Post #720921 by wizzard419 on Tue, Jun 24, 2014 7:11 PM

On 2014-06-24 06:29, AceExplorer wrote:
This would be a good research topic. How much bootlegging, when was it done, how did they get their raw materials, how did they distribute their product, etc.

Bootlegging in Florida has not been mentioned in any of the places I have been, and I don't recall seeing it mentioned in any museums and exhibits or books. There were, however, a number of railroads along coastal areas for both transporting people and for transporting cypress lumber to ships. And there were some pretty cool steamers on major rivers offering fairly regular service. I'm not sure how many records we have of what exactly they transported. I'd guess there probably was at least some contraband moving around here because there were some major resorts around the state 100 years ago, and they operated through the prohibition era. And major millionaires vacationed in northern Florida and southern Georgia. I would guess there was some market for bootleg liquor here, I'm just not sure how big it was. My city has been a major logistics hub since before the turn of the century, and several of the schooner docks still exist along the waterfront.

Interesting stuff here! I'm going to remember to start asking people about this when I visit historical sites or run into local historians. I can't wait to see their reactions.

It probably was pretty straight forward in terms of what people made when bootlegging. Since they would likely only have what was growing locally you ended up with trade in the local stock. If you were near a boarder/ocean you also had the benefit of a less powerful police force on the water so that was key. Even boarder patrol wasn't that strong back then.

I am kind of surprised there wasn't a strong brandy presence in California, one of the keys with much of the alcohol production was that if it were for sale you would distill so you could transport more alcohol. Sure it usually used fake-age methods and tasted like horse piss, but it got you drunk.

If I recall, there were some wineries in CA that were allowed to operate during the era as well, to produce for religious service.