#Repost @todayisanational_day • • • • • “National Bootlegger’s Day on January 17th recognizes an era when bootleggers became legendary. Templeton Rye Whiskey shares its January 17th birthday with bootlegger Al Capone and the son of another bootlegger, Meryl Kerkhoff. During the 1800s, the term bootlegger came into use in the Midwest. The word described the act of concealing flasks of liquor in a boot top when going to trade with Native Americans. The term found its permanent place in the American vocabulary when Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol in 1920. Despite now being illegal, thirsty Americans still had a demand for liquor. While some distilleries switched their production to something legal, others took to bootlegging. Bootleggers helped fill the demand by smuggling various brews from Canada and Mexico, and later distilling their own liquor in backwoods and secluded areas. They brought their loot back to sell to speakeasies, individuals, and other establishments. Other terms, such as rum-runner and moonshiner, became popular during this time as well. The legend of bootlegging grew to mythological qualities. The Mafia arose out of the illegal and coordinated activities of bootlegging. Storied names like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Alphonse Kerkhoff, and Bugs Moran are surrounded by glamour, danger, and mystery. In 1933, Congress ratified the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition and the “noble experiment.”Infinium Spirits founded National Bootleggers Day in 2015 to celebrate the birth of Templeton Rye. The Registrar at National Day Calendar proclaimed by the day 2015 to be observed on January 17th, annually.” #BootleggersDay #TempletonRye (at Darlington, South Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKLCR_qDF2T/?igshid=1ttvmffao9nna