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.
Prohibition, beginning in 1920, forced Americans to get creative with booze. Bootleggers made low-quality liquor, using industrial alcohol flavored with juniper oil or even dead rats. Bartenders masked its harshness, crafting drinks like the Bee’s Knees with gin, honey, and… pic.twitter.com/tHbyXR8RYC
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) December 17, 2024