Vivian Marlowe
During the Prohibition era in the United States, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, the production, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors were banned. However, this did not stop the manufacturing and consumption of alcohol, which was made and distributed through illegal means. The primary source of drinking alcohol during this time was industrial alcohol, which was originally used for making ink, perfumes, and campstove fuel. Bootleggers and moonshiners modified this industrial alcohol to make it drinkable and distributed it through underground networks, often with the help of modified cars and trucks that could outrun federal agents. In addition to industrial alcohol, illegal stills and home-fermented wines also contributed to the alcohol supply during Prohibition. The era saw a surge in creative cocktails, as people mixed various ingredients to mask the unpleasant taste of poorly made alcohol.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| When did Prohibition begin? | 17 January 1920 |
| What was the law? | The 18th Amendment forbade the "manufacture, sale and transportation of intoxicating liquors" |
| Did all states enforce Prohibition? | No, states like Maryland and New York repealed their measures |
| What was the primary source of drinking alcohol during Prohibition? | Industrial alcohol, which was used for making ink, perfumes, and campstove fuel |
| How was industrial alcohol used to make drinking alcohol? | Bootleggers figured out ways to remove or neutralize the chemicals added to industrial alcohol to make it unfit for drinking |
| What were some other sources of alcohol during Prohibition? | Alcohol cooked in illegal stills ("moonshine"), home-fermented wine, and "bathtub gin" |
| Who were the bootleggers? | Individuals who modified their cars and trucks to outrun federal agents and sold alcohol on the black market |
| What were some of the ingredients used by bootleggers to make alcohol? | Corn sugar, fruit, beets, potato peels, glycerin, juniper oil |
| Were there any health risks associated with drinking bootleg alcohol? | Yes, the consumption of industrial alcohol could lead to blindness or poisoning |
| What was the role of pharmacies and doctors during Prohibition? | Doctors could prescribe and pharmacists could dispense "medicinal liquor" with a permit from the U.S. Treasury Department |
| How did Prohibition impact the craft cocktail movement? | The need to make bad alcohol drinkable led to the creation of cocktails and faux speakeasies |
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What You'll Learn
Industrial alcohol was the primary source
During Prohibition, the primary source of drinking alcohol was industrial alcohol—the kind used for making ink, perfumes, and campstove fuel. About three gallons of faux gin or whiskey could be made from one gallon of industrial alcohol. This was anticipated by the authors of the Volstead Act, who required that industrial alcohol be denatured, or adulterated with chemicals that make it unfit for consumption.
Bootleggers quickly figured out ways to remove or neutralize these adulterants. The process changed the flavor of the finished product, and not for the better. Nevertheless, around one-third of the 150 million gallons of industrial alcohol produced in 1925 was thought to have been diverted to the illegal alcohol trade.
Industrial-grade alcohol was used in factories as a solvent and cleaning fluid, and to manufacture detergent, flavoring extracts, and perfumes. Alcohol had been subject to excise taxes as a beverage in the United States until 1906, when a process borrowed from Europe added "denaturants," or substances that made grain-based (ethyl) alcohol taste or smell bad, to deter its use in drinks. The "denatured" alcohol could then be used, tax-free, in manufacturing.
By the start of Prohibition in 1920, tens of millions of gallons of denatured ethyl alcohol were made for industrial use and considered legally exempt by the U.S. government. With industrial alcohol being made on a large scale, bootleggers started hijacking it, figuring they could redistill and sell it as drinkable alcohol. By 1923, the Treasury Department's Prohibition Bureau was focused on preventing organized crime from reconditioning industrial alcohol for sale to drinkers.
The government instructed makers of industrial-use liquid to denature it by adding four percent wood alcohol, which is poisonous to humans in very small amounts. Despite these efforts, bootleggers succeeded in stealing large quantities to recondition into cheap booze for unsuspecting drinkers, particularly those in the lower classes who could not afford high-quality liquor.
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Illegal stills were the next most common source
During Prohibition, which went into effect on January 17, 1920, the production, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors were banned in the United States. However, this did not stop the demand for alcohol, and illegal sources emerged to meet the needs of those who wanted to drink. While industrial alcohol was the primary source of drinking alcohol during Prohibition, illegal stills were the next most common source.
