The Prohibition Hangover
By Garrett Peck
Chapter 1: The Noble Experiment
The book begins with the end, briefly telling how Prohibition fell so quickly after only thirteen years. The first chapter summarizes the temperance movement, led by evangelical Protestants, who pushed heavily for Prohibition. It was the abortion issue of its day. They used the Constitution as a social experiment, one that failed horribly, and the country changed it back with the Twenty-first Amendment. Once Repeal set it, Americans adopted moderate drinking habits during the poverty-stricken years of the Great Depression. Yet Prohibition left the country unsure of how to deal with alcohol, a legacy that continues to this day. Hence the theme of this book: the Prohibition Hangover. The chapter also answers the question, “How many American adults drink?” a key jumping-off point for the book (the answer: two-thirds).
Chapter 2: So What Are We Drinking?
American drinking habits, such as the current cocktail culture, are cyclical. As Americans have embraced social drinking, they have upgraded their tastes to more premium brands. The result is that alcohol has grown into a $189 billion industry, one that has created millions of jobs. This chapter discusses how beer, wine, and distilled spirits continue to adapt and evolve to grow their markets –- and how consolidation is impacting consumers. It takes a look at Big Alcohol and the many corporations that product alcohol, companies like Diageo and Fortune Brands, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Constellation Brands. These have become companies of brands.
Chapter 3: Whiskey and Rye
Whiskey has been popular with Americans since before George Washington built a distillery at Mount Vernon, yet it was America's whiskey binge that launched the temperance movement in the early 1800s. This chapter tells the story how bourbon whiskey became America's national spirit. Forgotten for many decades, bourbon has been rediscovered as Americans embrace hand-crafted spirits. It centers on a travel narrative of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, featuring interviews with Jim Beam and Maker's Mark master distillers Jerry Dalton and Dave Pickerell.
Chapter 4: Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer
Beer is America’s favorite beverage, made popular by legions of Germans who came over in the 1840s. Yet the beer market is relatively stagnant, as Americans have shifted toward more premium drinks like spirits and wine –- and left working class beer behind. The chapter takes the reader through tours of the Latrobe Brewery, where Rolling Rock was made until Anheuser-Busch acquired the brand, and craft brewer Boston Beer Company, maker of Sam Adams Boston Lager. It looks at the intense competitive pressure that brewers are under as the industry consolidates into fewer companies. Interviews with industry experts such as Jeff Becker of the Beer Institute, Jim Koch of Boston Beer, and Bob Lachky of Anheuser-Busch InBev -- the world's largest brewer -- frame the importance of beer to Americans.
Chapter 5: The Golden Age of Wine
The American wine industry is a poster-child for what the alcohol industry is doing right –- and how sophisticated American drinkers have become. It shows how American wine recovered from Prohibition, which is now a world-class industry. It notes the social and commercial impact of the movie Sideways, as well as wine tourism in California. Wine has truly gone global, as my interview with wine importer Bobby Kacher points out the differences between Old and New World styles. This chapter tells the "Story of Champagne," explaining why some American winemakers continue to use this name (Champagne is a region in France, not a way of making sparkling wine).
Chapter 6: The Supreme Court Decides
Winemaker Juanita Swedenburg gets fed up with New York’s protectionist barrier against shipping wine direct to her customers, and decides to sue. The Supreme Court takes up her case, and decides in her favor on May 16, 2005. This chapter takes a look at the Court’s landmark decision in Granholm v. Heald, and includes a lengthy personal interview with plaintiff Juanita Swedenburg. The court case provided the country a unique opportunity since Repeal to reexamine how we deal with alcohol.
Chapter 7: Alcohol & Your Health
We examine the ongoing public health debate about alcohol. Anecdotal evidence and much scientific research shows that in moderate use alcohol can have a profoundly positive impact on health, particularly on heart health. On the other hand, it can be addictive. One out of eight drinkers abuses alcohol, or is an alcoholic. This chapter looks at the many sides of the debate, including the latest scientific and medical research. It also shows that Americans have accepted alcoholism as a medical condition -- not a sin -- and have found ways to treat the alcoholic.
Chapter 8: What Would Jesus Drink?
How do the three largest churches in the US -- the Catholics, Southern Baptists, and United Methodists -- perceive alcohol today? This chapter features interviews with people from all three denominations to explore their contemporary attitudes about alcohol. These three run the spectrum on alcohol doctrine –- from embracing (Catholicism) to ambivalent (Methodism) to abstaining (Southern Baptists). And it raises serious questions about the constitutionality of Sunday closing laws, better known as “blue laws,” as they are a state-sanctioned Christian Sabbath.
