Best Speakeasies In The U.S.

Once upon a time, speakeasies were born from necessity: tucked-away watering holes where imbibing was freely embraced during the era of Prohibition. When the 21st Amendment did away with those restrictions, tons of bars emerged from the shadows.

But 10 years back, as craft cocktails began to take off, new self-styled "speakeasies" emerged around the country: The Violet Hour in Chicago, Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco, and PDT (Please Don't Tell) in Manhattan, a bar made infamous by its camouflaged entrance: through a phone booth in a hot dog shop. Many of these, taking their cue from historical speakeasies, embraced the Prohibition theme full on: low-lit back rooms, a Jazz Age aesthetic.

A decade later, the appeal of the clandestine drinking den is still going strong, and a new wave of speakeasies is going beyond the Prohibition theme, taking the form of everything from  50s-inspired lounges to bars housed within arcades. Here are 10 speakeasies to seek out—and how to get in.

One of New York's two biggest 2017 bar openings is tucked behind the other: The Office NYC, a small clubby bar on the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental, New York. Housed within The Aviary NYC, the two are the first New York projects from famed chef Grant Achatz and partner Nick Kokonas. At The Office NYC, expect a dazzling collection of vintage spirits—some believed to be the last bottles of their kind—along with cocktails simple in name but elaborate in execution, like the Passionfruit, with rum, Dijon mustard, Chartreuse and an egg white.

Duck into a downtown alley, and you'll find your way to the hidden entrance of Birds & Bees, tucked beneath the Broadway Media Center. Inside, a you'll find cocktail den that nods to the 50s—cocktails inspired by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball—though the menu is hardly stuck in the past, featuring modern-day classics and bespoke cocktails invented on the spot.

The website lists only a telephone number; but since this is the 21st century, don't think about calling. A text is the way to score a reservation at this clandestine establishment. Ring the golden doorbell, and you'll discover a midcentury lounge with both ambitious cocktails and precisely poured throwback classics.

With an entrance behind a bookshelf and an exit into a back alley, The Broken Dram is truly a bar within a bar. Stationed within Blyth & Burrows in the city's Old Port, it's a dark, moody contrast to its airy, light-filled counterpart, serving highballs and small cocktail drams named after tragic couples: the Kurt & Courtney, the Elvis & Priscilla.

Preferring the term back bar to speakeasy, this second venue behind popular restaurant Young Joni is marked by a red neon light. Inside, it's quirky and relaxed, inspired by co-owner Conrad Leifur's family cabin in North Dakota, with rough barn walls, mismatched chairs and nostalgic decor (including his family piano). Adam Gorski's drinks are relaxed and playful, like his Paloma with chile and mescal we could drink all night.