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PROHIBITION
began to drink openly in speakeasies and other places serving alcohol
during this period. The new attitudes caused a permanent change, so
that after the repeal of Prohibition, women continued to be welcome
at most drinking establishments (it would be 1949 before women
stormed the Sazerac, one of the last men-only holdouts). Records
indicate that by the end of Prohibition the city boasted more drinking
holes and places to lift a glass than had been documented before the
Great Experiment. And during the first week of resumed legality,
over 900 beer permits were issued in the city.
Bathtub Gin
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
½ liter grain alcohol like Everclear
½ liter water
The peel of one lemon
⅛ cup dried juniper berries
HOW TO PREP
Place all ingredients in a jar with a cover and keep in a cool, dark place.
Shake the mixture each day. After a week, strain out the solids.
Want to know more?
Check out Spirited: Prohibition in America, based on the book by
Daniel Okrent, Last Call: the Rise and Fall of Prohibition, on exhibit now
through August 14, 2016 at the West Baton Rouge Museum, and check
out Huey Long and the Noble Experiment: Prohibition in Louisiana, on
exhibit now through September 4th. For more information,
visit
www.westbatonrougemuseum.com.
Hiding the
Hooch
by
Kit Wohl
M
ost New Orleanians captured the essence of the moment
during Prohibition and believed that wine and spirits
were natural companions of good food and good living.
The fact that these were against the law seemed a minor obstacle.
Temperance was an alien concept in many local restaurants where
liquor flowed freely.
It’s no surprise that the citizens threw a parade in protest. New
Orleans’ former Mayor Martin Behrman was quoted when
Prohibition was enacted for saying “You can make it illegal, but you
can’t make it unpopular.”
Restaurateurs, knowing that their guests were inclined to tipple,
operated largely in a stealthy manner to avoid confiscation of their
illegal wet inventory and used the dry law to build fortunes.
The proprietors of Commander’s Palace and one of their bartenders
were distinguished by the first jail sentences in New Orleans for
persons found guilty of selling or possessing liquor in violation of
the Volstead Act. The federal agents seized about 100 quarts of
liquors of all kinds and 216 bottles of wine. The booze was found
behind the bar, in the kitchen and in a room upstairs.
They were busted during the heat of summer in 1921 and relieved of
the contraband.The two proprietors were subsequently sentenced to
thirty days in the House of Detention and $200 fines.The bartender
“Illegal bars were called speakeasies. Secret knocks, peepholes in doors and passwords provided
entry. Prominent customers were recognized and readily accommodated.”
—Kit Wohl
photo courtesy Antoine’s Restaurant
Interior of the Old Absinthe House, 1903