On special occasions such as militia musters, elections, and court days, taverns became important community focal points where the townsfolk met and mingled, and some indulged in days-long communal binges. Customers often made small wagers on such contests, though colonial leaders frowned on gambling except for official revenue-raising lotteries. Tavern groups played games of dice and cards, or they ventured outside to engage in bowling and handball contests or to witness the occasional turkey shoot, cockfight, or horse race. Forming into friendship circles or "companies," they often drank communally by dipping their cups into a shared bowl of spiked punch or by passing around a container of beer or wine to become what one contemporary observer called "pot companions." When properly lubricated, some customers spontaneously sang traditional folksongs or popular broadsides, while others brought out fiddles and pipes to accompany a bit of dancing. Though colonial drinking establishments did cater to both male and female patrons, local men were the backbone of the tavern trade. Included rum (the favorite), hard cider, brandy, ale, beer, and wine. Both men and some women partook of these pleasures, the latter often being travelers seeking overnight shelter. Tavern meals with alcoholic refreshments were often occasions for conviviality, with locals and transients swapping political news, regional gossip, and travel stories while eating at long tables or relaxing afterward by the fireplace. Cotton Mather, the venerable seventeenth-century preacher, called alcohol the "good creature of God" and agreed with his contemporaries that well-regulated taverns were a community necessity for both townsfolk and travelers.Ĭolonial drinking establishments were generally called "taverns," but they were also known as "inns," "public houses," and "ordinaries," the latter named for the regular meal or "ordinary" offered midday at a fixed price. Indeed, they valued drink not only as a social lubricant, but also as a food, as an item of barter, and as medicine in cases of fever, fatigue, and injury. But all of these terms (and many others not mentioned) mean essentially the same thing: a commercial enterprise offering drink and companionship in a semipublic space.Įven the straight-laced Puritans acknowledged the social benefits of taverns and alcohol, as long as enjoyed in moderation. By the early twenty-first century, then, "bar," "tavern," "lounge," and "saloon" had emerged as the favored terms, with "bar" probably the most common. Instead, they employed "bar," "tavern," "lounge," or the euphemistic "grill." In the late twentieth century, "saloon" began to make a comeback, ironically due in part to its nostalgic charm. Bar owners at first eschewed the now besmirched term "saloon," which was even outlawed in some areas. Then, after a brief period of illegal "speakeasies," the modern era of drinking establishments dawned in 1933. "bar." In the 1840s, "saloon" began to catch the public fancy, becoming the favorite term from the 1870s until the advent of nationwide prohibition in 1920. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the most common term was "tavern." By 1797, citizens of the newly formed United States were using "barroom," later shortened to More than a mere drink dispensary, a bar also serves as a social club, a place where regular customers gather to tell stories, play games, enjoy music, and share meals in addition to "hoisting a few." Certainly alcohol is a powerful draw, but sociability is the principal goal of bar life.ĭrinking establishments have been known by many names from the colonial era to the present day. Yet this minimal definition hardly captures the essence of an institution that has served as the chief leisure headquarters for millions of Americans for nearly four centuries. Fundamentally, a bar is a commercial establishment selling alcohol by the drink.
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