In my zine one of the main characters will be a mobster that owns a speakeasy named the blind pigeon, this is in reference to speakeasies often being referred to as a blind pig or blind tiger.
Speakeasies were numerous and popular during the Prohibition years. Some of them were operated by people who were part of organized crime. Even though police and agents of the Bureau of Prohibition would often raid them and arrest their owners and patrons, they were so profitable that they continued to flourish. The speakeasy soon became one of the biggest parts of American culture during this time. Several changes happened as speakeasies formed; one was with integration. With “black and tans”, people of all kinds, black or white, would gather together and even mingle. People would mix together and have little to no problems. When the Detroit-Windsor tunnel was opened in 1930, it became yet another way for alcohol to be smuggled into the United States, creating more business for mobsters in the area.
The poor quality bootleg liquor sold in some speakeasies was responsible for a shift away from 19th-century 'classic' cocktails, that celebrated the raw taste of the liquor (such as the gin cocktail, made with Genever (sweet) gin), to new cocktails aimed at masking the taste of rough moonshine. These masking drinks were termed 'pansies' at the time (although some, such as the Brandy Alexander, would now be termed 'classic'). The quality of the alcohol sold in the speakeasy could range from very poor to very good; this all depended on the way the owner got the product. Cheap liquor was generally used because it would help with profits. But in other cases, brand names were used to specify the type of alcohol people wanted. However, sometimes when brand names were used, some speakeasies cheated; they lied to their customers by giving them poor quality liquor instead of the higher-quality liquor the customer ordered. Prices were four to five dollars a bottle.
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