Chapter 9: Beating the Temperance Drum
Is there anyone still beating the temperance drum more than 75 years after Repeal? The answer is yes -- and no. The chapter looks into the public health advocates, groups that want to put major restrictions on alcohol. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is the best-known of these, and they originated the concept of the designated driver, part of our modern cultural lexicon. This chapter also looks at contemporary issues around alcohol. This includes zero tolerance, how advertising such as Super Bowl commercials shapes consumer use, keeping alcohol from minors, and product labeling. Most of the alcohol industry watchdogs, like the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and Marin Institute, aren’t well known, and I bring their work to light through interviews, such as with George Hacker of CSPI. It also includes opposing viewpoints from Frank Coleman of DISCUS, Ralph Blackman of the Century Council, and Radley Balko of Reason magazine.
Chapter 10: Not Until You’re 21
If you’re an adult at age 18 in the United States, why can’t you drink until you’re 21? MADD successfully got the federal government and states to shift the drinking age from 18 to 21 in 1984 as a means of saving teenage lives. As a result, teenagers and young adults treat alcohol as taboo –- and therefore drink to excess, since it is easy to obtain. Binge drinking is a big problem among American youth, particularly college students, who have adopted a "Prohibition culture." The way to combat binge drinking isn’t through more restrictions, but rather by allowing greater freedom. The US should lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 -– a position that will no doubt raise much public debate. Parents need to raise their children with respect for alcohol, and not to treat it as taboo. The ultimate goal is to reduce teenage and young adult binge drinking by demystifying alcohol.
Conclusions
The Prohibition Hangover concludes with the call to action: Americans need to reexamine our attitudes about alcohol, and treat alcohol more like a normal consumer product. We're a country that has embraced moderate drinking. Alcohol is a good thing that can benefit our lives. The chapter includes recommendations for health practitioners, federal and state regulations, the Internet, and finally, a call to lower the drinking age as a way of combating binge drinking in American youth.
By Garrett Peck
Chapter 1: The Noble Experiment
The book begins with the end, briefly telling how Prohibition fell so quickly after only thirteen years. The first chapter summarizes the temperance movement, led by evangelical Protestants, who pushed heavily for Prohibition. It was the abortion issue of its day. They used the Constitution as a social experiment, one that failed horribly, and the country changed it back with the Twenty-first Amendment. Once Repeal set it, Americans adopted moderate drinking habits during the poverty-stricken years of the Great Depression. Yet Prohibition left the country unsure of how to deal with alcohol, a legacy that continues to this day. Hence the theme of this book: the Prohibition Hangover. The chapter also answers the question, “How many American adults drink?” a key jumping-off point for the book (the answer: two-thirds).
Chapter 2: So What Are We Drinking?
American drinking habits, such as the current cocktail culture, are cyclical. As Americans have embraced social drinking, they have upgraded their tastes to more premium brands. The result is that alcohol has grown into a $189 billion industry, one that has created millions of jobs. This chapter discusses how beer, wine, and distilled spirits continue to adapt and evolve to grow their markets –- and how consolidation is impacting consumers. It takes a look at Big Alcohol and the many corporations that product alcohol, companies like Diageo and Fortune Brands, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Constellation Brands. These have become companies of brands.
Chapter 3: Whiskey and Rye
Whiskey has been popular with Americans since before George Washington built a distillery at Mount Vernon, yet it was America's whiskey binge that launched the temperance movement in the early 1800s. This chapter tells the story how bourbon whiskey became America's national spirit. Forgotten for many decades, bourbon has been rediscovered as Americans embrace hand-crafted spirits. It centers on a travel narrative of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, featuring interviews with Jim Beam and Maker's Mark master distillers Jerry Dalton and Dave Pickerell.
Chapter 4: Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer
Beer is America’s favorite beverage, made popular by legions of Germans who came over in the 1840s. Yet the beer market is relatively stagnant, as Americans have shifted toward more premium drinks like spirits and wine –- and left working class beer behind. The chapter takes the reader through tours of the Latrobe Brewery, where Rolling Rock was made until Anheuser-Busch acquired the brand, and craft brewer Boston Beer Company, maker of Sam Adams Boston Lager. It looks at the intense competitive pressure that brewers are under as the industry consolidates into fewer companies. Interviews with industry experts such as Jeff Becker of the Beer Institute, Jim Koch of Boston Beer, and Bob Lachky of Anheuser-Busch InBev -- the world's largest brewer -- frame the importance of beer to Americans.
