Amelia Andriacco
The prohibition was a period of time when it was illegal to buy, sell, or consume alcoholic beverages in the United States. However, just because it was illegal does not mean it didn’t happen. Many people found ways to secretly drink alcohol without the government finding out. Due to the intense laws, people had to get creative. Here are 6 weird ways people outsmarted prohibition laws.
6. Medicinal Whiskey
Though alcohol was prohibited, there was still one way to obtain it legally: prescription. It was largely believed during this time that liquor had medicinal value. Doctors could prescribe whiskey for a variety of things, from snake bites to disease. Though it was labeled as medicinal, doctors, producers, and consumers all understood what it was really for.
The prescribed whiskey was not a low-quality liquid meant to be forced down, but aged whiskeys from trusted brands. Though the label said “for medicinal use only,” customers took advantage of the loophole to enjoy a quality drink.
5. Grape Bricks
While wine was illegal, there were no laws against grape juice. Companies began making bricks of concentrated grape juice. When dissolved in a gallon of water, the brick would turn into “the most delicious unfermented non-alcoholic grape juice.”
The emphasis on “non-alcoholic” goes even further with a strange, non-so-subtle warning: “After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty-one days, because then it would turn into wine.”
Companies essentially gave consumers the materials and instructions to make wine without technically promoting it.
4. Near Beer
Brewing companies had to think quickly when the prohibition was passed. If they did not find a way to adapt, their business would shut down. This prompted the invention of “near beer.”
Near beer was the result of making beer, but allowing the alcohol to cook off. This was essential, as beverages could not legally contain more than 0.5% of alcohol.
The excess alcohol was not evaporated into thin air, but captured in a separate vessel. Near beer consumers would receive a small vial with the pure alcohol, allowing them to inject it into the beer themselves and enjoy an alcoholic beverage.
3. Hearse Hiding Place
While bootleggers are commonly associated with Prohibition, some of their smuggling methods are lesser-known. Funeral home owners–particularly the owners of Rowan’s Funeral Home–were involved in the scheme.
Caskets would be filled with cans of booze and loaded into a hearse. Since most police officers would never think to stop a hearse transporting a casket, these smugglers delivered alcoholic beverages throughout the country, undetected.
2. Hidden Compartments
For everyday people who did not have access to a hearse, they continued to get creative. Many suitcases featured hidden compartments, car fuel tanks were modified to transport alcohol alongside their gas, and books were hollowed out to smuggle illegal alcohol.
Regularly used objects became key methods of avoiding prohibition laws, as they were the least suspicious. Some alcohol was even disguised in perfume or mouthwash packaging.
1. Drinking Vanilla Extract
The last item on our list of weird ways people outsmarted prohibition laws is drinking vanilla extract. Though vanilla contained alcohol (and still does today), it was still available for purchase at any grocery store. Today, vanilla extract requires a minimum of 35% ABV to be considered alcohol, while the minimum for spirits is 40%. During prohibition, this number was often higher, with bottles having 50% ABV.
There were many cases of people getting drunk off vanilla extract, regardless of the unappealing taste. Though purchasing vanilla extract was legal, there were still cases of arrest following vanilla extract drunkenness.