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Speakeasy

March 04, 2023

This article is about Prohibition-era liquor establishments. For other uses, see Speakeasy (disambiguation).
"Blind pig" redirects here. For other uses, see Blind pig (disambiguation).

A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.

New York's 21 Club was a Prohibition-era speakeasy.

Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States during the Prohibition era (1920–1933, longer in some states). During that time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation (bootlegging) of alcoholic beverages was illegal throughout the United States.[1] Speakeasies largely disappeared after Prohibition ended in 1933. The speakeasy-style trend began in 2000 with the opening of the bar Milk & Honey.[2]

Etymology

 
An early use of the term in the U.S. Pittsburgh Dispatch, June 30, 1889

The phrase "speak softly shop", meaning a "smuggler's house", appeared in a British slang dictionary published in 1823.[3] The similar phrase "speak easy shop", denoting a place where unlicensed liquor sales were made, appeared in a British naval memoir written in 1844.[3] The precise term "speakeasy" dates from no later than 1837 when an article in the Sydney Herald newspaper in Australia referred to 'sly grog shops, called in slang terms "speakeasy's" [sic] in this part – Boro Creek.'[4][5]

In the United States, the word emerged in the 1880s. A newspaper article from March 21, 1889, refers to "speak easy" as the name used in the Pittsburgh-area town of McKeesport, Pennsylvania for "a saloon that sells without a license".[6] Speakeasies were "so called because of the practice of speaking quietly about such a place in public, or when inside it, so as not to alert the police or neighbors".[7] Although failing to account for earlier usage outside the U.S., a common American anecdote traces the term to saloon owner Kate Hester, who ran an unlicensed bar in the 1880s in McKeesport, supposedly telling her rowdy customers to "speak easy" to avoid attention from authorities.[8][9][10] Many years later, in Prohibition-era America, the "speakeasy" became a common name to describe a place to get an illicit drink.[11]

Different names for speakeasies were created. The terms "blind pig" and "blind tiger" originated in the United States in the 19th century.[12] These terms were applied to establishments that sold alcoholic beverages illegally, and they are still in use today. The operator of an establishment (such as a saloon or bar) would charge customers to see an attraction (such as an animal) and then serve a "complimentary" alcoholic beverage, thus circumventing the law.[13]

In desperate cases it has to betake itself to the exhibition of Greenland pigs and other curious animals, charging 25 cents for a sight of the pig and throwing in a gin cocktail gratuitously.[14]

[They] are in a mysterious place called a blind tiger, drinking the very bad whiskey for which Prohibition is indirectly responsible.[15]

"Blind tiger" also referred to illegal drinking establishments in which the seller's identity was concealed.

A drawer runs into a wall of what appears to be a billiard saloon. You pull out the drawer, drop in your change, shove the drawer back, call for what you want and then pull out the drawer again and there it is, "Straight" or "Spiked" just as you'd have it. Nobody is heard or seen, and the blind tiger, apparently without any keeper, works like a charm.[16]

History

 
Inside the Mystery Room of the Arizona Biltmore Hotel which served as a speakeasy during Prohibition

Speakeasies, though illegal, were numerous and popular during the Prohibition years. Some 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. People of all races, black or white, would gather together and even mingle. People would mix together and have few or no problems.[17]

Another change that occurred was more participation from women. Many businesses would set up their speakeasies to attract women to get more profits.[18] Women also began to insert themselves into the business of speakeasies. Texas Guinan, a former screen and stage actress, opened many speakeasies during Prohibition such as the 300 Club and the El Fey. Guinan greeted customers with "Hey Suckers" and admitted she'd be nothing without Prohibition. Her two biggest competitors were Helen Morgan and Belle Livingston.[19]

 
Several patrons and a flapper await the opening of the Krazy Kat Klub, a speakeasy, in 1921.

Culture was also affected by speakeasies during Prohibition, and the speakeasy became a focal point. Films were restricted from depicting alcohol on screen, but some still continued to do so because they felt it showed the way Americans lived, such as the scene in Our Dancing Daughters in which Joan Crawford dances on a table in a speakeasy.[20]

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[21][22] (although some, such as the Brandy Alexander, would now be termed "classic").

The quality of the alcohol sold in speakeasies ranged from very poor to very good, depending on the owner's source. Cheap liquor was generally used because it was more profitable. In other cases, brand names were used to specify the liquor customers 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.[23]

Speakeasy-themed cocktail bars made a resurgence in the 2000s. In 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme again became popular, especially in New York City.[24][25]

Varieties

 
The Mayflower Club, an upmarket speakeasy in Washington, D.C., offered liquor and gambling.

From the beginning the speakeasy was relatively small with little or no entertainment involved, but through gradual growth it popularized and expanded to many different areas with new additions of entertainment and eventually made the speakeasy one of the biggest businesses during Prohibition.

