36. The Rates of Alcohol Consumption Were Through the Roof
There were at least fourteen thousand distilleries in America by 1810, and they were hardly able to keep up with the demand. By 1830, the average consumption rate for American adults was seven gallons of pure alcohol per year.
Seven gallons of pure alcohol is a lot of booze. It is the equivalent of 1.7 bottles of 80 proof liquor per American adult – male or female – per week, or about 90 bottles per year. And considering that millions of American adults did not drink, the alcohol consumption of those Americans who actually drank was significantly higher than the national average for all adults.