Cocked and Boozy: An Intoxicating History of the American Revolution

BOOK REVIEW: Cocked and Boozy: An Intoxicating History of the American Revolution by Brook Barbier (Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press, 2026)

“Muddled.” “Buzzey.” “Jolly.” “Cherry Merry.” “Swallow’d a Tavern Token.” “Cat.” These terms are all euphemisms that describe someone who is inebriated. All of these words come to us courtesy of the great Dr. Benjamin Franklin, in his own “The Drinker’s Diary.” Boston tavern-tour guide and historian Brook Barbier (author of King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father) includes Franklin’s publication in her fascinating study of historical drinking in Cocked and Boozy: An Intoxicating History of the American Revolution. Barbier shows that alcohol had a role to play in the events that led to the Revolution, and also important incidents in post-war America.

Alcohol and drinking (or “tippling”) deeply permeated early American history and culture. Basically, everyone drank. Sometimes drinking something with alcohol was a healthier choice, since water could become stagnant and contaminated with bacteria. John Adams, who frowned on inebriation, still frequented pubs and drank hard cider (his favorite). George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were fonder of expensive wines, especially madeira. A recipe for small beer by Washington is included in the book’s first chapter, “’Been at Barbadoes’ Lubricating Colonial Life.” Native Americans saw alcohol as a destructive aspect of European culture. Massachusetts Bay Colony was integral in the triangle trade, turning West Indian molasses into rum, so there was quite a bit of resistance to the Sugar Act of 1764, which led to James Otis to make impassioned pleas against the use of writs of assistance.

The tavern was the center of colonial life in many communities. It was a place to gather and discuss politics, and although former brewer Samuel Adams (he failed at the business) was a tee-totaler, he understood the importance of holding meetings in taverns, The Stamp Act of 1765, of course, made resistance to the British Parliament very excited, vocal, and violent. The home of Massachusetts official Thomas Hutchinson was destroyed by a mob of Bostonians who had been fueled by excessive drinking. Barbier looks at the discussions that were happening at the same time in taverns in Virginia, some of which were frequented by Washington, Jefferson, and Patrick Henry. Alcohol played a part in the Boston Tea Party and the Gaspee burning in Rhode Island. People were emboldened by drinking, and when the First Continental Congress gathered in Philadelphia, they met in taverns and formed important relationships, thereby uniting the colonies. In Chapter 4, “’Half Way to Concord’ Swilling, Drilling, and Spying,” Massachusetts loyalists in taverns helped British soldiers gain information on sentiments in the countryside. And Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John about the raucous and sometimes drunken celebrations after the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston for the first time.

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Even on the front lines, alcohol was vital to the success of the Continental Army. General Washington made sure to include some rum, or grog, with the provisions to the soldiers. Benjamin Franklin, negotiating an alliance in Paris, relied on wine to loosen the purse-strings of the French treasury for supplies.

There were some besides the Native Americans who were very aware of the dangers of alcohol. Dr. Benjamin Rush tried to make people understand the effects of drinking. The family of John and Abigail Adams suffered greatly due to alcoholism, losing a son to drink. Still, there is no denying the importance of alcohol to the Constitutional Convention’s tavern diplomacy and deal-making in 1787. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson wined and dined James Madison and Finance Secretary Alexander Hamilton to get the two to agree to an important compromise (think of the Hamilton musical number “The Room Where It Happened”). And the new national government was tested when farmers in western Pennsylvania organized to resist a tax on whiskey, now known as the Whiskey Rebellion. Barbier sums up her book in the final chapter, “’He’s in his cups’ One Nation, Under Booze,” by saying that although Americans fought each other over many things, there was still something they all had in common: alcohol.

There was a unifying spirit through it all, however, and it was the one they drank: rum and whiskey. Cider and beer and porter. Wine and brandy. Punch and syllabub. These beverages were omnipresent during the struggle for independence and when building a new nation. They lubricated connections, fostered violence, built trust, marked celebrations, and encouraged industry. Simply put: these drinks helped colonists become Americans. [page 175]

The first appendix to the book is a travel and drinking guide to some of the better-known taverns in Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The second appendix is Benjamin Franklin’s dictionary on drinking terms. What will certainly entice the reader in this book is the fact that Barbier includes the recipes of famous concoctions that were popular in colonial times. Each one is modernized with today’s ingredients: Grog, Sangaree, Brandy Milk Punch, Rum Punch, Stone Fence, Brandied Peaches, and Cherry Bounce.

Happy drinking!

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