IN THE LATE 1920'S, THE FRANKLIN MORTGAGE AND INVESTMENT COMPANY SERVED AS THE FRONT FOR THE LARGEST ALCOHOL RING IN THE COUNTRY. MAX "BOO BOO" HOFF AND HIS CRONIES RAN ABOUT 10,000 GALLONS A DAY VIA TRUCK, TRAIN AND BUS. THEIR OPERATION DWARFED EVEN THAT OF AL CAPONE. AFTER PROHIBITION, THE ART OF BARTENDING, WHICH HAD GONE INTO HIDING, WAS BROUGHT BACK BECAUSE OF MEN LIKE JERRY "THE PROFESSOR" THOMAS.

THE FRANKLIN CELEBRATES BOTH THE GOLDEN AGE BARROOMS OF THE PRE-PROHIBITION ERA, AND THE SKILLED BARTENDERS WHO FLED THEIR HOMES TO PURSUE A NOBLE CRAFT BANNED AND DEMONIZED IN ITS COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. WE WELCOME BACK TO OUR SHORES THE ART OF A FINE MIXED DRINK. THE FRANKLIN IS A PLACE WHERE A STIFF DRINK AND A TUNEFUL HORN CO-MINGLE, AND WHERE BARTENDERS ARE ARTISTS. ABOVE ALL, THE FRANKLIN IS A BEACON FOR THOSE WHO FEEL THAT A DRAM OF ALCOHOL IS NOT MEANT AS MERELY A VESSEL FOR INTOXICATION, BUT A SENSORY EXPERIENCE ALL ITS OWN.  MORE OF THE STORY

MAX "BOO BOO" HOFF — "THE KING OF BOOTLEGGERS" AND FOUNDER OF THE ORIGINAL FRANKLIN MORTGAGE AND INVESTMENT COMPANY.

THERE WERE TWO MURDERS. THE FIRST WAS HUNCHBACK MCLOON, HE WAS A "DUFFY MAN". DANIEL O'LEARY WAS NEXT, SHOT WITH A SALVO, A RETALIATION FROM DUFFY HEADQUARTERS. AND WITH THAT SECOND SHOT, THE INVESTIGATION BEGAN. DISTRICT ATTORNEY JOHN MONAGHAN, MADE EVERYONE TALK, FROM TRUCK DRIVERS TO BREWERY BOSSES. IN THE END THE PICTURE WAS CLEAR, AT THE HEART OF PHILADELPHIA'S DARK UNDERWORLD WAS A LIQUOR RING AND THE LEADER OF THAT RING WAS MAX "BOO BOO" HOFF.

SOUTH PHILLY, 1892, MAX WAS BORN TO POOR RUSSIAN-JEWISH IMMIGRANTS. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER HE WAS A MILLIONAIRE. HE STARTED WITH A GAMBLING JOINT IN SOCIETY HILL, BUT SOON MAX HAD THE LARGEST STABLE OF BOXERS IN THE COUNTRY. MOST OF THAT WAS ON THE LEVEL, MOST OF IT. BUT WHAT WASN'T WERE HIS THREE ALCOHOL DISTILLERIES, THREE SPEAKEASYS, THE HUNDREDS POLITICAL OFFICIALS AND POLICE HE GREASED, AND THE FRONT FOR IT ALL — THE FRANKLIN MORTGAGE AND INVESTMENT COMPANY.

IT WAS WITH THIS GUISE THAT HE LAUNDERED MILLIONS, RAN RACKETS AND BECAME, ACCORDING TO DISTRICT ATTORNEY MONAGHAN,"... A GIANT SPIDER IN THE MIDDLE OF A GREAT WEB WITH EYES IN FRONT AND BEHIND. A MAN WHO SEES EVERYTHING, KNOWS EVERYTHING AND CONTROLS EVERYTHING IN THE UNDERWORLD."

GET THE DIG ON THE COCKTAILS HERE.
"THERE CAN'T BE GOOD LIVING
WHERE THERE IS NOT GOOD DRINKING."

- BEN FRANKLIN 
"I FEEL SORRY FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T DRINK.
WHEN THEY WAKE UP IN THE MORNING,
THAT'S AS GOOD AS THEY'RE GOING TO FEEL ALL DAY."

- FRANK SINATRA 
"WHISKEY IS FOR DRINKIN',
WATER IS FOR FIGHTIN'."

- MARK TWAIN 
"WHEN I DRINK WHISKEY, I DRINK WHISKEY;
AND WHEN I DRINK WATER, I DRINK WATER."

- MICHALEEN FLYNN IN THE QUIET MAN 
"ONCE, DURING PROHIBITION, I WAS FORCED TO LIVE FOR DAYS
ON NOTHING BUT FOOD AND WATER."

- W.C. FIELDS 
BOOTLEG ALCOHOL WAS TRANSPORTED
VIA THE READING RAILROAD IN LARGE DRUMS MARKED "TAR" AND "ASPHALTUM".
IN THE 1920'S PHILADELPHIA HAD OVER 13,000 SPEAKEASIES.
DRINKS USED TO BE HEATED WITH A HOT IRON POKER.
"BOO BOO"'S SYNDICATE PROFITED 5 MILLION A YEAR (OVER 50 MILLION TODAY).
"BOO BOO" NEVER SMOKE OR DRANK.
HE GOT HIS KICKS HITTING PEOPLE WITH
TINFOIL PELLETS HE SHOT WITH A RUBBERBAND.
AFTER BOO BOO'S ALCOHOL WAS BOTTLED, IT WAS
FICTITIOUSLY LABELED AS "HAIR OIL" OR "PERFUME".