Why alcohol-free bars are New York’s hottest new night out

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The legislation that banned the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol in the US got here into power in 1920, however as a substitute of stopping folks ingesting, it merely despatched them underground. For 13 lengthy years, it was like whack-a-mole for the authorities; no sooner had they shut down one secret bar than one other one sprung up in a single day.

While many of those “speakeasy” bars – so named since you needed to whisper a password to achieve entry – have been drab pop-ups in tenement buildings that served alcohol lower with formaldehyde and small taverns in upstate cities, city-centre hotspots have been swanky, with the hushed sound of stay jazz, loads of shoulder shimmying and greater than a whiff of organised crime.

A hobbyist historian with a ardour for the interwar years, I booked myself on a speakeasy strolling tour on a current journey to New York.

Here, I realized about New York City’s most profitable speakeasy proprietor; a lady by the title of Texas Guinan who was nicknamed Queen of the Night for her energy over the town’s nightlife. Protected by, and in cahoots with, infamous bootlegger Owney ‘The Killer’ Madden, she was famed for her rebellious nature, exorbitant costs, outrageous leisure and an uncanny knack of evading police raids.

Although I made new associates from Long Island, Australia and Vancouver on the tour as we crawled from bar to bar, I got here away with an early night hangover and a way of unease. It all felt a bit – dare I say – bogus.

From chats with bartenders within the following days, plainly, even in my Woo-Woo-infused haze, I used to be on to one thing. Speakeasies are a divisive subject amongst New Yorkers nowadays; whereas for guests, there’s a romanticism round their historical past and secrecy, for locals they are generally seen as gimmicky.

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I requested Lorelei Bandrovschi, founding father of Listen Bar for the locals’ view. She says: “It’s mixed. The concept of a speakeasy isn’t as trendy as it was a few years ago, although some speakeasies like PDT are icons in the bar world and have retained fans among locals.”

JW Wiseman, founding father of Curious Elixirs and sober speakeasy Club Curious, says that in the event that they’re on Google Maps, they’re’re not a speakeasy. “There are almost no real speakeasies left; they’re all bars pretending to be secret,” he says. “Yes, tourists are still flocking to faux speakeasies in droves, but a true speakeasy, like Club Curious, is interested in the idea of building community. You have to know it’s there to enter.”

Ironically, the “true speakeasy” Wiseman references is an alcohol-free house – far faraway from booze bars of the previous, however a part of a new flourishing sober-curious scene within the metropolis.

My curiosity piqued, I spoke to Elizabeth Gascoigne from Absence of Proof, an organization that hosts alcohol-free events and occasions, concerning the new pattern.

“More people are making mindful choices around their alcohol consumption,” she mentioned. “There are several non-alcoholic pop-ups that host events, and more bars and restaurants are including elevated non-alcoholic adult beverages on their bar menus due to increased demand.”

Bandrovschi agrees that socialising alcohol-free has change into mainstream: “Since I launched Listen Bar five years ago, I’ve noticed a shift in the expectations around going out alcohol-free. It used to be that you would feel like the odd one out and have to accommodate everyone around you – from bartenders who wouldn’t know what to serve you, to friends who would get defensive about their own drinking.”

For Wiseman, it’s early days, however he agrees the pattern is real. His firm is 9 years previous and every year is larger than the final. “With our Club Curious speakeasy, we’re experimenting with what happens when you centre creativity instead of alcohol. That’s why we have incredible artists and performers and creators come through – people of all different stripes connecting and coming in for a different reason.” he mentioned.

And it’s not simply alcohol-free institutions that are seeing the shift. Savannnah Seaman is affiliate director of gross sales on the Intercontinental New York Barclay, a resort that was opened throughout the Prohibition period. Sober-curious herself, Seaman says of the resort’s bar: “We have ramped up our zero-proof offerings as it is becoming a more requested item and we also offer all our traditional cocktails as mocktails.”

Bandrovschi thinks the best way ahead is a mixture of devoted alcohol-free areas in addition to improved alcohol-free choices in spots that additionally serve booze. The pattern is taking maintain upstate too, says Jason Marcus of Hotel Lilien within the Catskills. “So much of the cocktail experience is about the craft, and zero-proof cocktails empower everyone to enjoy. For guests who want to wake up and hit the ski slopes, a zero-proof cocktail can help them feel like they’re on vacation and hold the hangover.”

Remembering how I attempted to clear my head with a brisk stroll on the High Line the morning after my speakeasy tour, I’m curious to seek out out whether or not the advantages of sober socialising are purely bodily and monetary.

Gascoigne says not. “People notice that when they’re not drinking, they’re able to connect on a deeper level with others,” she says. “You’re your 100 per cent authentic self. The friends I’ve made sober have been much longer lasting and deeper relationships than friends I made while I was out drinking.”

Top spots for the sober-curious in New York City (and past)

I can inform you it’s a sober speakeasy in Brooklyn however past that, it’s all high secret. Sign as much as Curious Elixir’s e-newsletter to seek out out what’s occurring and when.

Named after the Greek goddess of (deep breath) magic, witchcraft, the night, gentle, ghosts and the moon, this bar within the East Village has robust female feels, and makes use of intriguing substances like blueberry basil syrup, coconut shavings, orange clove and spiced cane in its alcohol-free mixes.

Of no fastened abode, Listen pops up everywhere, holding common occasions and events, cocktail lessons and alcohol-free group journeys.

When Elizabeth Gascoigne moved to New York, she wished the world-famous NYC nightlife, however with out alcohol. Finding it didn’t exist, she set out to alter that, one non-alcoholic get together at a time.

An artwork deco resort the place the glamour of the Jazz Age mixes with the fashionable day. All cocktails in The Parlour bar are obtainable in zero-alcohol variations.

A boutique resort in Tannersville in upstate New York that serves craft cocktails (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) in its stunning wood-clad bar and cushty. Vintage jukebox included.

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