and dresses |
spoiled. The tubs of punch were final
ly taken out into the White House |
grounds,and in this way the throng was |
drawn out and it was possible to serve |
cake and wine.
One of the hardest drinkers among
the Presidents was Andrew johnson. |
He was drunk when he was inaugural |
ed as Vice President and he kept his |
bottle generally near him. While be |
was governor of Tennessee he had jug |
in the washstand in his executive office, |
and he treated his friends from this.