A Tavern Bill From Three Nights Before the Constitution Was Signed
No record of the signing-night party survives, but the bill from three nights earlier lists more than 130 bottles for 55 men.
History That Doesn't Suck · 15 (Second Edition): “We the People:” Constitution Making in PhillyWhen the 39 signers finished, they walked to City Tavern for drinks.
We have no record of what they drank that final night, but we do have the bill from a dinner at the same tavern three nights earlier.
That Friday group of 55 men included George Washington, veterans who had crossed the Delaware with him at Christmas 1776 before Trenton, and the Light-Horse, a Philadelphia cavalry unit. Some historians think a fair number of the delegates were there too, though that can't be proved.
According to the bill, the group drank 60 bottles of claret, a red Bordeaux wine, 54 bottles of Madeira, a fortified Portuguese wine, 22 of porter, 12 of beer, 8 of cider and 7 bowls of punch, plus food, music, cigars and broken glasses.
The total, in British pounds, shillings and pence, was 89 pounds, four shillings and two pence, roughly more than $15,000 today.
Questions people ask
What was City Tavern?
City Tavern was a fashionable meeting place in colonial Philadelphia, opened in 1773 at Second and Walnut streets. Delegates, merchants, and officers ate, drank, and did political business there. The present building is a reconstruction built in the 1970s.
What are claret and Madeira?
Claret is the English name for red wine from Bordeaux, France. Madeira is a fortified wine from the Portuguese Madeira Islands that keeps well without refrigeration, which made it very popular in colonial America.
How much did each person drink?
If shared evenly, 55 men splitting more than 130 bottles plus seven bowls of punch would average well over two bottles of wine or beer per person. In practice, some drank more and some less, and 18th century tavern bottles and pours were not always the same size as today.