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The ways around it were unbelievably ingenius: "medicinal" whiskey, boats 3 miles offshore, irish rabbis who distributed sacramental wine to their "congregatio
by gbronner 7y ago
The ways around it were unbelievably ingenius: "medicinal" whiskey, boats 3 miles offshore, irish rabbis who distributed sacramental wine to their "congregations", the concentrated grape extract shipped (with a packet of yeast) to NYC from California.
It may have been the first law widely mocked and ignored since the anti-smuggling laws of the 1700s.
- npo9 7y agoMy hunch is that widely mocked and ignored laws is a common human behavior across many societies and times. It’s likely America had their examples of this between 1800 - 1920.
- Pete_D 7y agoI remember (but can no longer find) an article on the history of mince pies, which claimed that since foods were exempt from prohibition, people were making mince pies that were so soaked with brandy that they were around 14% ABV.
- gbronner 7y ago"I love pie" they said as they clinked their plates together https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/mince-pie-the-real-american-pie/Content?oid=1267308 https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/mince-pie-the-real-ame... Was unaware of that particular deception, but there were so many others... entire factories that reprocessed "industrial" alcohol to make it drinkable, pharmacies that dispensed whiskey, etc etc.