Also known as "moonshine," alcohol produced in illegal stills was made in both large cities and rural areas, from basements and attics to farms and remote forests. The process of making moonshine involved fermenting a "mash" from corn sugar or other ingredients like fruit, beets, and even potato peels. This created a highly potent liquid that needed to be watered down to make it drinkable. Despite the efforts of the Prohibition Bureau to enforce the ban, the widespread nature of moonshining made it difficult to eradicate.
One notable example of illegal stills during Prohibition was the operation of the Genna brothers gang in Chicago. They provided families in Little Italy with one-gallon copper stills, known as "alky cookers," and the necessary ingredients like corn sugar and yeast. The gang then purchased the pure alcohol produced by these families, selling it to speakeasies at a significant profit.
The production of moonshine was not without its risks, as those involved in the illegal activity faced the threat of prosecution and confiscation of their stills. From mid-1928 to mid-1929, the federal government confiscated over 11,000 stills, 15,000 distilleries, and 1.1 million gallons of alcohol. Despite these efforts, the illegal production of alcohol persisted, and by 1930, the smuggling of foreign-made liquor into the country was estimated to be a $3 billion industry.
The prevalence of illegal stills during Prohibition contributed to the growth of the craft cocktail movement, as bartenders in speakeasies had to mix the harsh-tasting moonshine with various ingredients to make it more palatable. This led to the creation of popular cocktails of the era, such as the Bee's Knees, which used honey to mask the unpleasant flavors of the alcohol.
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California vineyards supplied the demand
While Prohibition ostensibly ostensibly "dried up" the California wine industry, vineyards in the state played a significant role in supplying the demand for alcohol. The Eighteenth Amendment, which came into force in 1920, banned the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States. However, it allowed the sale of wine grapes to heads of households, who could make up to 200 gallons of wine per household per year.
This loophole was crucial for California vineyards, and they increased their acreage to meet the demand for grapes and home winemaking. From 1925 to 1929, 679 million gallons of homemade wine were consumed in the United States, triple the amount consumed in the five years leading up to Prohibition. The acreage of vineyards in California expanded from 97,000 to 681,000 during this period. The price of grapes rose dramatically, from $9.50 per ton in 1919 to $375 per ton in 1924. Grape producers made concentrates in multi-gallon cans or dehydrated the product into "grape bricks" or "raisin cakes," ostensibly for making non-alcoholic grape juice, but they were often used for winemaking.
Wineries in California also survived by exploiting legal loopholes. Some produced sacramental wines for religious purposes, while others made medicinal wines, another loophole in the Prohibition laws. Beaulieu Vineyard (BV) in Rutherford, Napa, for example, crafted wines for the diocese of San Francisco. The religious wine business was so successful that BV's owner, Georges de Latour, took over the lease at Wente Vineyards in Livermore Valley to sell their fine white wines.
In addition to legal loopholes, some wineries simply disregarded the Volstead Act, and their wines were openly available up and down the coast. Restaurants in San Francisco, for instance, were well-supplied by small winemakers in the Bay Area. By 1932, wineries throughout California began to renew their bonds and make wine again. Franklin Roosevelt signed an amendment to the Volstead Act on March 22, 1933, legalizing the production of beer and wine with a limit of 3.2% alcohol. The Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and ended Prohibition, was passed on December 5, 1933.
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Bootleggers smuggled liquor from abroad
During the Prohibition era, Americans went to great lengths to access alcohol, and bootleggers played a significant role in meeting this demand by smuggling liquor from abroad. The practice of smuggling foreign liquor, known as "rum running," was a lucrative business and an essential supply source for speakeasies across the country.
One of the most well-known rum-running routes was from Canada, where bootleggers like Roy Olmstead, the "King of the Puget Sound Bootleggers," operated. Olmstead, a former Seattle Police lieutenant, used a radio station to communicate with rum-runners from Canada, and his wife, Elsie, read coded children's bedtime stories to convey messages. Rum-running from Canada also extended to Chicago, where the Genna brothers gang provided copper "alky cookers" to needy families, enabling them to produce homemade liquor in their kitchens. The gang bought back the pure alcohol produced, paying a good price, and then sold it to speakeasies at a significant profit.