In many rural towns, small speakeasies and blind pigs were operated by local business owners. These family secrets were often kept even after Prohibition ended. In 2007 secret underground rooms thought to have been a speakeasy were found by renovators on the grounds of the Cyber Cafe West in Binghamton, New York.[26]

Speakeasies did not need to be big to operate. "It didn't take much more than a bottle and two chairs to make a speakeasy."[27] One example for a speakeasy location was the "21" Club in New York. This is one of the more famous of the speakeasies and operated until 2020. The "21" Club was only part of a series of businesses owned by Charlie Berns and Jack Kriendler. They started the business in Greenwich with a place called "The Redhead" and later moved onto the next operation "The Puncheon Club". The "21" Club was special because of its system to remain under the radar. It was a unique system that used a doorkeeper to send a warning to the bar that it was in danger and the bar would transform into an ordinary place through a mechanism.[28]

The speakeasy spread all over New York with businesses such as the "Bath Club" and "O'Leary's on the Bowery". "The Bath Club" had musicians perform in their place to keep it unique. This idea of musicians spread throughout the speakeasy business and soon enough many of them had musicians.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Speakeasy". Merriam-Webster.
  2. ^ Felten, Eric (April 14, 2007). "Speakeasies With a Twist". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Brown, Peter Jensen (August 12, 2014). "Liquor Licenses, Steelworkers and the British Navy – an Unlicensed History and Etymology of 'Speakeasies'". Early Sports and Pop-Culture History Blog. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  4. ^ "The Soothing System". Sydney Herald. Sydney, Australia. November 20, 1837. p. 3.
  5. ^ "Accidents, Offences,&c". Sydney Herald. November 20, 1837. p. 3 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "State Notes". Harrisburg Independent. March 21, 1889. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Harper, Douglas. "speakeasy". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  8. ^ Funderburg, J. Anne (2014). Bootleggers and Beer Barons of the Prohibition Era. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7864-7961-0.
  9. ^ Bill Toland (December 4, 2013). "Prohibition ended 80 years ago today, but the dry movement never worked here". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  10. ^ Small, Andrew (April 19, 2017). "The Secret Lives of Speakeasies – CityLab". Pocket. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  11. ^ Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. p. 207[ISBN missing]
  12. ^ Mark., Morton (2004). Cupboard Love 2 : a Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities. Toronto: Insomniac Press. ISBN 978-1897415931. OCLC 437182733.[page needed]
  13. ^ Okrent, Daniel (2010). Last call : the rise and fall of Prohibition (First Scribner hardcover ed.). New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-0743277020. OCLC 419812305.[page needed]
  14. ^ MacRae, David (1870). The Americans at Home: Pen-and-Ink Sketches of American Men, Manners, and Institutions. Vol. II. Edinburgh, Scotland. p. 315.
  15. ^ Thornton, R. H. (1931). "An American Glossary". Dialect Notes. 6 (3): 135.
  16. ^ "Denton's Doings". Dallas Weekly Herald. May 29, 1875. p. 2.
  17. ^ Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. ISBN 9781439171691, p. 212
  18. ^ Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. p. 211
  19. ^ Sismodo, Christine. America Walks Into a Bar. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. p. 220[ISBN missing]
  20. ^ Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. p. 213
  21. ^ Shay, "Ten Best Cocktails of 1934", Esquire Vol. 2, December 1934, p. 40.
  22. ^ Grimes, "Bar, What Bar?", The New York Times, June 2, 2009.
  23. ^ Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. p. 210.
  24. ^ "Speakeasy-themed bars are booming in NYC once again".
  25. ^ "Why Does Every Bar in NYC Want to be a Speakeasy Right Now?". March 16, 2022.
  26. ^ Sweeny, Caitlin. "Remains of Speakeasy found in Cyber Cafe parking lot" April 17, 2007. Pipe Dream : Binghamton University. June 2, 2012.
  27. ^ Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. p. 208.
  28. ^ Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. pp. 208–209.
  29. ^ Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. p. 209

Bibliography

  • Britten, Loretta & Math, Paul, eds. Our American Century Jazz Age: The 20s. New York: Time-Life Books, 1998. New York: Bishop Books Inc., 1969. ISBN 0-7835-5509-1.
  • Kahn, Gordon & Hirschfeld, Al. The Speakeasies of 1932. New York: Glenn Young Books, (1932, rev. 2003). ISBN 1-55783-518-7.
  • Streissguth, Thomas. The Dry Years: The Roaring Twenties. Encyclopedia. 2007 ed. Washington, DC: Facts On File, Inc. ISBN 0-8160-6423-7.

