{"id":54666,"date":"2024-03-19T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T20:14:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T19:14:52","slug":"why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Was Bathtub Gin Dangerous?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before we dive into the murky world of bathtub <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/gin\/\">gin<\/a>, not literally, of course, we should take the time to differentiate between bathtub gin and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/gin\/ableforths\/bathtub-gin\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bathtub Gin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. One is a dodgy, potentially dangerous product made by gangsters during Prohibition in America, and the other is an award-winning brand of gin made with cold compounding. Clear?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Furthermore, Bathtub gin is often erroneously linked to the Gin Craze that swept London in the 18th century, immortalised in Hogarth\u2019s print \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/art\/artworks\/hogarth-gin-lane-t01799\">Gin Lane<\/a>.\u2019 A combination of factors: good harvests meaning that there were large quantities of grain available, deregulation of the distilling industry and tax on French brandy, resulted in a tsunami of gin hitting the capital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_54670\" style=\"width: 497px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54670\" class=\" wp-image-54670\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/si-303179.jpg_widthcm-50.9611612397018_heightcm-60_croppedwidthcm-38.9611612397018_croppedheightcm-48_maxdim-1000.jpg\" alt=\"Gin Lane Bathtub Gin\" width=\"487\" height=\"573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/si-303179.jpg_widthcm-50.9611612397018_heightcm-60_croppedwidthcm-38.9611612397018_croppedheightcm-48_maxdim-1000.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/si-303179.jpg_widthcm-50.9611612397018_heightcm-60_croppedwidthcm-38.9611612397018_croppedheightcm-48_maxdim-1000-255x300.jpg 255w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/si-303179.jpg_widthcm-50.9611612397018_heightcm-60_croppedwidthcm-38.9611612397018_croppedheightcm-48_maxdim-1000-768x904.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/si-303179.jpg_widthcm-50.9611612397018_heightcm-60_croppedwidthcm-38.9611612397018_croppedheightcm-48_maxdim-1000-212x250.jpg 212w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/si-303179.jpg_widthcm-50.9611612397018_heightcm-60_croppedwidthcm-38.9611612397018_croppedheightcm-48_maxdim-1000-594x700.jpg 594w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/si-303179.jpg_widthcm-50.9611612397018_heightcm-60_croppedwidthcm-38.9611612397018_croppedheightcm-48_maxdim-1000-722x850.jpg 722w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 487px) 100vw, 487px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-54670\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hogarth&#8217;s Gin Lane, no bathtub gin here<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gin was now made by a myriad amateur distillers rather than by the Worshipful Company of Distillers. It was the first time in history that large quantities of spirits had been cheaply available. After 1694 a glass of gin cost less than beer. Gin consumption rocketed from half a million gallons in 1688 to 19 million in 1742. Much of this gin would have been extremely dangerous, badly-distilled, and often flavoured with turpentine rather than juniper. But it wasn\u2019t known as bathtub gin.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>So, what is bathtub gin?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To find out we have to delve a little into 20th century American history. In October 1919, Congress voted in the Volstead act prohibiting the sale and manufacture of alcohol in America. The following year the N<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ational Prohibition Act came into force. Overnight the country\u2019s brewing, distilling, and wine industries were, with a few exceptions for medicinal purposes, closed down. Legal alcohol production would not resume on any scale until 1933.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So naturally patriotic Americans all stopped drinking, right? No, in fact they turned to illegal sources of alcohol. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At a stroke of a pen, America\u2019s alcohol supplies had been transferred into the hands of criminals. At one point it was estimated that there were over 32, 000 speakeasies in New York City alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_54671\" style=\"width: 549px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54671\" class=\" wp-image-54671\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Prohibition bathrub gin speakeasy\" width=\"539\" height=\"303\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222-1100x619.