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{{Short description|Style of homemade spirit}}
'''Bathtub gin''' refers to any style of homemade spirit made in amateur conditions. The term first appeared in 1920, in the [[Prohibition|prohibition-era]] [[United States]], in reference to the poor-quality alcohol that was being made.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bathtub%20gin |title=bathtub gin |work=Merriam-Webster OnLine |publisher=Merriam-Webster |location=Springfield, MA |accessdate=March 3, 2010 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100219094300/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bathtub%20gin| archivedate= 19 February 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>▼
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
▲'''Bathtub gin''' refers to any style of homemade spirit made in amateur conditions. The term first appeared in 1920, in the [[Prohibition|prohibition-era]] [[United States]], in reference to the poor-quality alcohol that was being made.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bathtub%20gin |title=bathtub gin |work=Merriam-Webster OnLine |publisher=Merriam-Webster |location=Springfield, MA |accessdateaccess-date=March 3, 2010 | archiveurlarchive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100219094300/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bathtub%20gin| archivedatearchive-date= 19 February 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>
 
As [[gin]] was the predominant drink in the 1920s, many variations were created by mixing cheap grain [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] with water and flavorings and other agents, such as juniper berry juice and glycerin. In addition, mixing grain alcohol, water, and flavorings in vessels large enough to supply commercial users had to be small enough for the operation to go undetected by the police. The common metal [[bathtub]] in use at the time would have been ideal as would have been a ceramic bathtub, hence the name, 'bathtub gin'. However, since [[distillation]] requiresis closedboiling distillationand condensation in a closed apparatus, and cannot be accomplished in an open vessel such as a bathtub, stories of distilled alcoholic products produced in an open bathtub are likely untrue.
 
Many gin cocktails such as [[Bee's Knees]] owe their existence to bathtub gin, as they were also created in order to mask the unpleasant taste.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sandham|first=Tom|title=World's Best Cocktails: 500 Signature Drinks from the World's Best Bars and Bartenders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ceCHTC1QstYC&pg=PA72|date=1 October 2012|publisher=Fair Winds Press|isbn=978-1-61058-648-1|page=72}}</ref>
 
Bathtub Gin is also the name for a gin brand produced by [[Ableforth's]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. Although not made in a bathtub, it is [[Gin#Production_methodology|produced using compounding/infusing]] rather than using botanical distillation.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.ginfoundry.com/gin/bathtub-gin/|title = Bathtub Gin|date = |accessdate = 2015-07-29|website = |publisher = Gin Foundry|last = |first = |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140522072524/http://www.ginfoundry.com/gin/bathtub-gin/|archivedate = 2014-05-22}}</ref>
 
==In popular culture==
In the 1939 film ''[[The Roaring Twenties]]'' Eddie Bartlett, played by [[James Cagney]], is seen mixing a large can of grain alcohol with water in a bathtub to produce bootleg gin during the prohibition era.
 
In the 1982 film ''[[Annie (1982 film)|Annie]]'' Miss Hannigan, played by [[Carol Burnett]], is shown doctoring bathtub gin.
 
The band [[Phish]] song "Bathtub Gin" was released on the 1990 album ''[[Lawn Boy]]''. The song also appears on ''[[Hampton Comes Alive]]'' (1999) and several other live albums.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Bathtub Gin History|url = http://phish.net/song/bathtub-gin/history|website = phish.net|accessdate = 2015-07-30|publisher = Mockingbird Foundation}}</ref>
 
The ''[[The Simpsons|Simpsons]]'' 1997 episode "[[Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment]]" features [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] and [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] mixing and brewing alcohol, including gin, in various bathtubs in the basement and [[Rum-running|secretly supplying and distributing it]] to [[Moe's Tavern]] via an elaborate delivery system to avoid detection.
 
In the 2018 film ''[[Mary Poppins Returns]]'', starring [[Emily Blunt]], [[Mary Poppins]] sings "flap about in bathtub gin" during a song while swimming in a bathtub with the Banks children.
 
== See also ==
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[[Category:Distilled drinks]]
[[Category:1920s]]
[[Category:AmericanCulture cultureof the United States]]
[[Category:History of North America]]
[[Category:Prohibition in the United States]]
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