On December 5th, 1933, the U.S. government undid a terrible civil injustice and issued the 21st Amendment to the Constitution allowing our great country to partake in one of our favorite pastimes – booze!
This put an end to the 18th Amendment and Prohibition aka the darkest days of our country, well at least to date. The initial logic was that prohibition would end alcoholism and crime, nope, didn’t work. As we all know, this gave rise to illegal bootlegging and underground speakeasies which also created a huge financial opportunity for gangsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano.
As many gang dominance and violent crime rose during this time, this support for this “noble experiment” waned and the allure of the government creating production jobs and tax revenue on a legal booze industry was very tempting during The Great Depression. In early 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th. It was ratified by the end of that year, bringing the Prohibition era to a close and allowing our great country to drink again!
As gin was very popular during Prohibition, because it was relatively it was the easiest to produce homemade “bathtub gin” for bootleggers.
Here are 3 popular gin cocktails from that time to enjoy on Repeal Day
Bee’s Knees
Photo Credit: PostProhibition.com
Slang for “the best”
- 2 oz Gin
- .75 oz fresh lemon juice
- .75 oz honey simple syrup
- Garnish with a lemon twist
Southside
A favorite of Al Capone and homage to his neck of Chicago
- 2 oz gin
- 1 oz lime juice
- Fresh mint
Colony
Named after a speakeasy in NYC
- 1.5 oz gin
- .5 oz freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
- .25 oz Luxardo
- Grapefruit slice garnish
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