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-54671\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mine&#8217;s a Dry Martini, easy on the sulphuric acid<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What would have been served in these joints? The well-off could get hold of real <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/whiskies\/j-and-b\/j-and-b-rare-whisky\/\">J&amp;B Scotch whisky<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/champagne\/mumm\/mumm-brut-champagne\/\">Mumm Cordon Rouge Champagne<\/a> smuggled in from Canada or Bermuda but for most it meant turning to less salubrious booze. This might consist, if you were lucky, of industrial ethanol diluted and flavoured with various things. \u2018Gin\u2019 might contain juniper berries or it might be perked up with sulphuric acid. Mmm, tangy? \u2018Bourbon\u2019 or \u2018rum\u2019 would probably be the same spirit coloured and flavoured with sugar and spices. Again if you were lucky.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>Why was bathtub gin dangerous?<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you were unlucky you might be given home-distilled spirits containing toxic compounds such as methanol or <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate. The latter featured in a hell broth known as Jamaican ginger or Jake for short. The lethal ingredient could kill you or leave you crippled. Partial paralysis led to people walking strangely- the Jake walk it was known. There\u2019s a sub-genre of songs about Jake including Jake Leg Blues &#8211; worth looking up on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZgfvzDEKTso\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Youtube<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u2018I can\u2019t eat\/ I can\u2019t talk\/ been drinkin\u2019 mean Jake\/ Lord, now I can\u2019t walk\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_29541\" style=\"width: 540px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29541\" class=\" wp-image-29541\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Gin-Bathtub-BTG-2020-Sunst-1024x498.jpg\" alt=\"Bathtub Gin not to be confused with bathtub gin\" width=\"530\" height=\"258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Gin-Bathtub-BTG-2020-Sunst-1024x498.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Gin-Bathtub-BTG-2020-Sunst-300x146.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Gin-Bathtub-BTG-2020-Sunst-768x374.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Gin-Bathtub-BTG-2020-Sunst.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-29541\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bathtub Gin not to be confused with bathtub gin<\/p><\/div>\n<h5><b>Was bathtub gin actually made in a bathtub?<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sadly most weren\u2019t literally made in a bathtub. Any large container would do. The term \u2018bathtub gin\u2019 suggests an amateurish domestic approach to alcohol production.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You wouldn\u2019t want to drink your sulphuric acid-tinged bathtub gin in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/cocktail-of-the-week-the-dry-martini.aspx\">Dry Martini<\/a> so during Prohibition cocktails became sweeter and fruitier to disguise the taste of the bad liquor. Al Capone\u2019s favourite cocktail was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/cocktail-of-the-week-the-southside.aspx\">Southside<\/a>, a mixture of gin, lemon, sugar and mint. Another popular 1920s cocktail was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/cocktail-of-the-week-the-bronx.aspx\">Bronx<\/a> made with orange juice, sweet vermouth and gin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So that\u2019s bathtub gin. Happily we can buy delicious professionally-made spirits instead\u2026 like Bathtub Gin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before we dive into the murky world of bathtub gin, not literally, of course, we should take the time to differentiate between bathtub gin and Bathtub Gin. One is a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":54671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[893,9],"tags":[66,715],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Was Bathtub Gin Dangerous? | Master of Malt blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We delve into the history of homemade gin known as bathtub gin that proliferated in America during Prohbition.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Was Bathtub Gin Dangerous? | Master of Malt blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We delve into the history of homemade gin known as bathtub gin that proliferated in America during Prohbition.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Master of Malt blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/masterofmalt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-19T09:00:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T19:14:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Henry Jeffreys\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MasterOfMalt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MasterOfMalt\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Henry Jeffreys\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/60e101a0c66bf246bdd60ad6a39376a6\"},\"headline\":\"Why Was Bathtub Gin Dangerous?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-19T09:00:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T19:14:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/\"},\"wordCount\":680,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/l-intro-1657577222.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bathtub Gin\",\"Gin\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Features\",\"Gin\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/why-was-bathtub-gin-dangerous\/\",\"name\":\"Why Was Bathtub Gin Dangerous? 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