Churchill wangled a booze ‘sick note’ during Prohibition
Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill obtained a doctor’s note prescribing him alcohol “especially at mealtimes” during a trip to the US while Prohibition was in force.
In 1932, one year before Prohibition officially came to an end in the US, Winston Churchill made sure to secure himself a doctor’s note explaining his “indefinite” need for alcohol while visiting the country.
After having been involved in a car accident in New York, Churchill sought the note from a US doctor for pain relief purposes. The medical professional granted him permission to drink for medical reasons, “especially at mealtimes”, and scrawled a handwritten note on the document advising Churchill to “keep this on hand” in case he was required to produce the note.
Prohibition lasted from 1920 to 1933, during which time the US banned the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. However, drug stores were permitted to sell alcohol as medicine provided customers had a doctor’s prescription. The Volstead Act, which enforced the 18th Amendment’s ban on alcohol, included an exemption for medicinal use, allowing doctors to “prescribe” alcohol, usually whiskey or brandy, for various ailments. As a result of this loophole the sale of “medicinal” whiskey by physicians and hospitals doubled between 1923 and 1931, becoming a significant business for some medical professionals.
In his book Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, author Daniel Okrent details how thousands of doctors sought such permits in the first six months of Prohibition. He goes on to explain that some doctors diluted the alcohol they prescribed, while others issued overly generous prescriptions leading to “gallons of medicinal alcohol” being issued during Prohibition’s first year.
Partner Content
The regulations were somewhat tightened by the Willis-Campbell Act of 1921, but the law continued to recognise a doctor’s right to treat alcohol as medicine.
The law also allowed for the distribution of wine for religious sacramental purposes.
Churchill is well known for enjoying a drink. As db reported in an article entitled British Prime Ministers and their favourite drinks, he was especially partial to Pol Roger Champagne and Johnnie Walker whisky. He is said to have often started (and ended) his day with a glass of whiskey and soda, and apparently consumed more than 42,000 bottles of Pol Roger during his lifetime, often in pint-sized pours. This led to a close relationship between Churchill and the Pol Roger family, with the Champagne house even naming a special cuvée in his honour, which continues to this day.
Boris Johnson, who was Britain’s Prime Minister from 2019 to 2022, once claimed “I can drink an awful lot at lunch, like my icon Winston Churchill.”
Related news
Wines of Hungary makes central Europe the centre of attention
Trinity Hill taps into rising demand for white wines in Asia