Smuggling liquor from Europe, Canada, and the Caribbean was common, and rum-runners used high-speed boats to discreetly ship the alcohol into American waters. These boats would anchor off-shore and wait for contact boats to exchange the liquor for cash. The alcohol was then transported into cities and distributed across the country. The Caribbean was also a significant source of smuggled liquor, with William "Bill" McCoy becoming notorious for his rum-running activities before being spotted by the Coast Guard and imprisoned.
In addition to foreign liquor, bootleggers also sourced alcohol from industrial-use liquids produced within the United States. By 1922, supplies of authentic whiskey distilled before Prohibition were depleted, so bootleggers turned to industrial alcohol, redistilling and selling it as drinkable alcohol. Despite government efforts to denature this alcohol by adding poisonous wood alcohol, bootleggers still managed to steal and recondition large quantities, endangering unsuspecting consumers, particularly those from lower classes who couldn't afford high-quality liquor.
The smuggling and distribution of foreign-made liquor became a massive industry during Prohibition, estimated at $3 billion ($41 billion in 2016 values) by 1930. The widespread demand for alcohol during this era fueled the bootlegging business, and the profits made by rum-runners and bootleggers contributed to the resistance against Prohibition standards, ultimately leading to the era's demise.
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Some made their own at home
During the Prohibition era, some people made their own alcohol at home. In large cities and rural areas, from basements and attics to farms and remote forests, moonshiners and bootleggers evaded the authorities and produced liquor. The Prohibition Bureau faced a challenging task in enforcing the Volstead Act's national ban on alcohol.
The production of bathtub gin was a common practice among home distillers. This involved fermenting a "mash" from corn sugar or other ingredients like fruit, beets, and even potato peels. The highly potent liquid was then mixed with water, glycerin, and juniper oil to create a rank-tasting gin. The bottles used in the process were often too tall to fit under the kitchen sink faucet, hence the use of bathtubs for this purpose. Bartenders in speakeasies would blend this harsh-tasting alcohol with various mixers, from bitters to soda pop, juices, and fruit garnishes, to disguise the poor quality.
The Genna brothers gang in Chicago contributed to this trend by providing needy families in Little Italy with one-gallon copper stills, corn sugar, and yeast. The gang's henchmen would then purchase the pure alcohol produced by these families, paying them $15 per day (approximately $188 in 2016). The Gennas sold the alcohol to speakeasies at a significant markup, making a tidy profit.
In addition to spirits, there was also a surge in home-fermented wines during Prohibition. From 1925 to 1929, Americans consumed 679 million gallons of homemade wine, triple the amount consumed in the five years leading up to Prohibition. This increase in demand led to a rise in grape prices, with a ton of grapes costing $375 by 1924, up from $9.50 in 1919. Grape producers supplied the market with grape concentrates and "grape bricks" or "raisin cakes," which were ostensibly for making non-alcoholic grape juice but were often used for winemaking.
The homemade alcohol of this era was harsh and rarely barrel-aged. Moonshiners attempted to mimic the flavours of popular spirits by adding unusual ingredients. For example, they recreated bourbon by adding dead rats or rotten meat to the moonshine and letting it sit for several days. They imitated gin by adding juniper oil to raw alcohol and replicated the smoky flavour of Scotch by mixing in creosote, an antiseptic made from wood tar. These dubious versions of familiar spirits were in high demand, and bootleggers preferred to trade in spirits rather than beer or wine due to the higher prices they could command.
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Frequently asked questions
Alcohol was made in large cities and rural areas, from basements and attics to farms and remote hills and forests across America.
Alcohol was made by moonshiners and other bootleggers, who made it virtually impossible for Prohibition Bureau agents to enforce the Volstead Act’s national ban on making and distributing liquor.
The primary source of drinking alcohol during Prohibition was industrial alcohol—the kind used for making ink, perfumes, and campstove fuel. About 3 gallons of faux gin or whiskey could be made from 1 gallon of industrial alcohol.
The Prohibition Bureau seized almost 697,000 stills nationwide from 1921 to 1925. From mid-1928 to mid-1929 alone, the feds confiscated 11,416 stills, 15,700 distilleries, and 1.1 million gallons of alcohol.
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