# Terrapins, sherry and Prohibition

**URL:** <https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/terrapins-sherry-and-prohibition/155>\
**Category:** Spirits\
**Created:** [July 21, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/terrapins-sherry-and-prohibition/155 "2019-07-21T21:03:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![martin](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/user_avatar/spiritsandcocktails.community/martin/32/777_2.png) [@martin](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/martin)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/terrapins-sherry-and-prohibition/155/1 "2019-07-21T21:03:37Z")

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Quite interesting. Most likely, Prohibition saved the [terrapin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamondback_terrapin).

> **[Our Taste For Turtle Soup Nearly Wiped Out Terrapins. Then Prohibition Saved...](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/07/18/742326830/our-taste-for-turtle-soup-nearly-wiped-out-terrapins-then-prohibition-saved-them)**
>
> By the turn of the 20th century, America's love affair with diamondback terrapin soup — a subsistence food turned gourmet fare — had left the turtle's population teetering. Booze ban to the rescue.

Edit: added this Saveur article for more background on turtle soup, including a recipe

> **[What Ever Happened to Turtle Soup?](https://www.saveur.com/history-of-turtle-soup-hunting/)**
>
> American food means more than burgers and apple pie. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, it also unequivocally meant turtle.

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**Author:** ![RobertSimonson](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/user_avatar/spiritsandcocktails.community/robertsimonson/32/1135_2.png) [@RobertSimonson](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/RobertSimonson)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/terrapins-sherry-and-prohibition/155/2 "2019-07-22T16:02:37Z")

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Turtle soup never disappeared in New Orleans let me tell you. I just had a couple bowls of it last week. Maybe it remained on menus there because New Orleans largely ignored Prohibition and so the sherry still flowed generously.

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**Author:** ![martin](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/user_avatar/spiritsandcocktails.community/martin/32/777_2.png) [@martin](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/martin)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/terrapins-sherry-and-prohibition/155/3 "2019-07-22T16:22:13Z")

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I’ve enjoyed turtle soup in various places, including NYC. As I’ve read more history, I’ve been impressed just how popular and ubiquitous it was in US history—a staple or delicacy (depending on context) right alongside our fancy American drinks.

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**Author:** ![RobertSimonson](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/user_avatar/spiritsandcocktails.community/robertsimonson/32/1135_2.png) [@RobertSimonson](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/RobertSimonson)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/terrapins-sherry-and-prohibition/155/4 "2019-07-22T16:55:33Z")

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Have you ever read the description of what went into making turtle soup in William Grimes’ “Appetite City”? the amount of labor involved was mind-boggling. People must have really liked the stuff to go through all that.

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**Author:** ![martin](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/user_avatar/spiritsandcocktails.community/martin/32/777_2.png) [@martin](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/u/martin)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://spiritsandcocktails.community/t/terrapins-sherry-and-prohibition/155/5 "2019-07-22T17:05:14Z")

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Added to my reading list.