Prior to Prohibition in the 1920’s and 30’s, South Carolina had experienced its own form of alcohol control with the Dispensary Act of 1893, which banned private sales of alcoholic beverages. The state of South Carolina took over the sale of what was termed “alcoholic merchandise” with state-operated dispensaries and all alcohol was sold in bottles with the insignia of the era, a Palmetto tree with crossed palmetto logs from the South Carolina state seal. The dispensary system was marked with corrupt officials as well as a new wave of bootlegging, mostly in the #Charleston area, all of which led to the system being repealed in 1907. Today, the old dispensary bottles are collector’s items, and one new distillery has adopted the old insignia for its new product. <img.src=”Charleston Curiosities” alt=”The Dispensary System
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