A Tennessee lawmaker raised eyebrows with an interesting choice of beverage container during a legislative meeting on Monday.
A photo of state Rep. Kent Calfee taking a sip from a Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle stole the spotlight from other political events of the day like the State of the Union address and the Iowa caucuses.
In a photo posted to Twitter by political journalist Natalie Allison, a smartly dressed Calfee can be seen holding a sleeve of crackers in one hand and lifting the bottle to his mouth with the other.
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While at first glance, it might seem Calfee was enjoying a sweet treat, this is actually the 71-year-old’s hydration trick.
“Rep. Kent Calfee takes a swig of from his Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle, as he often does during #tnleg session,” Allison tweeted, along with the picture snapped by photojournalist George Walker IV.
Some Twitter users were disgusted, while others mused that it could be a makeshift liquor bottle.
“Whiskey flask, most like,” one social media user wrote, while another commented: “My spirit animal.”
Another Twitter user pointed out: “How else are you supposed to wash down your cheese crackers?”
The politician was ready to set the record straight.
On Tuesday, Calfee confirmed that the contents of the peculiar bottle were actually water — and that he’s done it before.
“It’s a repurposed syrup bottle that I drink my water out of,” Calfee told the Tennessean. “I’m not going to buy a $25 or $35 or $45 water bottle that’s not worth what it costs because I’ll probably put it down and leave it somewhere.”
Calfee added that he and his wife Marilyn “recycle everything,” and he thought twice about getting rid of the brown bottle.
“I was fixing to put it in the plastic recycling one day at home, and I thought, ‘Shoot, I can put water in that.'”
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This particular bottle stays in the drawer at his desk to be refilled with water but never liquor; Calfee told the Tennessean he hasn’t had a drop of alcohol for 42 years.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever drank chocolate syrup,” he said.
It doesn’t sound like he’s going to start now.
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