Shaken, stirred or straight up? U.S. toasts repeal of Prohibition

By Leslie Gevirtz NEW YORK (Reuters) – Many Americans this week will toast the 80th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition, a 14-year ban on the sale and production of alcoholic beverages that turned booze-smuggling thugs into celebrities and otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals. While the cocktail has been around since early 19th century, the combinations of spirits, sugars, water and bitters really started pouring into shakers during Prohibition. In the 1920s, there were 15,000 speakeasies in Detroit, “Great Gatsby” author F. Scott Fitzgerald favored Gin Rickeys and politicians and the famous hid out at New York’s “21 Club” with its secret wine cellar and disappearing bar. “The whole Prohibition cocktail thing was to cover up the poor quality of the alcohol,” said John McCarthy, a bartender at New York’s Bathtub Gin lounge.