George Washington preferred a style of dining that allowed his guests to help themselves to food and drink. Anticipating large presidential entertainments, he ordered twelve wine coolers from England in October 1789. Eight two-bottle coolers were for serving Madeira and claret during the meal, while "four quadruple coolers" were for after dinner use. When the articles finally arrived in Philadelphia the following year, Washington complained that the extreme weight of the four-bottle coolers made them "too unwieldy to pass; especially by Ladies." As a result, by the time he left office, he had only used two of them. He brought these, along with four of the two-bottle coolers, to Mount Vernon. The rest, including this four-bottle example, he presented as gifts.