Anselm Fraser has just the table to hide his drinking habits from his wife; his American ‘prohibition table’ allows the occasional dram to be sipped in peace away from prying eyes. Slange Var! (‘cheers’ in Scotland).

Watch our Woodworkers Wednesday video of Anselm demonstrating how his bottle of bottle of Famous Grouse whisky can be hidden away.

During American prohibition in the 1920’s, an entrepreneurial cabinet maker created and patented his ‘prohibition table’. This neat, round table has a secret, pop-up compartment in its centre for storing the illicit booze. These beautiful, mahogany tables sold like hot cakes for a year until the US police cottoned on and banned their sale.

Not one to be deterred, the talented woodworker found a new export market, Great Britain, where the tables went down a storm because of their novelty value.

If you can find one in the UK, they can be bought for under £1,000 but they can cost up to $20,000 in the US.