The first thing you see upon entering the new National Archives exhibit “Spirited Republic: Alcohol in American History” is a column containing 26 gallon-jugs filled with pure alcohol, each with varying amounts and representing our annual consumption over the centuries. And while it might sound like a lot to learn we currently drink 2.3 gallons of alcohol per year, back in 1830, that number was 7.1 gallons, impressive even by Blutarsky standards.

The exhibit, carefully put together under the guidance of curator Bruce Bustard and drinks historian Derek Brown, chronicles America’s bond with booze (with the unfortunate exception of the years 1920-1933). Among the artifacts on display is a receipt, dated June 1, 1803, for the purchase of 30 gallons of wine and 6 kegs of beer by one Captain Meriwether Lewis, prior to his historic expedition. (The bill totaled $77.20, which comes to about $1,583 today.) Tucked in a corner is FDR’s cocktail shaker and shot glasses, which Roosevelt used at the end of each work day as governor and president, making libations for his closest staffers—even during Prohibition. (Mrs. Roosevelt, who had alcoholics in her family, reportedly avoided these occasions.) There’s even a “drunkometer,” ca. 1933, that supposedly could estimate one’s blood-alcohol level (but no one seems to know how this precisely worked). It was patented by biochemist Rolla Harger, whose colleague Robert Borkenstein would later go on to make the first breathalyzer.