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'.