A bootlegger is a person who sells alcohol off hours. Orriginally a bootlegger was a person who smuggled contraband onto a ship in the long
boots made of waxed leather used to keep
dry when entering and exiting small boats used to get to and from a ship at anchor. Contraban was hidden inside the boots in order to sneak it onto the ship.
Durring
american prohibition many of todays larger
beer breweries and alcohol distilleries remained active although illigally, these companies exist today because they were able to act as bootlegger and moonshiners during these terrible times.