The mere thought of Prohibition can bring tear to a cocktail lover's eye. But for over 14 years the Eighteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution sent spirits into the underground. What emerged at the end of prohibition was a new, reinvigorated cocktail culture, one that continues to thrive today, one that began on repeal day.
When the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect on January 16, 1920, two things happened. First, the best bartenders in America packed their bags and set sail for Europe and Cuba. Second, organized crime began smuggling alcohol into the U.S. and illegal bars (known as speakeasies) started springing up.
Speakeasies in large cities had high standards for décor and featured elaborate systems to conceal alcohol. The Stork Club in New York City was decorated with silver leather and featured live performances; Jack and Charlie's Puncheon Club had a secret wine cellar behind a wall located in the house next door.
These places may have been opulent but they were not kind to cocktails. Speakeasies were not fully stocked because it would take too long to clear the bar during a raid. The range of spirits diminished-crime syndicates had an interest in supplying quality scotch, but not vermouth or bitters. People who couldn't get smuggled alcohol would try making their own hooch at home, and soon "bathtub gin" (raw spirits mixed in a bath) emerged.
The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed with the ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment on December 5, 1933. Cocktails quickly returned to old form and reemerged in popular culture. Humphrey Bogart fixed Ingrid Bergman a Champagne Cocktail in Casablanca. Cocktails continued to regain their glamour following the depression and WWII.
SOURCES:
diffordsguide. Simon Difford. London: Sauce Guides Limited, 2007.