When the law oversteps

Prohibition's Premier Hooch Hounds | Past Imperfect: Bootleggers transported product via an intricate system of underground pipes, including a 6,000-foot beer pipeline that ran through the Yonkers sewer system. Proprietors of cordial shops nailed signs that read “importer” or “broker” on their doors, a clear signal that they were in the know. They also slipped flyers under windshields and apartment doors, offered free samples and home delivery, took telephone orders and urged customers to “ask for anything you may not find” on the menu. Drinking now required cunning, urbane wit, the code to a secret language. “Give me a ginger ale,” a patron said, and waited for the bartender’s wink and knowing reply: “Imported or domestic?” The correct answer—imported—brought a highball.