Prohibition: Moonshine on the Rocks

In Jackson hotels and restaurants, a stinger or a Scotch on the rocks was served with a straw. Dry-martini buffs gagged on concoctions as wet—and sometimes as muddy—as Old Man River. The patron who asked for a screwdriver was more apt to get a tool than a tipple. Thus, with more complaint than celebration, Prohibition receded from the last officially dry state in the Union. Since Mississippi's ban on liquor was dropped on July 1, counties with two-thirds of the state's population have voted wet.

Bars, which sometimes ran dry during the first...