External links

 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Speakeasies.
  • Galperina, Marina. "The Museum of the American Gangster Opens Doors of Former Speakeasy in March". February 19, 2010. Animal New York. 25 March 2010.
  • Speakeasy Music of the 1920s on YouTube

March 04, 2023
speakeasy, this, article, about, prohibition, liquor, establishments, other, uses, disambiguation, blind, redirects, here, other, uses, blind, disambiguation, speakeasy, also, called, blind, blind, tiger, illicit, establishment, that, sells, alcoholic, beverag. This article is about Prohibition era liquor establishments For other uses see Speakeasy disambiguation Blind pig redirects here For other uses see Blind pig disambiguation A speakeasy also called a blind pig or blind tiger is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies New York s 21 Club was a Prohibition era speakeasy Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States during the Prohibition era 1920 1933 longer in some states During that time the sale manufacture and transportation bootlegging of alcoholic beverages was illegal throughout the United States 1 Speakeasies largely disappeared after Prohibition ended in 1933 The speakeasy style trend began in 2000 with the opening of the bar Milk amp Honey 2 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Varieties 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksEtymology Edit An early use of the term in the U S Pittsburgh Dispatch June 30 1889 The phrase speak softly shop meaning a smuggler s house appeared in a British slang dictionary published in 1823 3 The similar phrase speak easy shop denoting a place where unlicensed liquor sales were made appeared in a British naval memoir written in 1844 3 The precise term speakeasy dates from no later than 1837 when an article in the Sydney Herald newspaper in Australia referred to sly grog shops called in slang terms speakeasy s sic in this part Boro Creek 4 5 In the United States the word emerged in the 1880s A newspaper article from March 21 1889 refers to speak easy as the name used in the Pittsburgh area town of McKeesport Pennsylvania for a saloon that sells without a license 6 Speakeasies were so called because of the practice of speaking quietly about such a place in public or when inside it so as not to alert the police or neighbors 7 Although failing to account for earlier usage outside the U S a common American anecdote traces the term to saloon owner Kate Hester who ran an unlicensed bar in the 1880s in McKeesport supposedly telling her rowdy customers to speak easy to avoid attention from authorities 8 9 10 Many years later in Prohibition era America the speakeasy became a common name to describe a place to get an illicit drink 11 Different names for speakeasies were created The terms blind pig and blind tiger originated in the United States in the 19th century 12 These terms were applied to establishments that sold alcoholic beverages illegally and they are still in use today The operator of an establishment such as a saloon or bar would charge customers to see an attraction such as an animal and then serve a complimentary alcoholic beverage thus circumventing the law 13 In desperate cases it has to betake itself to the exhibition of Greenland pigs and other curious animals charging 25 cents for a sight of the pig and throwing in a gin cocktail gratuitously 14 They are in a mysterious place called a blind tiger drinking the very bad whiskey for which Prohibition is indirectly responsible 15 Blind tiger also referred to illegal drinking establishments in which the seller s identity was concealed A drawer runs into a wall of what appears to be a billiard saloon You pull out the drawer drop in your change shove the drawer back call for what you want and then pull out the drawer again and there it is Straight or Spiked just as you d have it Nobody is heard or seen and the blind tiger apparently without any keeper works like a charm 16 History Edit Inside the Mystery Room of the Arizona Biltmore Hotel which served as a speakeasy during Prohibition Speakeasies though illegal were numerous and popular during the Prohibition years Some 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 People of all races black or white would gather together and even mingle People would mix together and have few or no problems 17 Another change that occurred was more participation from women Many businesses would set up their speakeasies to attract women to get more profits 18 Women also began to insert themselves into the business of speakeasies Texas Guinan a former screen and stage actress opened many speakeasies during Prohibition such as the 300 Club and the El Fey Guinan greeted customers with Hey Suckers and admitted she d be nothing without Prohibition Her two biggest competitors were Helen Morgan and Belle Livingston 19 Several patrons and a flapper await the opening of the Krazy Kat Klub a speakeasy in 1921 Culture was also affected by speakeasies during Prohibition and the speakeasy became a focal point Films were restricted from depicting alcohol on screen but some still continued to do so because they felt it showed the way Americans lived such as the scene in Our Dancing Daughters in which Joan Crawford dances on a table in a speakeasy 20 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 21 22 although some such as the Brandy Alexander would now be termed classic The quality of the alcohol sold in speakeasies ranged from very poor to very good depending on the owner s source Cheap liquor was generally used because it was more profitable In other cases brand names were used to specify the liquor customers 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 23 