Food and Drink

Rum

Rum

During the colonial era, rum was the preferred alcoholic drink of American colonists.

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Beer

Beer was a favorite drink of George Washington, as it was for many people living in the eighteenth century.

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Champagne

In eighteenth century America, wines from France were less commonly available than those from Spain and?

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Dining at Mount Vernon

The Washington family typically ate two substantial meals per day—breakfast at 7 a.m. and dinner at 3 p.m. Tea or coffee sometimes followed in the early evening. The Washingtons relied on enslaved butlers, cooks, waiters, and housemaids to support their daily meals and frequent dinner parties.

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Grapes

George Washington longed for the day when good wines would be produced in America.

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Great Cake

Martha Washington's Great Cake was a large celebratory cake consisting of fruit and spices.

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Hoecakes and Honey

One of General Washington's favorite meals was also one of the simplest: hoecakes and honey.

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Ice Cream

The first reference to ice cream at Mount Vernon dates to May of 1784, when a "Cream Machine for Ice"?

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Madeira

Madeira, a fortified wine produced on the Portuguese island of Madeira, was one of George Washington's favorite drinks.

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Pineapples

As a young man, making what would be his first and only trip outside of North America, George Washington?

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Recipe for Small Beer

George Washington’s recipe for “Small Beer” appears in a 1757 notebook of his, which can be found today in its original form at the New York Public Library.

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Rum

During the colonial era, rum was the preferred alcoholic drink of American colonists.

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Tea

The Washingtons drank and acquired tea throughout their lives.

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Toasting

In the spring of 1783, citizens gathered in towns and cities across America to celebrate the signing?

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Whiskey Production

In the late 1790s, Julian Niemcewicz, a Polish visitor to Mount Vernon, noted the presence of what he?

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