Tag: drinking

On Churchill’s Daily Alcohol Consumption

It’s no secret that Churchill drank a lot of alcohol, both daily and in his lifetime. Based on recent social media videos where young men try to drink like Churchill for a day, I think the latest generation is learning about it.

Despite some Churchill supporters downplaying his consumption, he was an epic drinker. He drank continually throughout the day, from watery scotches in the morning to snifters of cognac at night. A typical day looked like this (according to his supporters no less):

(1) Several whisky and sodas (less than an ounce of whisky) around 11am, teatime and bedtime and occasionally one other during the evening. (He never drank whisky neat.)

(2) An imperial pint (20 oz.) of champagne or wine at a 1pm lunch followed by a brandy, also likely an ounce.

(3) An imperial pint of champagne or wine at dinner followed by a brandy.

This translates into approximately six glasses (1½ 750 ml. bottles) of champagne or wine daily along with 5 to 6 ounces of whisky or brandy spread over a 12 to 15 hour period.

Whew.

It took years and years for Churchill to develop a tolerance for that much alcohol consumption: it’s not surprising that young men who experiment with drinking that much in a day fail to accomplish it. I wouldn’t recommend that for anyone.

P.S. For more on people trying to drink like Churchill, see this. For more on Churchill and his lifestyle, I highly recommend No More Champagne: Churchill and His Money by David Lough. I also recommend that piece from his supporters, The Myth of Churchill and Alcohol: A Distortion of the Record. It’s remarkable the lengths they go to downplay his drinking.

On Dry January

Kudos to all of you succeeding this long into your dry January this year. I hope you are crushing it. If you are not, or if you are curious about this and want tips on how to do it well, then check this out.

Dry January does not mean you can’t be social. No sir. If you want to have a party and keep it dry, there’s plenty of ways to do that. One way is with mocktails. For instance, here’s 6 Mocktail Recipes you can use. You can find a ton of such concoctions on the Web these days.

After some consideration, perhaps you want not so much a dry January and more of a…damp January? Yes, it’s a thing. Read this and see what I mean.

If you need more guidance: How to Drink Less Alcohol: 9 Tips for Drinking Less and Enjoying It More this Also this: How to Be Sober and Work in a Bar . And this recovering rule follower sobriety.

For people wanting to get on this healthy bandwagon, don’t wait until next year. As I have argued, February is the best month to do resolutions. Why not have a dry February? The best month to change is the one you’re in on the day you decide to change.

 

The best form of government, according to Branko Milanović

This is an interesting view of government, and I recommend you read it:
Branko Milanović – Governments of limited vice | Brave New Europe

When I first read it, I found it fascinating. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that what he is partially arguing for is moderate government. If governments get extreme one way or another, terrible things happen to their citizens.

The other benefit of this approach is that governments can adjust to what is a vice they have to crack down on, because the citizenry’s view of vice changes. Sometimes people stop considering certain acts vices. Or they downplay the harm such vices do. When this happens, governments of limited vice can back off and permit people the freedom to act a certain way.  For much of the 20th century the province of Ontario had a film censor board, and they cut out scenes they thought were offensive.  Now it’s been scraped. Once people were arrested for buying marijuana in Ontario: now the government provides guidance on how to purchase it. Governments of limited vice are moving the boundaries all the times, often due to the effort of the people who do not agree with the boundaries, and think society would be better with different boundaries.

There will always be a form of government. Governments of limited vice may be the best of them all.

(Photo by Rythik on Unsplash )