The Birth of the Modern Cocktail: Prohibition’s Unexpected Legacy

Bootleg Booze and Creative Drinks

When Prohibition began in 1920, bootleggers produced low-quality alcohol using industrial alcohol or illegal stills. To mimic whiskey or scotch, they added dead rats, rotten meat, and creosote for flavor. Gin was the easiest to make, using juniper oil and glycerin. The harsh flavors led bartenders to create cocktails like the Bee’s Knees, sweetened with honey, and the Last Word, mixing gin with Chartreuse and maraschino liqueur.

Rum-Running and Home Parties

Rum was smuggled in from the Caribbean by “rum-runners,” inspiring drinks like the Mary Pickford, made with rum and grapefruit juice. With beer and wine scarce, cocktails became central to home entertaining, leading to the rise of cocktail parties.

The Craft Cocktail Revival

In the late 1980s, bartenders like Dale DeGroff at New York’s Rainbow Room revived Prohibition-era classics. Sasha Petraske’s Milk & Honey in 1999 perfected the “speakeasy” experience, with high-quality spirits, large ice cubes, and strict etiquette.

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