Chapter 5: The Golden Age of Wine
The American wine industry is a poster-child for what the alcohol industry is doing right –- and how sophisticated American drinkers have become. It shows how American wine recovered from Prohibition, which is now a world-class industry. It notes the social and commercial impact of the movie Sideways, as well as wine tourism in California. Wine has truly gone global, as my interview with wine importer Bobby Kacher points out the differences between Old and New World styles. This chapter tells the "Story of Champagne," explaining why some American winemakers continue to use this name (Champagne is a region in France, not a way of making sparkling wine).
Chapter 6: The Supreme Court Decides
Winemaker Juanita Swedenburg gets fed up with New York’s protectionist barrier against shipping wine direct to her customers, and decides to sue. The Supreme Court takes up her case, and decides in her favor on May 16, 2005. This chapter takes a look at the Court’s landmark decision in Granholm v. Heald, and includes a lengthy personal interview with plaintiff Juanita Swedenburg. The court case provided the country a unique opportunity since Repeal to reexamine how we deal with alcohol.
Chapter 7: Alcohol & Your Health
We examine the ongoing public health debate about alcohol. Anecdotal evidence and much scientific research shows that in moderate use alcohol can have a profoundly positive impact on health, particularly on heart health. On the other hand, it can be addictive. One out of eight drinkers abuses alcohol, or is an alcoholic. This chapter looks at the many sides of the debate, including the latest scientific and medical research. It also shows that Americans have accepted alcoholism as a medical condition -- not a sin -- and have found ways to treat the alcoholic.
Chapter 8: What Would Jesus Drink?
How do the three largest churches in the US -- the Catholics, Southern Baptists, and United Methodists -- perceive alcohol today? This chapter features interviews with people from all three denominations to explore their contemporary attitudes about alcohol. These three run the spectrum on alcohol doctrine –- from embracing (Catholicism) to ambivalent (Methodism) to abstaining (Southern Baptists). And it raises serious questions about the constitutionality of Sunday closing laws, better known as “blue laws,” as they are a state-sanctioned Christian Sabbath.
Chapter 9: Beating the Temperance Drum
Is there anyone still beating the temperance drum more than 75 years after Repeal? The answer is yes -- and no. The chapter looks into the public health advocates, groups that want to put major restrictions on alcohol. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is the best-known of these, and they originated the concept of the designated driver, part of our modern cultural lexicon. This chapter also looks at contemporary issues around alcohol. This includes zero tolerance, how advertising such as Super Bowl commercials shapes consumer use, keeping alcohol from minors, and product labeling. Most of the alcohol industry watchdogs, like the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and Marin Institute, aren’t well known, and I bring their work to light through interviews, such as with George Hacker of CSPI. It also includes opposing viewpoints from Frank Coleman of DISCUS, Ralph Blackman of the Century Council, and Radley Balko of Reason magazine.
Chapter 10: Not Until You’re 21
If you’re an adult at age 18 in the United States, why can’t you drink until you’re 21? MADD successfully got the federal government and states to shift the drinking age from 18 to 21 in 1984 as a means of saving teenage lives. As a result, teenagers and young adults treat alcohol as taboo –- and therefore drink to excess, since it is easy to obtain. Binge drinking is a big problem among American youth, particularly college students, who have adopted a "Prohibition culture." The way to combat binge drinking isn’t through more restrictions, but rather by allowing greater freedom. The US should lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 -– a position that will no doubt raise much public debate. Parents need to raise their children with respect for alcohol, and not to treat it as taboo. The ultimate goal is to reduce teenage and young adult binge drinking by demystifying alcohol.
Conclusions
The Prohibition Hangover concludes with the call to action: Americans need to reexamine our attitudes about alcohol, and treat alcohol more like a normal consumer product. We're a country that has embraced moderate drinking. Alcohol is a good thing that can benefit our lives. The chapter includes recommendations for health practitioners, federal and state regulations, the Internet, and finally, a call to lower the drinking age as a way of combating binge drinking in American youth.
Autumn grapevines in Edna Valley, California The Budweiser Clydesdales
Photo by Garrett Peck April 7, 2008: 75th Anniversary of the Cullen Act
Nationals Park, Washington, DC
Photo by Garrett Peck
Photo by Garrett Peck April 7, 2008: 75th Anniversary of the Cullen Act
Nationals Park, Washington, DC
Photo by Garrett Peck