Legend
THE ROOSTER MAN
When “the rooster man” was still a young Italian, with many dreams in his pocket
Giuseppe Gasco was born in Gallipoli, Puglia in 1903. He was the youngest of 9 children born to Maria and Antonio Gasco, a respected pharmacist and a staunch patriot.
At the start of World War I, Giuseppe was little more than a child, his family wealthy and respected thanks to his father's business, a man considered an important figure in town. Antonio The Doctor, as everyone calls him, is already 45 years old in 1915 and is therefore excluded from the project. He could live peacefully at home, but after witnessing as a spectator the naval battle of Gallipoli the previous year, he could not remain indifferent to the call of the country: he left his family and headed north to join the army.
Giuseppe was always his father's most beloved son for his cheerful, easy-going ways and keen intelligence. From a young age, he spent a lot of time in the store, helping to brew potions and tonics, putting the ingredient jars in order, and working as an apprentice.
For this reason, although he is not the eldest son, Antonio says goodbye entrusting him with responsibility for the family. It was June 5, 1915 and it was the last time Giuseppe would see his father.
The war begins and ends without leaving any particular signs in the Gascos and their habits of life, until the first days of 1919, when the hopes of seeing Doctor Antonio return home are abruptly shattered by a telegram from the Ministry of Defense.
NEW LIFE
The choice of a courageous mother who changes the destiny of J.Gasco
1919 was a horrible year: the pharmacy was closed, Mario, one of Giuseppe's brothers, fell seriously ill and died, economic resources began to run out and it was at this time that Mother Maria made a very difficult decision: to emigrate.
In Chicago lives his brother Vito, who moved there a few years ago and started a successful transportation business. From the moment he learned of his sister's situation, he insisted that she come with her family to America.
On June 20, 1920, Giuseppe and his family embarked from the port of Naples on the steamship Duca degli Abruzzi, bound for America, with very little money in their pockets and so much hope in their hearts.
A little over a month later, on August 2, the ship docked in the port of Chicago and a man of impressive size and gentle eyes, Uncle Vito, was waiting for them: it was the beginning of a new era for the Gasco family.
Shortly after that Giuseppe, or better yet, Joseph as Uncle Vito calls him, starts working in his uncle's company and that's when the adventure that will make him "the Cooster Man" begins.
These are the years of prohibition, the years of great contradictions, of lives lived frenetically, the desire for freedom and pleasure, but also of anarchy, violence and great fortunes quickly created out of nothing.
Joseph, as everyone calls him now, quickly understands that the wealth his uncle is building is not just the result of trucks moving in and out of remittances at all hours. The transport company actually served as a cover for a much more profitable business: the alcohol trade, declared illegal on January 16, 1920 by a law promoted by Senator Volstead.
Vito "Uncle" Rizzo, through his close relationships with the Italian community and some people with less than clean criminal records, has created a production and delivery network that supplies most of the city's "speakeasy" as well as half the country.
THE GOLDEN YEARS
From the suburbs of Chicago to the living rooms of New York
Gasco is an intelligent young man, with strong business acumen and a unique ability to create and develop social relationships. Under the wing of his uncle, he grew up quickly and at only 19 years old, he was already a leading figure in "frontier" Chicago, one who cultivated good relations with politicians, the police and known families, but also with emerging gangsters.
He becomes J.Gasco, the nephew of Vito Rizzo of Gallipoli: he is a handsome and charming young man with charisma, he likes elegant clothes and accessories that make him recognizable, like colorful suspenders and a long beard that is always neat and dark. Fame doesn't take long.
His primary task is to manage and supply the family-owned network of "speakeasies" in the "Windy City", as well as other cities; among them, the 21 Club in New York, one of the most famous clubs of the time.
J.Gasco contributes to the notoriety and success of the places he frequents: he is brilliant, magnetic, always accompanied by beautiful women and his presence makes the parties memorable; parties where, naturally, alcohol flows like rivers, dollars multiply but not enough for a businessman like Joseph Gasco.
But how? As any good Italian Joseph knows, the problem lies in the taste: the beers, moonshine whiskeys and other spirits produced on the black market are of very poor quality, they taste horrible and are barely drinkable, especially for the women, who regularly come to his clubs. It was then that the experience gained from helping his father Antonio, the pharmacist, prepare tonics, digestives and decoctions, came to the rescue.
The idea is simple but successful: create a range of drinks which, mixed with alcohol, make them more palatable, give them a more pleasant, lighter appearance and thus increase consumption.
The success of the tonics and sodas created by J.Gasco exceeds all expectations and travels by word of mouth throughout the United States, to the point that even Uncle Vito's competitors want the products created by Joseph Gasco of Gallipoli: "the castling man".
WINNING INTUITION
When defeat becomes another starting point
The years pass quickly and we find J.Gasco on December 4, 1933 sitting at the central table of one of his clubs. It's been a long time since a boy named Giuseppe, full of fears and hopes, left Italy in search of fortune...sitting in a commanding position while smoking a cigar, now there is a respected and feared man who wears tailored suits and moves with the conscience of a winner. A man who is ready tonight to bring to life the longest and wildest party of the last decade.
But what is the opportunity? In fact, nothing. In fact, for the Gasco family and many others, it is the beginning of the end: tomorrow around 5:30 p.m. or so, prohibition will finally end, the sale of alcoholic beverages will be legal again. With this freedom, millions of dollars from the illegal alcohol and speakeasy trade will disappear.
Even so tonight, with the carefreeness and audacity that have always distinguished him, J.Gasco just wants to party. A lot has changed: uncle Vito and his mother Maria are dead, his brothers and sisters have a family, a house and children. Joseph remained a free agent instead, a lone wolf, but also a visionary, a dreamer, a daredevil.
What will remain of J.Gasco? A quickly accumulated fortune, a shipping company, and several hundred barrels of soda and tonic in various flavors and colors, created to make black market alcohol less mediocre.
"The Man Rooster" - oh yes, because from "l'Uomo di Gallipoli" (the man from Gallipoli) to "l'Uomo Gallo" (the man-Rooster in English) the step was short - I had yet another intuition: the price of alcohol will collapse, consumption will change, people will try new things and develop new tastes, so why not create a range of drinks mixed with alcohol as well what to taste directly?
It will only be necessary to improve the formulas of existing products, create bottles with labels that make them recognizable and finally deliver them to anyone who requests them, but that is not a problem.
And this is how the J.Gasco soft drinks line was born, on Tuesday December 5, 1933 at 5:57 p.m. in the transport company "Vito Rizzo & Sons"; "The Man-Rooster" products which, in a few years, have become the most popular and the most "mixed" in the trendy clubs of America, the places where jazz and bebop were played and where a generation of young rebels, dreamers and revolutionaries is the host: these are the "hipsters", but that's a completely different story...
