April 14, 1865. Five days after the Civil War effectively ended, Abraham Lincoln went to Ford's Theatre expecting a night of laughter.

Washington, D.C. was in full celebration mode. Saloons were packed. Victory drinks were flowing. And next door to the theater, at the crowded Star Saloon, two men connected to history's most infamous crime moved through the same room: Lincoln's bodyguard and his killer, John Wilkes Booth.

This week on A Drinking Story, we examine how alcohol didn't cause the assassination—but helped create the conditions around it. From Booth's heavy brandy habit, to a policeman drinking instead of guarding the President, to a co-conspirator who got drunk and lost his nerve, this is the story of one of America's darkest nights through the lens of what everyone was drinking.

A Drinking Story — when history was drunk, and what they were drinking when they were.

Sources & Further Reading

• Ford's Theatre. History of Ford's Theatre / Lincoln's Assassination. https://fords.org/lincolns-assassination/history-of-fords-theatre/
• Smithsonian Magazine. Lincoln's Missing Bodyguard. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lincolns-missing-bodyguard-12932069/
• Oakland University Digital Collections. Archival PDF Collection Related to Lincoln Assassination Era Sources. https://digitalcollections.library.oakland.edu/files/original/26011c0b48717f53765b209aa645cf76d504bc4f.pdf
• Playbill. The Night Lincoln Was Shot: Minute by Minute Backstage with John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre. https://playbill.com/article/the-night-lincoln-was-shot-minute-by-minute-backstage-with-john-wilkes-booth-at-fords-theatre-com-346483
• National Park Service. Ford's Theatre Frequently Asked Questions. https://www.nps.gov/foth/learn/historyculture/faq-fords-theatre.htm
• History.com. What Lincoln Said in His Final Speech. https://www.history.com/articles/what-lincoln-said-in-his-final-speech
• NAACP. Legislative Milestones: Voting Rights Act of 1965. https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/legislative-milestones/voting-rights-act-1965/

Beer is older than writing, older than money, and older than the wheel. It wasn't just a drink — it built civilizations. Literally. We know ancient aliens and enslaved labor didn't build the Egyptian Pyramids because of beer. Archaeologists found the receipts right at the base: barracks, bakeries, clinics, and an industrial size brewery. And that's just where the story starts.

History didn't happen in spite of drinking. It happened because of it.

Melissa Huston is an Annapolis-based historian and storyteller. Her husband Sam Huston is a beverage industry specialist covering the Mid-Atlantic market who has spent his career inside the world of what people drink and why. Together they're connecting the glass in your hand to the history nobody taught you in school.

A Drinking Story — when history was drunk, and what they were drinking when they were.

Sources & Further Reading

Smithsonian Magazine — The World's Oldest Industrial-Scale Brewery Found in Egypt https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/worlds-oldest-industrial-scale-brewery-found-egypt-180977026/

Smithsonian Magazine — The Beer Archaeologist https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-beer-archaeologist-17016372/

Nautilus — How to Make the Bread That Fueled the Pyramids https://nautil.us/how-to-make-the-bread-that-fueled-the-pyramids-1223483/

Atlas Obscura — Ancient Egyptian Cocktails https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ancient-egyptians-cocktails

British Museum — Sip Through History: Ancient Egyptian Beer https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/sip-history-ancient-egyptian-beer

Princeton University — Archaeological Team Identifies World's Oldest Industrial Brewery https://www.princeton.edu/news/2021/02/16/archaeological-team-co-led-princetons-vischak-identifies-worlds-oldest-industrial

Harvard Gazette — Excavation Unearths Ancient Egyptian Brewery https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/10/excavation-unearths-ancient-egyptian-brewery/

VinePair — Workers Were Paid With Beer 5,000 Years Ago https://vinepair.com/booze-news/workers-were-paid-with-beer-5000-years-ago/

The Drinks Business — Ancient Egyptians Used "I'm Brewing" as an Excuse to Skip Work https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2025/06/ancient-egyptians-used-im-brewing-as-an-excuse-to-skip-work/

Pass the Flamingo — Ancient Recipe: Egyptian Beer https://passtheflamingo.com/2017/03/29/ancient-recipe-egyptian-beer-egypt-ca-5000-bce/

By John Roach — Abydos Brewery https://byjohnroach.com/abydos-brewery/

Alcohol and human society have been together for at least 13,000 years.

And in that time, drinking has built empires, started wars, toppled governments and shaped the course of history.

Hi. I'm Melissa Huston. And this is A Drinking Story — about when history was drunk, and what they were drinking when they were.

This isn't Drunk History. This is something different. These are the moments in time that were directly shaped by imbibing. When beer, wine or liquor effected the historical outcome.

With me will be Sam Huston, an expert from the spirits industry, who will be breaking down what they were drinking, how they were drinking it, and where they got it from.

One story at a time, we're going to look at global politics, religion, war, sports, art and culture — through the lens of booze.

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