“The breakfast was served at one [PM] exactly… The table was seated for twenty-four, though I had only asked eighteen people, every place was occupied… By the time the oysters were done, 20 bottles of champagne were emptied, so when breakfast commenced everybody began to talk at once. The meal might easily have passed for a splendid dinner, and I was glad to see not a drop of water was drunk, for the Champagne, Tokay, Rhine wine, Madeira, Malaga, Cyprus, Alicante, and Cape wine would not allow it. Before dessert was brought on, an enormous dish of truffles was placed on the table. I advised my guests to take Maraschino with it, and those ladies who appreciated the liqueur drank it as if it had been water.”
From Jacques Casanova’s memoirs, vol. 3, The Eternal Quest.
That’s how it was done in 1759. Questions anyone? And don’t forget to tell your doctor next time she asks, that you don’t even come close to consuming alcohol to the standards of the Enlightenment.