Distilleries of today are a part of nearly every society on earth. You could find one in every state here in the US, all with their own unique spin on spirits. This wasn’t always the case. In fact, there was a time when distilling became illegal here in the US. Many factors came into play to for distilleries during prohibition that manufactured alcohol. From the first World War, to religion, and the then to traditional American values- all playing a role in prohibition. The US government deemed it better to rid the country of the stuff and direct resources elsewhere, rather than corrupt American civilization with alcohol. This didn’t last long however, and nowadays anyone of age can enjoy their fill. Let’s talk about how this happened.

What was prohibition?

During the first World War, Woodrow Wilson put a temporary ban on the making of alcohol to save grain for the soldiers during battle. Add this with the religious backing to by churches, and the Anti Saloon league deeming alcohol consumption was damaging American society and corrupting the conventional household, prohibition was on its way to becoming a permanent law. The 18th Amendment was then put into effect from 1920 to 1933, which put an end to the manufacturing of alcoholic beverages. Because of this, many stable distilleries were forced to simply adapt or die. Was this the end of alcohol? Not even close.

What happened to distilleries?

Firstly, let’s mention breweries. A lot of their operations found success switching over their operations into other markets. Since many of these facilities were basically massive refrigerators, dairy products were very common alternatives for profit. Pabst, a Wisconsin based beer maker changed format and took the cheese industry by the horns during this dry era. They were so popular in fact, that Kraft sued them and one due to the former’s product being so similar to their Velveeta cheese!

Distilleries had a tougher time reformatting however, and a lot of them were forced to close their doors. Some distillers were able to obtain a medical license however, but this made up of only six of them. These half dozen companies had a limited amount of spirits of their own to sell, so they would represent other manufacturers who didn’t have the license to do so. Many of the shutdown operations had copious barrels of whiskey that they no longer could legally distribute. In order to sell them, they’d get in touch with one of those six companies so they could bottle up the liquor and peddle it in their favor (for a small fee of the top of course).

In the late 1920s, the government saw that their stocks of medicinal whiskey were running low, so they allowed for the six licensed companies to produce and replenish. None of these companies became rich during prohibition; they merely survived. Once the ban was lifted, the newly reopened distilleries were met by a fierce wave of competition. Imported liquor was coming notably from Canada and Scotland, which were already aged and ready for distribution, whereas all America’s distillers were just restarting. Pair this with what we know now as “The Great Depression” which was just starting as the bans were lifted, many distilleries had to permanently close their doors. US distilleries had an uphill battle to climb for many years to come.

Illegal:

Just because distilleries had to close up shop doesn’t mean liquor wasn’t being produced under the table. During the time of prohibition, the enforcement of any drinking laws were tough to enforce, and there weren’t enough prohibition agents to enforce anything. In addition, the public demand for alcohol was surging, and people started turning to the illegal. Tons of homemade operations cropped up everywhere around the states, and these booze bandits were known as “bootleggers.” They produced what we call “moonshine” and “bathtub gin.” These producers would then smuggle their product to sell to secret bars, called “Speakeasies.”

The speakeasy trade was illegal. With this, mobs and organized crime took a hold of the bootlegging and speakeasy trade. The two biggest players involved were the infamous Al Capone, and Bugs Moran. The two men would battle for control of the underground industry resulting in a massive spike in crime across the country.

A quick sidenote:

We talked about Wisconsin’s own Pabst beer making the switch to cheese production, but there was also a big bootleg community in the state. In fact, it’s said that Al Capone had operations and hideouts in the area. I was able to see firsthand a restored speakeasy while on a real estate venture in Ashland, Wisconsin, here’s some pictures:

The owner wasn’t around for me to pick their brains about the hidden bar; they just told me of its existence and directed me to find it somewhere in the basement. After a few minutes of scrounging, I noticed a faint glow behind a bookcase, and there it was. Needless to say, it was a cool experience.

After the massive increase in crime, little public support for the ban on alcohol, and the easily bribable and corrupt prohibition officers, the United States passed the 21st Amendment. This effectively ended the 18th, which means alcohol was now legal once more. The millions of dollars within the bootlegging industry could now go back to breweries and distilleries alike, instead of bootleggers, mobsters, and the illegal society surrounding them.

Moonshine shares a rich history, and it’s still around today. It’s perfectly legal to buy on the market, and it’s heaps safer now than during prohibition times; you might hear of the old tropes of yesteryear when people would tell you that you’d go blind from drinking the stuff. It was the case in fact during that era, and thousands of people died from drinking bad batches.

Closing:

We should support distilleries nowadays like they’re going out of style, or better yet, like they are going out of business. Although we didn’t see a modern prohibition, our present day distillers had to suffer through the pandemic which suffocated nearly every industry imaginable. The pandemic was an economic hardship to navigate- a legal hardship comparable to distilleries during prohibition. History almost repeated itself in the fact that the industry almost died, and just like the 1920s, distillers found a modern way to adapt by producing hand sanitizer with their massive distilling facilities. Now that distilleries are going back to producing the product they love, let’s pour a drink in support of our distilleries and the culture surrounding it.