THEY were illegal establishments that sprang up during the Prohibition era in the United States. Now, 100 years on, speakeasies could well be set for a revival.

Speakeasies?

The term was given to the raft of illegal bars that popped up during the prohibition era in America, from 1920 to 1933. Legislation banned the production and consumption of alcohol in a movement led by devout Protestant temperance supporters who believed it would reduce crime, family violence and alcoholism, toward the betterment of society.

What does the name refer to?

It is thought to hail from patrons of the clandestine bars and clubs having to talk quietly - or speak “easy” - while entering the hidden away establishments.

It didn’t quite work out the way the temperance movement wanted?

Business thrived for moonshiners and bootleggers, the criminals who produced and smuggled the alcohol, and it was a violent underground world. 

Capone?

Notorious gangster Al Capone, head of the Chicago mob, made an estimated $60 million per yer supplying illicit beer and liquor to thousands of speakeasies he controlled.

They were not the best kept secrets?

Word would get out and owners would often bribe low-paid police officers to look the other way and tip them off about planned raids by prohibition agents.

The drinks could be dangerous?

Bootlgers would often water down alcohol, while others would sell “smoke”, liquid made of pure wood alcohol that went on to kill or maim thousands of drinkers.

The birth of mixers?

To disguise the taste of poorly made whisky and gin, speakeasies would offer to add in ginger ale or Coca-Cola, lemon or fruit juices to mix it up.

So what is happening now?

Coronavirus restrictions, including a 10pm curfew for bars and clubs, have been introduced in a bid to curtail the spread of the virus, but there are concerns that parties will continue on after the bell tolls. Police patrols have been stepped up across the country to monitor the curfew.

Speakeasy inspectors are on the hunt already?

Images have been posted on social media over the last few days showing lockdown inspectors peering through letterboxes and windows on the hunt for illegal speakeasies, with teams of officers spotted patrolling Soho in Central London after the 10pm curfew came into force. One Twitter user, who posted pictures of the curfew inspectors online, said: “Strange sight - City Inspectors, working through Soho, looking for illegal speakeasies open after the 10pm cut-off.”

The speakeasy is a cultural phenomenon in the US?

Prohibition theme bars that offer a taste of what life was like in the roaring 20s are an emerging trend in the United States - where hopeful patrons have to know the password to gain entry - before indulging in party nights, with 1920s style music and fashion. Although alcohol is now legal, the appeal of underground partying offers an exclusivity for bar owners to market.

As for the authentic speakeasy?

Elements of it survive in America, notably on university campuses where many of the students are too young to drink. An article in the Campus Times, the student newspaper for the University of Rochester, this month declares that there are “about a dozen speakeasies and hundreds of small-time bootleggers on campus”.