Lexington residents curious about what the Minutemen were drinking before they faced the Redcoats can find out Thursday, Aug. 20, when public historian Brooke Barbier brings her lecture "An Intoxicating History of the American Revolution" to Lexington History Museums at 13 Depot Square.
The talk runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets range from $12.51 to $17.85 and are available on Eventbrite.
Barbier, who holds a PhD in American history from Boston College, has spent more than a decade researching colonial drinking culture. In 2013 she founded Ye Olde Tavern Tours, a walking tour of Boston's historic taverns, and her book Cocked and Boozy: An Intoxicating History of the American Revolution landed a New York Times Book Review notice in June. The New York Times Book Review called it "a jaunty survey of 18th-century drinking and its ramifications for resistance, rebellion and economic resilience."
The subject has a direct Lexington connection. Buckman Tavern, one of three Revolutionary-era sites overseen by Lexington History Museums, is where militia members gathered before the April 19, 1775, battle on the Green. In promotional materials for a similar lecture at Dorchester Brewing Company in June, Barbier described her thesis: alcohol "was integral to American life. When the colonists rebelled against Britain, this culture helped foster revolution."
Barbier has also spoken to attendees of the Lexington 250 tour, giving her existing ties to the town's history community.
The lecture is a separate program from the museum's Summer Fridays series at Buckman Tavern, which wrapped up Aug. 14. That series reflected the same institutional push to pair history with a relaxed atmosphere. "We also have a lot of guests that come in normally and ask if they can have a beer at the tavern," Jill Willis, director of visitor services at Lexington History Museums, said in a July 24 interview about the Summer Fridays program. "So I just figured 'Why not give it to them if that's what they want?'"
Tickets were in stock Sunday, Aug. 16.
