What could be more pleasant, when celebrating a happy event, than “wetting your whistle”, “lifting up your glass” and “sharing a toast”! The colonists of New France were quite familiar with the pleasures of the bottle, drinking twice as much wine as today’s Quebecers, not to mention the multitude of drinks they either imported or made themselves.

The habit of drinking alcohol came from France. Unlike the water of New France, which was excellent, water in the Mother land was often polluted and carried disease. People were right to be wary of drinking it. Alcohol fermentation produces drinks that can be stored for long periods of time and which are sanitized so that French people preferred them over water. In the colony, this penchant for intoxicating drinks continued.