shebeen

A shebeen was originally an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages were sold without a licence. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Scotland, Canada, the United States, England, Zimbabwe, the English-speaking Caribbean, Namibia, and South Africa. In modern South Africa, many "shebeens" are now fully legal. The word derives from the Irish síbín, meaning 'illicit whiskey'.