What is a Speakeasy and How Do I Find One?

If you’re like most of us, you’ve been to thousands of different bars and restaurants in your life. While some are pretty great, many are just mediocre. After a while, they all blend together and nothing really stands out. Sometimes you just gotta look harder to find the truly unique and interesting hidden gems that are sometimes completely out of plain sight.

Have you ever had to say a secret word to enter a bar, or find a specific book that when you grab it a door opens to another world? If not, you’re in for a cat’s meow of a good time. Dust off the ol’ derby hat or grab your feather boa because we’re takin it back to the Roaring Twenties. We’re introducing you to the unseen bar scene or as the people in the know like to call it, the Speakeasy.

What’s a Speakeasy? It’s an idea from a time long forgotten, a time when prohibition was all the rage, the 1920s. Speakeasies actually emerged in the 1880s and got their name because you had to “speak quietly” about these spots, so that authorities wouldn’t get tipped off. Speakeasies rose to prominence as a place people could go to illegally get an alcoholic drink. They were illicit bars when regular bars that served alcohol were banned by the government. Back then it was a necessity, people needed some sort of outlet, and it was the only way to go out for a night with some cool cats to cut a rug and enjoy some bathtub gin. Nowadays, speakeasies are something else entirely, they’re a unique bar experience in a world of common experiences that make normal bars feel, well a little basic to be honest.

The thing about a Speakeasy is that when you enter a bar that has no real entrance, you feel special like you’ve found something that is truly the ‘bee’s knees.’ When you learn the secret phrase and say it in just the right order, to the seedy doorman looking down at you with his arms crossed and then get the nod, man does it feel good! Once you walk through the hidden doorway, you step into a world that’s truly a Gatsby affair. You’ll most likely see a lot of velvet and satin, fancy dim lighting, and glitz and glamour everywhere. Or – depending on where you go, you could see a shadier style that’s reminiscent of the gangsters and bootleggers of old, which should have a darker seedier vibe. Regardless, it’s an experience you won’t soon forget.

Nothing beats walking in and feeling the vibe for the first time at any new speakeasy, because each one is completely unique to the next, which is kind of the whole point. When you look around the bar you’ll most likely see unique patrons too. Maybe they’re sipping on a gin fizz, drinking moonshine or tipping back a glass of champagne, no matter what they’re all having a damn good time. Don’t worry, you will be too, once you get a drink in your hand. You walk smoothly up to the bar and order yourself something classy, because any Speakeasy you go to should have a Rolodex of drinks ready to knock your socks off. Watch as the mixologist renders you speechless with the perfection that is about to be poured into your glass. Take a sip, then a deep breath, let it out to then let it all sink in, there’s no going back, you’re an outlaw now.

Remember, there are Speakeasies all over the world and we encourage you to seek them out. If you’re travelling, ask the locals and/or bartenders the right questions, follow the clues, answer the riddles and make sure to say the phrase in the exact order, and maybe just maybe you’ll find your time machine for an experience that’s truly unique and made for the bootlegger in all of us.

If you’re looking to hide away from the public to drink ‘Old Fashioned’ made by some gent with a twirly mustache and pretend you’re doing something illegal, we’ve got a few places that might tickle your fancy. Keep an eye out for future blogs on Speakeasies in a location near you.