It’s been a busy couple of weeks. This past summer I was in a sort of pupa stage. It felt as though I wasn’t doing much as the heat baked the city and I retreated indoors, suspended in a state of expectation. However, now that I look back on it, this was a very productive time! I was able to set up a lot of projects that are just starting to activate now. 

One of the things that’s kept me busy these past couple of weeks is preparing for my first class at Astor Center, Cocktails of Hidden NYC, which is happening on the 18th. I want to discuss the differences between legitimate speakeasies and bars that are simply unmarked, but legally serve alcoholic beverages. I thought I knew quite a bit about the subject already, but like many of us at this stage of drinks culture, there are pieces missing in my repertoire between the repeal of Prohibition and when hidden bar culture went into vogue again by the 2000s. 

Much of that nightlife took place after hours and under the radar before the internet, so a thing you can’t find easily by simply googling it (and I tried many word configurations!) is a comprehensive list of hidden/unmarked bars that opened in New York City after Prohibition but before the cocktail revival.