[rlmorel]

I have read that the per capita consumption of alcohol in colonial America was astonishingly high due to the lack of clean water to drink...don't know if it is true, but I can buy it.

I had to go look for it and couldn't find it, but I found this one:

The Spirits of Our Forefathers"

They said every man, woman, and child drank 8 ounces of alcohol a day, which comes out to over 22 gallons of ethyl alcohol a year! Today, per capita consumption in the USA of ethyl alcohol averages about 2 gallons per capita.

Caveat-I assume they are taking gallons of 200 proof alcohol, not the volume of liquor, beer, or wine. Hell, many people go through gallons of beer every few days, and in some cases in a single day! So I made an assumption.

[jjotto]

I’m pretty sure 8 ounces of 190 proof in a relatively short time would be fatal for most people. That would be 18 ounces of 80 proof.