Speakeasy themed cocktail bars made a resurgence in the 2000s In 2022 amid the COVID 19 pandemic the theme again became popular especially in New York City 24 25 Varieties Edit The Mayflower Club an upmarket speakeasy in Washington D C offered liquor and gambling From the beginning the speakeasy was relatively small with little or no entertainment involved but through gradual growth it popularized and expanded to many different areas with new additions of entertainment and eventually made the speakeasy one of the biggest businesses during Prohibition In many rural towns small speakeasies and blind pigs were operated by local business owners These family secrets were often kept even after Prohibition ended In 2007 secret underground rooms thought to have been a speakeasy were found by renovators on the grounds of the Cyber Cafe West in Binghamton New York 26 Speakeasies did not need to be big to operate It didn t take much more than a bottle and two chairs to make a speakeasy 27 One example for a speakeasy location was the 21 Club in New York This is one of the more famous of the speakeasies and operated until 2020 The 21 Club was only part of a series of businesses owned by Charlie Berns and Jack Kriendler They started the business in Greenwich with a place called The Redhead and later moved onto the next operation The Puncheon Club The 21 Club was special because of its system to remain under the radar It was a unique system that used a doorkeeper to send a warning to the bar that it was in danger and the bar would transform into an ordinary place through a mechanism 28 The speakeasy spread all over New York with businesses such as the Bath Club and O Leary s on the Bowery The Bath Club had musicians perform in their place to keep it unique This idea of musicians spread throughout the speakeasy business and soon enough many of them had musicians 29 See also EditList of bars Speakeasies Index of drinking establishment related articlesReferences Edit Speakeasy Merriam Webster Felten Eric April 14 2007 Speakeasies With a Twist The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on January 2 2020 Retrieved January 1 2022 a b Brown Peter Jensen August 12 2014 Liquor Licenses Steelworkers and the British Navy an Unlicensed History and Etymology of Speakeasies Early Sports and Pop Culture History Blog Retrieved August 13 2014 The Soothing System Sydney Herald Sydney Australia November 20 1837 p 3 Accidents Offences amp c Sydney Herald November 20 1837 p 3 via Trove State Notes Harrisburg Independent March 21 1889 p 1 via Newspapers com Harper Douglas speakeasy Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved October 29 2012 Funderburg J Anne 2014 Bootleggers and Beer Barons of the Prohibition Era Jefferson NC McFarland amp Company p 36 ISBN 978 0 7864 7961 0 Bill Toland December 4 2013 Prohibition ended 80 years ago today but the dry movement never worked here Pittsburgh Post Gazette Small Andrew April 19 2017 The Secret Lives of Speakeasies CityLab Pocket Retrieved June 3 2019 Okrent Daniel Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition New York Scribner 2010 p 207 ISBN missing Mark Morton 2004 Cupboard Love 2 a Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities Toronto Insomniac Press ISBN 978 1897415931 OCLC 437182733 page needed Okrent Daniel 2010 Last call the rise and fall of Prohibition First Scribner hardcover ed New York Scribner ISBN 978 0743277020 OCLC 419812305 page needed MacRae David 1870 The Americans at Home Pen and Ink Sketches of American Men Manners and Institutions Vol II Edinburgh Scotland p 315 Thornton R H 1931 An American Glossary Dialect Notes 6 3 135 Denton s Doings Dallas Weekly Herald May 29 1875 p 2 Okrent Daniel Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition New York Scribner 2010 ISBN 9781439171691 p 212 Okrent Daniel Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition New York Scribner 2010 p 211 Sismodo Christine America Walks Into a Bar New York Oxford University Press 2011 p 220 ISBN missing Okrent Daniel Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition New York Scribner 2010 p 213 Shay Ten Best Cocktails of 1934 Esquire Vol 2 December 1934 p 40 Grimes Bar What Bar The New York Times June 2 2009 Okrent Daniel Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition New York Scribner 2010 p 210 Speakeasy themed bars are booming in NYC once again Why Does Every Bar in NYC Want to be a Speakeasy Right Now March 16 2022 Sweeny Caitlin Remains of Speakeasy found in Cyber Cafe parking lot April 17 2007 Pipe Dream Binghamton University June 2 2012 Okrent Daniel Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition New York Scribner 2010 p 208 Okrent Daniel Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition New York Scribner 2010 pp 208 209 Okrent Daniel Last Call The Rise and Fall of Prohibition New York Scribner 2010 p 209Bibliography EditBritten Loretta amp Math Paul eds Our American Century Jazz Age The 20s New York Time Life Books 1998 New York Bishop Books Inc 1969 ISBN 0 7835 5509 1 Kahn Gordon amp Hirschfeld Al The Speakeasies of 1932 New York Glenn Young Books 1932 rev 2003 ISBN 1 55783 518 7 Streissguth Thomas The Dry Years The Roaring Twenties Encyclopedia 2007 ed Washington DC Facts On File Inc ISBN 0 8160 6423 7 External links Edit Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Speakeasies Galperina Marina The Museum of the American Gangster Opens Doors of Former Speakeasy in March February 19 2010 Animal New York 25 March 2010 Speakeasy Music of the 1920s on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Speakeasy amp oldid 1135787826, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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