Prohibition of The United States of America

The Volstead act or Prohibition act took effect in 1920. In a few states throughout America laws were currently set up in an attempt to halt the use of alcohol. These laws were in effect before the 18th amendment (Volstead act, Prohibition act) was approved before congress.

New York was the 1st state to possess any such laws passed in 1697. This law simply stated that all bars and drinking establishments must close on Sunday. Sunday for most religions is meant to be considered a day of rest and prayer and not drinking. In Georgia in the year 1735, the government passed its First state wide ban on alcohol. The ban lasted only 7 years and was a total failure.

In 1851, they attempted once again to instill a prohibition on alcohol in Maine, and this time it worked even better than they had expected. By 1855, twelve other states joined Maine in becoming what is known as a "dry state."

Following the Civil War in 1880, women joined the "dries". It wasn't long before the temperance movement had become a force to be reckoned with. The conservative Woman's Christian Temperance Union, WCTU, was created and the Prohibition Party began gaining momentum.

By 1900, more than 50% of the continental U . S . was dry. Prohibitionists thought they had the alcohol ban locked up and there was not any way possible for any person to obtain alcohol in a dry state. Unfortunately for the dries, the US Postal Service unintentionally furnished a loophole. Because the USPS was governed by the US government not the state government, spirits could be mail ordered and shipped from a wet state. This maddened the dries. In 1913, an Interstate Liquor Act was approved. This act effectively made it illegal for any person to send liquor to any dry state by any means. The end results was actually a step backwards for those trying to keep liquor out as it gave rise to illegal strategies of acquiring the alcohol since liquor distilleries were now in league with organized crime.

In 1917, the 18th amendment was drafted making it illegal to purchase, mail or make liquor. This did not sit well for lots of states. The amendment was disputed in congress for an additional Two years. In 1920 Thirty-three states had declared themselves dry which meant a huge victory for the prohibition party.

January 29, 1919. The 18th Amendment was ratified making all hard alcohol having an ethanol content over 80 proof (40%) be forbidden. Legally, it banned the production, selling, or transporting of such alcoholic drinks. This was supported by many people because they thought that only hard liquor was to be banned and that it would be fine to enjoy a glass of wine with food or drink a beer in the evening. Nevertheless, it wasn't until a year later, the Volstead Act (prohibition act) was passed. The Volstead Act completely banned all alcohol that had greater than 1 proof (1/2%) of alcohol. This effectively banned all forms of alcoholic beverages, aside from non-alcoholic beers. When the 18th amendment was ratified, the Volstead Act was brought into the light by Prohibition supporters. For almost all of the prohibition supporters who only wanted a little wine or the occasional beer felt as though that they had been betrayed because they wound up with nothing when the act was passed.

One group that no one thought of were the veterans of World War 1. These soldiers felt very betrayed returning home from battling in the war. Many of them had been stationed in France and came to know how a moderate quantity of alcohol could add to the quality of life. Coming home and learning that the dries had won a complete victory over alcohol added to the bitterness of the veterans disdain. The fatal miscalculation with prohibition was to ban all forms of alcohol. Eighty percent of the Prohibition Party followers abandoned the party. Prohibition survived for 13 years in the United states until in 1933 the 21st amendment was passed to officially end the ban on alcohol.

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Scotch 101

Scotch whisky demands a tremendous amount of time to produce. It can be a tedious process that will last for many years. On the other hand, if it's crafted in the right way, the product is one that's worth the long wait.

First, the barley is submerged in tanks of water for roughly 3 days. The moisture causes the barley to begin the germination process. When germinated, the barley will be moved to the malting area of the distillery where it'll be put into drums often known as the malting floor.

The goal of the germination process is to transform the starch in the grains into fermentable sugars. The yeast will metabolize the sugars generating alcohol during the fermentation phase. Turning the barley often makes sure the temperature will stay consistent. Wooden shovels known as sheils are employed to turn the grains on a traditional malting floor. The grains will die-off if the temperatures gets above 71 degrees F. This would in turn stop the process because the starch will not be changed into fermentable sugars.

The grain will then be kiln dried to halt the germination process and the continuation of sugar consumption. Usually, a traditional kiln is a building standing two stories tall with the top perforated to allow for all heat to escape. The bottom floor contains peat bricks that are burned. During this process the grain is dried and absorbs the peat smell and flavour. The pagoda roof style on a distillery is the most distinct feature. Nowadays, most of the distilleries purchase malt from a centralized malting company. On the other hand, there remain a small group that are traditional and do everything themselves.

The grain is milled into grist and combined with water in mash tubs. The mixture is heated to sixty degrees. Throughout the mashing period the water is changed a minimum of four times to remove sediment. The result of the mashing is named wort. The wort has to be cooled off before combining with yeast. This large container isn't filled completely since wort froths a lot due to carbon dioxide. By the time 2 or 3 days have passed, all yeast is killed from the alcohol it made. The ultimate product of this cycle is called wash. It has 5 to 8 percent alcohol.

The stills in which the wash is put are made of copper and are regulated to a specific shape that allows for proper distillation to take place. Distillation is normally completed twice, however, some distillers do it 3 times or more. When the whole process is finished the distillate will be put into barrels made usually of oak, for a no less than three years. On the other hand, many Scotch whiskies are aged for much longer.

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