8 modern speakeasies: New wave of U.S. bars taps into an old secret

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 23:58 — Anonymous by Jennings Brown These days, every
major American city seems to have a modern rendition of a Prohibition-era
speakeasy -- secret clubs where illegal alcohol was sold during the booze-ban
days of 1920-1933. Speakeasies might not be technically illegal nowadays, but
their dated decor, hard-to-find entrances and innovative cocktails attempt to
recreate an age when flavors were mixed to overpower the repulsive taste of
rotgut hooch. Which begs the question: why try to recapture the Temperance
Movement? "Sure, most [Prohibition era] speakeasies would be pretty
awful," says Christine Sismondo, author of "America Walks into a Bar: A
Spirited History of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog Shops." "Some
of them had dirt floors, they were in dark basements with inadequate lighting
-- complete fire traps."read more