The Phoenix Club (1781)
Oxford University has a long history of dining and social clubs to cater to the wealthy and elite. The Phoenix Club gave these members an opportunity to show off their alcohol tolerance. Historian, Evelyn Lord noted that dining was the stated purpose, with each member expected to host a dinner. But the Phoenix Club were better known for their ability to consume massive amounts of alcohol.
Lord notes that members were not permitted to take “more than two dozen bottles of sherry or port from the cellar per week.” (pg. 70). This stunning amount of booze led to rounds of complaints about noise coming from the club’s meeting places, and may have led to more than one death from club membership.
