Aha Moment Maker: The Real McCoy
JACKSONVILLE, 1920—Boatyard owner William Frederick McCoy had already made a name for himself designing and building luxury boats for the rich and famous before the advent of Prohibition.
Even though he didn’t drink, McCoy saw an opportunity and began using his own boat to transport cases of liquor from the Bahamas to the U.S. Soon enough, McCoy had put together a network of boats and was in undisputed control of Atlantic Ocean rum-running between the Bahamas and Canada.
In fact, McCoy became well-known for providing genuine liquor—not watered-down or otherwise touched. To distinguish his product from competitors’ booze, he termed it “the real McCoy.” Though competitors with only homemade liquors also used the phrase “the real McCoy” to fool their customers, McCoy’s reputation for quality caused him to prevail.
From his bootlegging,...
